A brand is something that every business today needs in order to succeed. Unfortunately, not everyone sees the value of taking the time to make a standout brand for a new company. Not having a brand is a mistake that could become very costly. Here is why it is important to create a brand for your small business.
Distinguish Your Company from the Competition
A primary reason for creating a strong brand is that it will distinguish your small business from the competition. Consumers are going to be drawn to products or services based on the branding or packaging. You want consumers to be able to isolate your products or services quickly from the competition especially in oversaturated markets. A brand lets your business stand out from all the rest of the marketing noise.
Build Customer Loyalty
One of the purposes of a brand is to connect and engage with consumers. If a consumer feels some type of personal or emotional connection with your brand, then that person is likely to become a loyal customer. Building customer loyalty is important because it increases lifetime values and prevents customer churn. Customer loyalty can also lead to free word-of-mouth advertising. This means your small business will grow and make more revenue over time.
Attract New Customers
Consumers look at several things both consciously and unconsciously when making purchasing decisions. The brand of your small business is going to factor into that decision almost immediately. Having a strong and clearly defined brand could instantly draw someone to your products or services. A good brand can attract new customers all the time if done correctly.
Help Direct Your Marketing
Creating a brand is going to help direct the rest of your marketing efforts. A mistake many small businesses make is to have random marketing campaigns that seem disconnected from one another or the company itself. A brand with a central message and personality allows all your marketing to become consistent. This helps consumers to better identify with and understand your small business.
Make Expansion Simpler
A successful small business will need to expand at some point. This often means adding new products or services. Those new items will be entering the market without much of an audience. If you create a solid brand that engages consumers, then your current customers will be more willing to try your new products or services. This makes it much simpler to expand and grow your business into new areas or industries.
Easier Access to Funding
Creating a strong and recognizable brand for your small business can actually help you to get funding. Lenders will see the brand and understand that your business is moving in the right direction. It can showcase the strengths of your company and future plans. This will make it easier to get funding through a lender like Advance Funds Network, or AFN. You can go through AFN to get a line of credit or a loan when your small business wants to expand or cover other costs. A coherent brand will help during the approval process.
Provide Internal Consistency for Employees
A less obvious reason creating a brand is important is that it provides internal consistency for employees. Some of the people in your small business will need to interact with consumers, vendors or other companies. You want the interactions between your employees and others outside the small business to be as consistent as possible. A brand provides guidelines as to how employees should speak about the company. It will make it easier for everyone to provide a consistent experience for customers or others.
Lessen Damage from Bad Publicity or Other Incidents
A final reason creating a brand for your small business is important is that it can lessen damage from bad publicity or other negative incidents. Your small business might encounter bad press due to a lawsuit, recall or data breach. One piece of bad press can sometimes destroy a new business in a matter of weeks. If you created a positive and engaging brand, then customers and the public are more likely to accept that the incident was a mistake or that your business has resolved the issue. This will not be the case if your business has no identifiable brand at all.
