Authentic Small Business Branding

What is branding? And what is it that makes it great? Branding is more than just a logo. It's the visual perception consumers have about the credibility and value of your business. It involves market research, knowing your customers and competitors, and telling your story. Done right, it can bring in business and increase the value of your product or service. Done wrong, and your business could fall flat — a mistake even billion-dollar businesses have made.

The Experience of Your Brand

In a consumer behavior study, 88% of consumers said authenticity is important when making purchases. So when you're telling the story behind your brand, make sure it's sincere and natural in tone to create trust within the customer experience.

You want your brand to tell your story, but let your customers tell their story, too. Testimonials and reviews contribute to your authenticity and transparency. Since the Consumer Review Fairness Act was enacted, consumers know poor reviews won't be censored. This allows for the good, the bad, and the ugly to be seen by all. To further strengthen reliability for the consumer, ensure your social media, emails, customer service, signage, product, and product packaging all have the same brand voice. Slipping up in one of these areas may create a missing link and cause consumers to question the company.

Building Awareness of Your Brand

But how do you reach your target audience? Well, you can start with a brand strategy to build awareness. Focus on ways to get your product or service noticed and explain why people need it. One example is to distribute free samples of your product. Another is to partner with social media influencers who can vouch for your product or service firsthand.

Is your head swimming with ideas? You can do branding yourself but as you can see, there's a lot that goes into it. That's why hiring a professional who knows how to gauge the marketplace and recommend appropriate image elements can be a great idea. They may also go further by training employees on how to better answer the phone or welcome customers so that your entire brand image is cohesive. 

When working together, you can try a free PDF editor to edit and highlight changes to a single, shared PDF file. You can also add text, drawings, sticky notes, sign your name, and more. This allows you to avoid lengthy explanations about the necessary changes via phone or email.

Maintaining Your Brand

You should consistently back up your brand with exceptional customer service and quality products to keep it authentic and successful. But a strong brand can't cover for poor service or products, so you may need to refresh its color scheme every few years. Keeping your brand image polished will ensure it continues to work for you to bring more sales and a stellar reputation.

Another great way to gain credibility for your new business quickly is to join your local chamber of commerce, where you can find resources to help you build your brand and promote your business.