Published: 24/07/2017

10 Ways to Build a Brand for Your Small Business

Start-Ups

Branding is a way of defining your business for yourself and your audience. Through your business’s branding, you’re able to separate yourself from competitors, express your core values, and build a trusting relationship with your customers. Here are a few ways you can build an incredible brand for your small business…

1. Define your brand

What is it that your business is offering? What services or products are you providing? Pinpoint the gap in the market and research the needs of your customers. What does your business do to address your customers’ concerns?

2. Find your voice

How will you be communicating with your audience? Will you be using a friendly, informal voice? Successful brands speak with a unique voice. Think about how you want to deliver your brand message and reach your customers.

3. Know your audience

Your business can’t bring everything to everyone, so bear in mind exactly who you’re trying to target. Who will be your main consumer? Figure out their detailed behaviours and lifestyle, what their problems and concerns are and what they’ll respond to when it comes to sales.

4. Consider what’s driving your business

Figure out what you offer that no one else is offering. What’s the purpose of your business and what do you want it to look like further down the line? It’s essential to understand what you believe in and how you communicate this to your audience.

5. Be consistent

If your business is active across multiple platforms and social networks, it’s crucial you have consistent branding across all of those channels. For example, your logo should feature across all of your sites and materials, but it might need resizing, depending on what social media platform you’re using. Your messaging should also be tailored to the platform you’re using. A customer using Facebook might want to find out about discounts and offers, while an email subscriber might want to know about new products. But remember, the overall tone and brand should be similar.

6. Be innovative

What makes your business unique? How are you different from others? Think outside of the box and never try to replicate something someone else has already done. Great ideas are born from innovative thinking.

7. Design, logo, colour

As well as a memorable name, your brand needs to be strong with its design and colour scheme. Think carefully about your logo, too, as it will appear on everything that relates to your business, and so will become your calling card.

8. Blog

Blogging is incredibly important. Not only does it provide your customers with loads of useful information, but it helps build trust, too. The content on your blog can also serve as material for other platforms like Facebook and Twitter.

9. Empower your customers

How your brand prospers is determined by your customers and potential customers. Spend time nurturing your customers as they’re your biggest brand ambassadors. Successful businesses realise that if they help their customers succeed, the customers will help the brand succeed.

10. Deliver value

And this doesn’t always have to be the lowest price. You can deliver value through great customer service or operational excellence. What value can your business provide and how is that different from your competitors?

Giving your customers more ways to pay for your goods and service is a great way to deliver value. Take a look through our range of card payment solutions and get your free quote.

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