Does a small business need branding anyways?

Are you a proud entrepreneur? Well, congratulations! Now that you have kickstarted your little venture, you cannot overlook the importance of branding to build your business persona. After all, it helps a lot other than just selling your products and services.

Most business owners do not realize that positioning their brand in the market in a certain way helps them to beat the competition, retain customer loyalty and fetch a decent profit margin.

So what if you have only just cut the ribbon! Eventually, your small business will expand and you will need a good amount of branding to promote it. Therefore it is important to break the myth that branding is only for the big players. No, irrespective of your business size, it is one of the most essential things to consider if you see your company going somewhere in the future.

Saying so, if you haven't yet thrown any serious considerations towards it, it's time we run you through some of its key benefits.

Consumers become your loyal customers if they trust you

'India's number one toothpaste'. Does this tagline ring a bell? Most of us know that the world-famous toothpaste brand Colgate told this to the consumers through advertisements, packaging, etc. By doing so, the brand tried to earn customers' faith and loyalty.

What does this tell you?

When you come up with some positioning statement for your company, you have some value to communicate with your target audience. Over time, your brand promise becomes a social proof that your products or services are genuine. Branding lets your prospects trust your company and eventually convert them into loyal customers.

Customers need a strong recall value

Remember the Vicco Turmeric ad back in the theatres! Most of us still remember it's jingle and can sing it at the drop of a hat. Why? Because Vicco tried creating a strong recall value. So is the case with several other major brands such as Rasna, Amul, Nirma, and many others. These companies understood the importance of branding and played along.

There are a dime a dozen start-ups stemming every day in the market. Surely the category you choose will also have millions of other players. How will you stand apart from the rest of them? How will your consumers recognize your company and relate to it? Will you be attracting them with a nice, creative logo, a good advertisement or some jingle? Remember, you need to create a brand recall value that goes far beyond a flashy logo. Only then your customers will remember you and turn towards you.

A good branding strategy in place and you are successful in building a strong recall value! This will be the driving factor for more sales.

Your marketing efforts need support

Say you put a great deal of amount, resources and time in marketing your business. But what if nobody in the market recognizes you? It is not going to help right?

Well, branding and marketing go hand in hand. Even for a small business, you need to have a good branding strategy for people to know you and buy your products or services.

Depending on your branding strategy, you must decide on your marketing plan. Too narrow or too broad of a marketing focus could defy the importance of your company in the consumer's mind. That will only harm your brand reputation, isn't it?

Employees need a positive environment to thrive

As an entrepreneur of a small business if you invest time and effort into branding, then you have won half the battle! An organization's strength is its employees. While it is very easy to hire staff members, it is equally difficult to retain loyal employees that align themselves per under company goals.

Just like branding helps to develop trust among customers, it helps to generate a positive feeling amongst the employees.

Wrapping up:

By now you must have realized why small businesses are going big on branding! Whether you are into the online retail market or have a brick and mortar model, branding is the key to an effective marketing strategy. It is the basis of your company's identity and the summation of what your organization has to offer. Besides this, it is the inspiration for your customers to choose you over your competitors and that in itself makes branding a hundred percent worth it!

Still contemplating whether or not to avail branding services? Let us clear the fog for you. Contact us and we promise it will be a genuine discussion, not a sales call.

— by Tasneem Baldiwala, Freelance Content Writer, Slangbusters Studio