When thinking about branding, the first thing that comes to mind is what makes the company stand out. Is it the logo, a motto, or the business strategy? What else makes a company unique?
A brand is exactly that: “The marketing practice of creating a name, symbol or design that identifies and differentiates a product from other products,” according to Entrepreneur. Now although that’s a basic definition of branding, small companies, and large companies have to brand differently as they serve a market differently.
Branding
Branding takes time and to create a great “brand” it does not happen overnight. It takes a significant investment of time. Choosing colors for a logo and investing a little money into creating a strategy is not enough for a small business but branding doesn’t mean that you need to invest in a whole marketing strategy team to create a brand. It is a delicate balance for start-up businesses that all start small. A brand can change overtime but a small business is not branded the same as a large business.
The Advantage of Company Size
A large company has advantages over a small business in terms of branding. A large business can brand using recognition. What this means is that because they have built their brand they can place their logo or slogan on a product and be recognized.
They can plaster their logo on social media to link accounts to the company or just create an ad that barely shows the brand until the end to link the company to the ad. This ability occurs over time but it’s a learning process and to be able to brand like this means a company must be consistent with a logo.
Don’t rebrand frequently and stay true to the business, outsmart the competition and don’t deviate unless your company is failing.
Choosing A Brand Manager
When a company becomes larger they can dedicate someone to be a brand manager where they focus on ensuring that the brand is represented the same across all platforms and distribution to ensure recognition in quality.
If there are too many people in charge of a brand or if not enough time is dedicated to this, a brand may be misrepresented.
Creating Awareness
A large brand company can create a story overtime but this all starts by being active in the market community to create awareness of your company. If a company can create memorable experiences these become experiences that can help market a company along with creating a positive brand image.
This is evident in large companies as they have more funding to dedicate to these types of practices but a small business can start a story as well to help build their brand as well. This part of branding is not unique just more recognized with larger successful companies.
Promote, Promote, Promote
All companies start small and they must define a their “brand” to start. They must identify what differentiates their company in the market and how they want to promote to their potential customers. A company brand is like a person it identifies who the brand is and how they act, so this is critical to properly identify at the start of the company to guide the path of the company.
A small company must be consistent in what they offer to attract customers in a market and aim for long-term relationships with the customer. What this means is that a small company can not brand itself as having the ability to do more than they can or promise something they can’t provide.
Small Companies Must Be Trustworthy
A small company needs to brand itself as being trustworthy in order to grow. A small company needs to stand out; so be bold and create a product that is truly unique. If it is like another product already available it will be hard to brand your company as unique but if the product has never been seen then that is how you can brand your company. A small company can be flexible and innovative versus a large company that can’t take risky or bold opportunities easily.
A small company must pull customers in. So they can’t show their “whole hand” right away instead, they must promote their company to draw people in and allow them to discover new things as they continue to learn about a company.
By branding a small company that’s willing to grow it creates opportunity. Branding doesn’t mean placing a logo on everything, it’s meant to be a method of growth that shows a company has the potential to adapt over time.
All companies start small but that is not to say that with the proper branding and willingness to stay true to their roots, a small company will not become the next large corporation. Branding takes time and strategy but by ensuring a company logo stands out and is unique, a small company is well on its way to being successful.