Is Branding Important For Small / Home Based Businesses?

Branding is one of the most important aspects of a business profile and it doesn’t involve a red hot iron being stamped on your rear either Your brand is YOU!

When most people think of a brand, they think of the logos of certain companies, you know the ones, you see a ‘tick’ or ‘correct mark’ what do you think? Nike. You see a red can of drink with white scroll text and what do you think? Coca Cola.  These are incredibly effective brands, however the reason they are effective is not just the logo, the secret is consistency.

Above is a sample of some of the world’s best known and easily identifiable brands.  Their logos are seen by millions of people, every day, all around the world.  You see their logos on their products, on advertising, in magazine articles, on the side of buses, websites, stationary and more.  Every time you see something that has their logo displayed that business is re-enforcing itself in your mind.  The more branding of that business you see, the more successful that business appears, plus it has the secondary effect of making both existing and potential clients and customers feel secure as they receive this ‘corporate image’ in their mind as a sign of professionalism.

But what if you are a small business owner, or maybe you are a Mum starting out your own home based company making chutney, does a small business still need branding? Yes!

Your customers want to see exactly who they are dealing with each and every time they contact you, whether that be via email, post, website or through social media profiles.  If your business image is consistent it will look professional, but getting it right matters.

You do not have to have bright and garish graphics to make a good logo, in fact you do not need graphics at all.  As you will see from the well known brands above, most of them are no more than 3 colours, some do not contain graphics. Let us take ‘Christian Dior’ as an example.

Christian Dior is a multi-million global brand.  The company branding is easily recognisable but look, no graphics.  It is simple text, yet we still all know by seeing it that this is ‘Christian Dior’ and we know from that logo that it screams ‘large business’ but why? Because of it’s consistency.  You see the same logo on clothes, perfume, advertisements, websites and more.  In fact every product and every service has that same logo displayed.

So how can a home made chutney, jams and preserves business (or any small business) use their brand to increase traffic to their company website or to give their business exposure, be consistant.  If you have a branding consultant / social media manager / social media coach, they will either guide and help you make a start on your branding yourself or actually manage your branding profile for you, which if you are a small business with fewer resources (and let’s face it, not as much cash flow as Christian Dior!) can be an excellent idea, even if it is on a part time basis paying by the hour.

I am your potential customer.  I am a busy working mum of 2 and I am looking for a good home made spiced fruit chutney.  I want to know that the chutney I am purchasing has been made using seasonal fruit and vegetables and I want my chutney to be made by the seller by hand, I do not want a product to be a ’supermakret’ brand made by machines on a production line.  All this information can be dealt with by my brain in a few seconds by looking at a logo and the branding of a business.  Pictures of fresh vegetables, the colours of nature and the earth, clear concise writing on labels, the use of the words ’seasonal, hand made or fresh’ and even irregular sized chutney jars all add to that ‘home made’ look rather than a supermarket brand.

So I find your online shop on the Internet and think ‘they look tasty!’ and I look around your website.  Your logo and branding is on every page of your website, when I email you to place an order, your signature contains your website address and maybe even matching email stationary or a virtual business card signature in your email.  If I place my order over the phone you answer the telephone with your company name.  When my order of this rather scrummy looking chutney arrives, it arrives with a compliment slip on it, with guess what, your logo, your brand, your business, YOU!  Your brand has sold me this chutney right from the start, your brand, no matter how small your business, is important and your brand is YOU, so let’s make the most of it!