Every small business owner knows the difficulty in building a new business. You have the equipment, education, and skills necessary. You have the boldness to have a dream and go for it. Do you have branding, though? Are you consistent in using it? If you do, is it uniform and memorable or random and forgettable?
Any marketing or public relations professional will tell you how important branding is. Even if you don’t know any, look at companies that started out locally then slowly grew to regional and national markets. It’s likely that you can randomly rattle off the catch-phrases of hardware stores, pharmaceutical products, and fast food chains. Why? Because they’re well-branded and consistent in their delivery.
Perhaps your business isn’t poised to expand regionally just yet. You’ll likely be happy if it just takes hold locally and in surrounding towns and cities. If this is the case, you have to help yourself. Assumably you don’t have a substantial marketing budget. What you do have, though, are a few things you can do on your own and for minimal cost.
Create a brand with personality
This is nothing more than looking at the service or goods you offer and identifying a logo that fits it. It should also fit the personality of your business. If your business is renting inflatables for children’s parties, your logo and font selection can be fun and playful. If you’re launching a high-end boutique, classy and reserved is likely the way to go. Ultimately, you don’t want to confuse potential customers or give the wrong impression.
Keep everything uniform
You’ve created your logo and set the tone with it. Now, you have to be sure to keep things uniform. Your logo can have color variations, but try to stick with a few core versions. Any fonts used in the branding should remain consistent and be limited to two different ones. While potential customers may not consciously judge them, consistency unconsciously conveys a sense of confidence. You’re not all over the place. You’re trustworthy and consistent.
Create a website and keep it up-to-date
With the proliferation of web hosting with integrated design tools, there is no reason for every business not to have a website. It doesn’t have to be elaborate, but at a minimum, it should include the services you offer, photographs of your goods and services, information about the business, and avenues to contact you. Yes, Facebook pages are good, but they don’t give you the design and layout freedom to truly create a site that genuinely reflects you and your business.
Tell everyone your story
Most people don’t randomly come up with business ideas. Your business has a story, and it’s up to you to tell it. On your website’s “About Us” page, tell your story. How and why did you come up with the idea? How do your logo and tagline reflect your mission and vision? Finally, tell people exactly why they should choose you over a similar business.
Build confidence with blogs
Yes, everyone seems to have a blog about something. In this case, though, you are blogging about your business to build confidence with new and existing customers. If you provide home maintenance services, write posts about the importance of regular pressure washing, duct cleaning, gutter declogging, etc. They don’t have to be long. They just help to convey that you know more about the service you’re offering, and adding a few photographs of your recent work won’t hurt either. Most web hosting site design kits include blog functionality. Make yours work for you!
Design and launch your own, home-grown advertising campaigns
You don’t have to contract an advertising and marketing company to do this. All you need is Canva or a similar app. For a minimal investment of $14.99 per month, you can incorporate your brand’s logo and tagline into a myriad of advertising templates, to include Facebook page banners, Instagram Reels, and TikTok posts. Additionally, the paid membership allows you to resize designs, which means you can create images large enough to print on t-shirts, stickers, car magnets and more, all without paying a graphic designer. Using this method, you can be certain your branding is instantly recognizable across all web and social media sites. It’s just another way to ensure you’re instantly recognizable and build brand trust.
Of course, there a many, many other things you can do help your business take root and grown. A simple Google search will yield a wealth of ideas you can tailor to your own needs and implement. Yes, it may take a few more hours of your evening, but in a few years, you’ll be glad you did.
