Despite the struggling economic climate, it's certainly not all doom and gloom for small firms. When it comes to branding, being small has some big advantages. With so many large corporations struggling, now is a great time for new and emerging businesses to take advantage of the market conditions and overtake those established brands by getting themselves out there.
To do this, your brand goes a long way to communicating confidence to your customers. One of the best ways to be successful is to look successful. Customers act on image and one of the advantages small businesses have over larger organisations is that they can act fast and take advantage of the latest marketing opportunities.
Despite common misconceptions, a smaller business brand can be just as powerful as that of a bigger business, and without the huge costs. Professional branding ensures that people connect with your company and it's becoming easier and cheaper for companies to get themselves in front of their target customers, especially with the internet.
With technological advances such as wireless mobile internet giving people the freedom to work on the move, new marketing and communications opportunities have really begun to open up.
The importance of marketing your brand on the move has never been more important and is an area where small firms have a big advantage over their larger counterparts. For example, laptops are everywhere in the modern world and, with people forever accessing their emails on trains and in cafés, they represent a unique opportunity from which to communicate your business through branding the outer shell.
This means that a previously dull laptop shell can now become a perfectly-sized miniature billboard for your business. You simply log onto the internet and apply your company graphics on a specially-designed, professional sticker that, when applied, acts as a promotional skin for your laptop.
Of course, the best bit is you don't have to pay for this advertising space, because you already own the ‘laptop-slot', meaning that your company is being promoted while you work on other things, such as your emails.
What this essentially means is that for businesses on a budget your imagination doesn't cost a penny. Taking advantage of current technology, you can now professionally design your own graphics or import your own logos and branding using free, innovative online software. The products are then expertly printed and delivered to your business' doorstep.
Traditionally, when cutting out the expensive costs of a designer small firms have been limited to printing a narrow range of stationery, such as business cards, but they now have the option to put their branding on many more items.
Office wall applications, company files, laptops, mailing labels and company media can all now be a part of a company's branding mix, simply due to the fact that you now do the design work yourself, or simply apply your company's existing designs.
The benefits of branding these items not only means that your company is taking full advantage of every promotional opportunity, but it breeds a company culture of professionalism for staff, and gives a strong impression of your business when you're attending meetings and conferences.
Top tips for branding your business
- Get your brand out there: the way you spread your brand is just as important as what your brand says. Communicate your brand using business cards, laptops, labels, files and outgoing mail by becoming a real ‘brand opportunist'
- Make sure your brand is consistent: your customers want to build a relationship with one brand and no more, so don't make your company work twice as hard to build these by having inconsistent branding. Remember to save your designs and import them onto your branded products consistently
- Make sure your branding is easy to understand and clear. The best brands tell the story of their company or suggest a little about what they do, meaning you're immediately targeting the right customers
- Try to make your brand a little different. What is already out there and how could you make your mark in a distinctive way from the competition?
- Make branding quick and easy and when it comes to the important matter of your own brand, use a brand that you can trust. It's important that the online software is easy to use and that the finished product is of a premium quality. After all, you don't want your brand to look second best
