Building a strong brand, either physically or online, is just as important for big businesses as it is for small ones.
Though small businesses have a more local reach, competition is high everywhere. So it is even more important for them to distinguish their brands so that they can become the choice of many people.
However, two myths may stall a small business’ progress in achieving a strong brand presence online. One, certain small business owners think they need as much money as big businesses to create a brand online. Also, the misconception that slapping a logo on just about everything related to your brand is ‘branding’.
To clarify the two misconceptions, a small business can successfully build a brand online even if it is operated from a laptop in a bedroom. To clarify this, I will loosely distinguish the terms so that it is easier to understand why the above misconceptions are harmful ways of thinking for small or medium-size business owners.
Ashley Friedlein of Econsultancy defines a brand as the sum total of how someone perceives a particular organisation. Branding, however, is a collection of activities that helps you to create a brand. Communication is the vehicle through which you transfer those associations to your target market.
Think of it like a car on a road trip. Communication is the car conveying your baggage (branding) to the destination (brand). The onus of interpreting a brand is actually the responsibility of people who come across your brand, not your organisation. For example, you may say your organisation is strong and reliable, but your customers may not see you that way.
You understand now why slapping a logo on just about everything from Lagos to Abuja does not necessarily build your brand. For a small business owner, there is even a clear advantage of building a strong brand online as your network is small. But you should be able to identify and narrow your target market.
So, how can you build a brand online?
Think of your brand as a person
The best and easiest way to build your brand is to define its personality. So, if your brand were a person, who would it be? Would it be an old, conservative woman that is close to retirement or a young man, full of life and about to graduate from the university?
In both scenarios, notice how distinct both characters are and how that can help you to define how your brand should sound and look online. For example, it is almost impossible to define the first personality by a shocking shade of pink as the person (brand) is more conservative. You can also create characters for each of your products especially if they serve different markets. Big brands employ this, and it can come in handy for small business owners while building their brands online.
You should also note that, especially for small business owners, a brand is an extension of the personality of the owner – which is not out of place. In fact, many small business owners have been able to use this to their online advantage by communicating the unique and most exciting aspects of themselves to their target markets and getting their buy-in when people like such values that mirror their wants, desires or aspirations. However, small business owners and marketers have to be careful to distinguish the two. You do not want any negative crisis regarding your personal brand to affect your business brand.
Understand your target market
One of my favourite quotes by Seth Godin says, “Don’t find customers for your products; find products for your customers.” This clearly defines the need to understand the people your business may be serving – their needs, what drives them to make certain purchase decisions, why they make certain decisions at a particular stage in their lives and so on.
For a small business owner or marketer, it may seem like too much trouble going through all that research, but it actually makes great business sense if you decide to save yourself the heartache of flushing money down the toilet or spending marketing budget forcing people to buy products they do not need from a brand they do not feel compelled to buy from.
Asking potential customers questions how they make purchases relating to what you offer can be all the research you need. The trick is to learn to craft the questions to get the most value out of their replies.
In the next article, I will be sharing other interesting insights alongside a rather unique story of how a small time chef in Nigeria built a substantial following by building an emotional brand online.
You can always join the conversation on the Twitter handle @lexitonpr.
Punch
Though small businesses have a more local reach, competition is high everywhere. So it is even more important for them to distinguish their brands so that they can become the choice of many people.
However, two myths may stall a small business’ progress in achieving a strong brand presence online. One, certain small business owners think they need as much money as big businesses to create a brand online. Also, the misconception that slapping a logo on just about everything related to your brand is ‘branding’.
To clarify the two misconceptions, a small business can successfully build a brand online even if it is operated from a laptop in a bedroom. To clarify this, I will loosely distinguish the terms so that it is easier to understand why the above misconceptions are harmful ways of thinking for small or medium-size business owners.
Ashley Friedlein of Econsultancy defines a brand as the sum total of how someone perceives a particular organisation. Branding, however, is a collection of activities that helps you to create a brand. Communication is the vehicle through which you transfer those associations to your target market.
Think of it like a car on a road trip. Communication is the car conveying your baggage (branding) to the destination (brand). The onus of interpreting a brand is actually the responsibility of people who come across your brand, not your organisation. For example, you may say your organisation is strong and reliable, but your customers may not see you that way.
You understand now why slapping a logo on just about everything from Lagos to Abuja does not necessarily build your brand. For a small business owner, there is even a clear advantage of building a strong brand online as your network is small. But you should be able to identify and narrow your target market.
So, how can you build a brand online?
Think of your brand as a person
The best and easiest way to build your brand is to define its personality. So, if your brand were a person, who would it be? Would it be an old, conservative woman that is close to retirement or a young man, full of life and about to graduate from the university?
In both scenarios, notice how distinct both characters are and how that can help you to define how your brand should sound and look online. For example, it is almost impossible to define the first personality by a shocking shade of pink as the person (brand) is more conservative. You can also create characters for each of your products especially if they serve different markets. Big brands employ this, and it can come in handy for small business owners while building their brands online.
You should also note that, especially for small business owners, a brand is an extension of the personality of the owner – which is not out of place. In fact, many small business owners have been able to use this to their online advantage by communicating the unique and most exciting aspects of themselves to their target markets and getting their buy-in when people like such values that mirror their wants, desires or aspirations. However, small business owners and marketers have to be careful to distinguish the two. You do not want any negative crisis regarding your personal brand to affect your business brand.
Understand your target market
One of my favourite quotes by Seth Godin says, “Don’t find customers for your products; find products for your customers.” This clearly defines the need to understand the people your business may be serving – their needs, what drives them to make certain purchase decisions, why they make certain decisions at a particular stage in their lives and so on.
For a small business owner or marketer, it may seem like too much trouble going through all that research, but it actually makes great business sense if you decide to save yourself the heartache of flushing money down the toilet or spending marketing budget forcing people to buy products they do not need from a brand they do not feel compelled to buy from.
Asking potential customers questions how they make purchases relating to what you offer can be all the research you need. The trick is to learn to craft the questions to get the most value out of their replies.
In the next article, I will be sharing other interesting insights alongside a rather unique story of how a small time chef in Nigeria built a substantial following by building an emotional brand online.
You can always join the conversation on the Twitter handle @lexitonpr.
Punch
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