Is Branding Important For Small Local Businesses

Does branding really matter for smaller local companies? Is a strong identity going to help sell more product, drive business through the door or sign more clients? My answer: YES! Without a doubt.

Every system which a large brand uses to build the company/brand can be scaled and modified for smaller businesses on a local level.

• Is it important for small companies to have good customer service? Yes
• Should small companies have an easily recognizable face to their business conveying a clear message? Yes
• Should a small business have systems setup for quality control, and measuring customer satisfaction? Yes
• Should a small business capture as many ways as possible to spread the word locally of their services or products? Yes

Brands Are Formed in the Mind

Most people when they think of a brand they think symbols, graphics, colors or shapes, but they're wrong. It's a feeling, or idea. A brand is formed in the mind. It's not a graphic, color, symbol, thing or really even a company. It's an idea, it's a feeling, or rather a compilation of feelings, which are formed from experiences/interactions with the brand. It's the feelings that arise when you think of that company, that mark, that product.

A brand is built off of a lot of small encounters with a company. An encounter is basically anytime an individual has any experience with an employee, product, website, business card, sees an ad, marketing material, hears something from a friend or any other visual or auditory experience that has to do with that company. Those experiences form a perception in each individuals mind, and that's what forms the brand. Too many negative interactions create negative perceptions and pretty soon the company isn't doing too well.

That's why every single individual can have a different opinion about the same brand, because they had different experiences, which formed different perceptions. That's why it's so important that every encounter with your brand/company leaves the perception/feelings you wish to leave.

Time, Patience and Consistency

To build anything requires time, patience and consistency. Well, building something requires a lot more than those three ingredients. You will also need a plan, materials, possibly money...you get the point though. A brand or successful business doesn't just spring up overnight. It takes time. You have to be patient with the ups and downs and your message, quality and purpose have to be consistent or else customers will lose trust in the brand and fill their need elsewhere.

Happy Branding.