22/12/2017
Four reasons to brand your small business:
A brand makes you look bigger
If you scream “small-time vendor,” or “mom working in her bathrobe,” that is how your customers will want to compensate you. Branding will help elevate your business. Research other businesses—who do you look up to? Find an example of what you want to look like.
A brand builds credibility
If you want people to trust that you can deliver, you need to look the part. A well-designed brand is as important as brushing your teeth before the first date. Think about what you stand for and communicate that to your customers in everything you do, from the colors you choose to the words you use.
A brand makes you memorable
Stand out from the crowd, in the right way. Your customers have to remember you to find you. If your potential customer Googled your service, what would they find? Identify elements of your business that are different from your competitors, and showcase them in unique ways.
A brand attracts customers
When customers understand who you are and what you offer, they think about doing business with you. When they trust you and begin to love you, they tell their friends. Once your brand is solid, word of mouth is the best way to grow your base. Ask your customers for reviews and referrals. Make sure they know you appreciate the business. Build on great reviews by showcasing your happy customers. Grow your business further with well-planned and brand-consistent marketing campaigns, using the same colors, fonts, and personality.
See Also: Customer Focus and Consistency: Keys to Strong Brand Building
Case Study: Dermatology Associates of SW Washington
When Dr. Elizabeth Dawson joined Dermatology Associates of SW Washington, she knew she needed to change the “face” of the practice in order to stand out in an increasingly competitive medical marketplace.
But the practice couldn’t afford to go to a branding agency, where prices started at $50,000. Dr. Dawson tried working with a graphic designer, but after five fruitless rounds of logo designs and thousands of dollars spent, she still didn’t find the brand that she was looking for.
So, she changed her approach. Dr. Dawson needed an affordable, easy solution and started with the Brand Genie, an automated tool to define your brand identity. She worked through this process with her team to figure out what they really stood for, what they wanted their patients to remember about them and tell their friends.
Dermatology Associates defined a brand that felt right to them. We call it “elegant simplicity.” The core brand attributes are professional, caring, intelligent, honest, and respected. The benchmark brands are Apple, Nordstrom, and Trader Joe’s.
Those words sound great, but what does that look like? What is the color for “professional and caring”? How can fonts—not just words—convey “honest and respected”? What images demonstrate “elegant simplicity”?
Each of these details were addressed. The brand quickly came to life as the design system was created. Dermatology Associates chose a beautiful palette of colors, fonts, and images—all designed to work together and consistently convey their brand attributes.