Small Business Branding Strategy
Oh my goodness, I am always delighted when I get contributed posts like the one below. Because the timing is so spot on.
You may have noticed, I just went through a rebranding process with this site. It started out with finally getting around to having a logo designed (I worked with Tisha Banks on Fiverr, she was fabulous) but of course I couldn’t stop there.
I had to follow through with new Headers, Banners, Profile Icons and consistent branding across every social media platform. Phew! Quite a process and yes, it’s quite possible I missed a few platforms because I don’t touch every platform every day. So actually this process could go on for a few weeks more as I uncover all the places where my website is displayed.
And even on my own website, I can see certain images are not working that well any more. I’m even considering a Theme change but that’s another entire overhaul I don’t have time for right now. Branding is an ongoing project, isn’t it? #SmallBusinessBrandingStrategy
Excellent advice on building a consistent brand strategy in the contributed post below. Enjoy.
Wear Your Brand Like A Uniform
Whatever the message of the brand is and whatever methods you use to deliver it, nothing is more important than ensuring it works well with other expressions of the brand.
Inconsistent branding can feel misleading or, at the very least, confusing to your customers. Giving them mixed signals from one message to next makes them unsure as to what your company actually does or stands for.
It’s time to create a uniform out of your brand and ensure it’s fitted all across the company.
Define the core
Any time it comes to evolve or redesign the brand, or to create a new marketing message or piece of content, you have to remember the core of your brand.
This is the “true north” of the business. It’s your motivations, values, and the unique proposal that ensures your branding isn’t boring.
Try to boil it down to a few actionable points, such as helping customers with a certain problem or benefiting the community or industry in a certain way. Reinforce that core in your branding constantly and your customers are more likely to believe it.
Establish the key
Your brand should have a key that defines the different elements that will be used time and time again in the content your company creates and publicizes.
Putting together a brand style guide will help ensure that everyone knows what colours, imagery, language, and other elements of style to use. It creates a united branding image that adds a sense of prestige and officiality to your future marketing and web content efforts.
Inform the team
Brands don’t remain stagnant, of course. The elements of style will change over time and even the cores can undergo a transformation.
Each one of these changes should be treated as a rebranding process. Ensure that members of the team across the board are informed and use content management software to update the resources on hand, including an updated brand style guide.
Needless to say, it looks highly unprofessional when the company undergoes a rebranding, little or large, and one of the team members publishes a web page or a piece of content that is still using the old brand style.
Grow the brand
That said, even though rebranding can be dangerous, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it. Markets evolve over time, whether due to your business scaling or because the industry and space around it has changed.
You can evolve your branding without compromising your brand equity. Rebranding should aim to revitalize interest or simply expand the message to include more people.
Don’t neglect the core of your brand or the image and reputation you have spent time building amongst your existing customers. Rebrand with care, not simply because you feel like updating the business’s image or style.
Wear your brand like a uniform. Set your standards for it, nail down the details, and ensure that all your employees are following the brand dress code. It will help the message sink in amongst your audience much more easily.
Do You have a Uniform Branding Strategy?
How consistent is your branding? Do you have a strategy in place for your Small Business?
