In between production, service delivery, administration, and financial management, many small and medium businesses ignore a critical part of their business: branding. Many owners and directors think branding is something only large companies need. As long as they have a name and a logo, they believe they have covered everything. They could not be more wrong.
The one thing common to all small businesses that made it big is that they had a strong branding strategy. Apple, HP, Walt Disney, and Amazon all began as small businesses. Closer to home, Flipkart, Kent RO Systems, and Ola are brands that started small. Branding is at the foundation of every successful business.
Your brand, to put it simply, is your company's promise to your customers. It tells them what your product or service can do for them, who you are, and how you are different from your competitors. It goes far deeper than your logo.
The 7 Steps
1. Define Your Brand's Promise
Draft a mission statement. What value does your brand provide? What is the reason for your brand's existence? BMW's brand promise is the Ultimate Driving Machine — a specific, ownable claim about the driving experience. What is yours?
2. Determine Your Brand's Personality
What do you want customers to think about your brand? If your brand were a person, who would that person be? Young or experienced? Friendly or professional? Lively or serious? This personality must be consistent across every touchpoint.
3. Research Your Competition
Who else offers the same products or services? What differentiates your offering from theirs? Southwest Airlines has had the same unique selling proposition since 1975: "We are THE low-fare airline." That singular clarity is rare — and extremely powerful.
4. Develop a Name, Logo, and Tagline
Choose a brand name that complements your business and is easy to recall in English and relevant regional languages. Develop a distinct logo and colour palette that visually distinguishes you from competitors. Remember: the name, logo, and tagline are not your brand. They are the tools through which your brand communicates itself. Also — register your trademark.
5. Integrate Your Brand Into Everything You Do
Incorporating the brand in physical elements like premises, stationery, and packaging is the easy part. More importantly, bring your brand values into every interaction — with customers, suppliers, and staff. Your brand is not a department. It is a way of operating.
6. Prioritise Customer Experience
Poor customer experience can bring down a brand's value faster than almost anything else. The customer today can voice complaints on online platforms, and these can snowball if they go viral. Customer experience is brand experience — they are inseparable.
7. Ensure Quality at Every Stage
This almost does not need to be said — but ensure that quality in service and product is of the highest level at every stage, whether at the time of purchase or after. Brand promises without quality delivery are worse than no promise at all.
Every company needs to focus on its brand every day and in everything it does. Understand your customer, know your competition, give your brand a personality, and embed the essence of your brand in everything — from product quality to customer experience.