Branding Isn’t Just For Big Businesses With Big Budgets You can start your branding with little time and money.
By Rachel V. Casey
Coca-Cola’s is worth more than $70 billion. Microsoft shifted its advertising to feature its $65 billion one, instead of products. What is this most valuable asset for these companies? Simply, it’s their brand.
Branding, the intentional, strategic expression of a company’s mission, message, image and identity, is clearly a high priority for big business. And, branding is no less important for small businesses with small budgets.
Where to Start You are already creating your brand with every business card, voice mail message, Web site, marketing brochure or sales call. Gather up and review everything that communicates anything about your company. What do the words, images, logos, colors, tones and papers say about your company, your products, or services?
Do they convey what you want audiences to know and feel about your company? If not, get out a pencil and start defining your brand elements (or at least capture ideas and examples).
Mission and Messages Ask yourself the following questions to help you define your business:
Mission. Why are you in business? What’s most important to you? What motivates you?
Messages. Write down and edit the three or four main points someone should know about your business, products or services. What do you do best? What differentiates you from competitors?
Tag line. You can communicate a little more information about your products and priorities. Keep it short and clever, but you don’t have to keep it forever.
Image and Personality What is the character of your business?
Adjectives and attributes. Ask clients to choose, from a list, words to describe your company, and to start defining and developing brand elements.
Style. Consciously create a style and carry it through your Web site, printed materials, photography, writing and so on.
Intangibles. What impression do you leave? How will your customers remember you? How do customers, or potential customers, feel about your company?
Identity Issues Is your company easily recognizable?
Name. There’s a fine line between a name that’s unique and one that leaves potential customers confused. Run it past those who matter—your target audiences.
Logo. Simpler is always better. Look at the most famous, most effective logos. They have meaning and clean lines that don’t fuzz out on a fax. They also effectively move from paper, to Web site, to t-shirts to billboards. A logo is not art to hang on your wall. It’s a tool that has to work for you.
Color. Start with, and perhaps stick with, just one or two colors for consistency and cost-effective reproduction. Develop a palette of coordinating colors if necessary.
Type/fonts. Stick with two or three in all communications — printed, electronic, signage and so on. You look more professional, it’s more comfortable for customers and it’s faster (and cheaper) for your designer.
Design elements. Develop and pull from a limited menu of design elements for your Web site, brochure, PowerPoint presentations and other collateral materials. As with type, soon customers will recognize your information before they even see your company name or logo.
Various media (paper, Web, vehicles, signage, etc.). Even if a different company or designer creates your Web site, brochure or packaging, every piece should look like it belongs to your company.
Taste, feel, smell, sound. Harley Davidson has trademarked the sound of their motorcycles, and Crayola crayons have one of the most identifiable smells in America. What else creates your identity and leaves an impression? How do you answer the phone? How does your business card feel?
Spokesperson. Who represents your company to customers and the general public? That person’s image, words and attitude all contribute to your brand.
Need Inspiration? Look around you. We’re surrounded by brand images and messages whose effective, consistent application makes them immediately recognizable. Who asks, “Where do you want to go today?” Whose favorite green color is on baby blankets, paint cans and casserole dishes? Whose crown graphic and name are interchangeable?
To create your brand standards, it may be helpful to work with a consultant, designer, printer, Web developer or writer. Once defined, brand standards are a starting point for strategic, consistent expression of all your messages and images.
In big businesses, where brands are recognized as the essence of the organization, brand standards are taken very seriously. In your small business, building an effective brand may be the wisest investment, and a critical edge, in building your business. Rachel V. Casey is a marketing consultant with a focus on affordable identity development and brand building for small businesses and nonprofits. She has developed an example-filled, hands-on, fill-in-the-blank “Branding on a Budget” program appropriate for one-on-one or workshops. She can be reached at (816) 941-3085 or online at .
