If you think Brand It is a luxury, something you can do in the future. When your business is successful, you are not the only one who has this idea.
In fact, some small business owners find it difficult to understand how branding affects their business. Therefore, it is difficult for them to justify using part of their budget for brand promotion.
The problem is that these business owners often find it difficult to develop their business. If they are lucky, they may see moderate short-term growth. However, companies that do not invest in strong brands rarely see positive long-term growth.
Bad brands can undermine reputation, customer awareness and customer trust. In the long run, bad brands can hurt your business.
Good branding can build credibility and help your best customers recognize, contact and remember you when they need your products or services. Good brand building establishes a trustworthy relationship with customers, thereby repaying your income and repeat customers.
The sooner you start to develop a strong, authentic brand and logo, The sooner your business will start to benefit.
Five cheap brand strategies for small businesses:
Let’s take a look at each of these strategies.
1. Create an authentic brand
Whether you are Start a business Or to develop an existing business, the most important brand investment you can make does not cost a penny. Now is your time and ideas to invest in defining your true brand.
As we already Mentioned earlierEvery company has a brand, regardless of whether they have made a conscious brand decision.
This is because a brand is made up of visual effects, words, actions, and products that represent your business, as well as customer experience and perception.
If you are running a business, these elements exist. However, your brand is:
- Chaos, misplaced chaos, or
- Well-designed façade,​​or
- A consistent customer experience conveys the true core identity of your company to your target market.
The best brands are authentic.
Authentic brands are real to consumers (to earn their trust and loyalty) and can be easily maintained because you don’t have to lie or perform.
Real brand choices will appear naturally because they are motivated by your actual values ​​and true personality. So, take a moment to think about it:
- What makes your business unique,
- What makes your product or service unique, and
- Which guiding personality traits and values ​​best describe your business—— In fact.
Then, use the brand characteristics you discover as a guide for all other decisions you make in your business.
This step is free. This is crucial.So, take a moment to figure out what your brand is Really Yes.
A powerful and simple strategy for business growth
Our brand identity workbook has actionable insights and steps to help you build a strong brand identity.
We just emailed you the brand identity workbook.
2. Obtain a strong brand name
your Company Name It is the most basic representative of your brand.
Although it is impossible to control the entire brand (remember, the brand is made up of public perception and the conscious brand choices you make), you can indeed control your business name.
People will recognize and remember your business by name.
They will search for your company online by name.
They will recommend (or not recommend) your company by name.
The business name is a big issue.
Moreover, your business name (ideally) should convey the “who” of your business. A business name that is inconsistent with your brand can cause cognitive dissonance in your audience. This will make your brand name harder to remember and harder to trust.
However, a brand name that clearly communicates the essence of your business will resonate and attract your best customers.
Your company name is definitely a place to invest in your brand. Some people will invest time (our founders spent almost 50 hours naming crowdfunding).
Take a look at this guide Tips for naming your small business or startup.
And, if you are working hard to develop an existing business, consider whether your brand name is hindering your development.This may be the best time Rebranding And start with a new brand identity.
3. Create a unique visual brand
Humans are visual animals.
Most of us rely on our eyes to control the world and our lives.
Therefore, every company will benefit when it presents a visual brand that people can recognize and recognize.
In fact, if you are starting a business and working on a business plan, Potential investors and lenders will assess the strength of your visual brand when deciding whether to invest or lend.
However, not all visual brand elements are equal. Let’s take a look at the most cost-effective visual brand elements…
trademark
People recognize others through facial features, body shape, posture, and movement patterns.
However, most companies do not have a single face or body that can identify them.
So, we create a company logo People can use it to recognize and remember our business.
Your sign is Main visual recognition tools For your business. This is the face of your business! We cannot overstate the importance of your logo.
Invest in custom-designed logos to effectively reflect your true brand.
And, remember, you get what you pay for.
Be wary of free logo generators and $50 “original” logo designs. These free and cheap options will cost you more legal fees (you cannot register trademarks for stock art and generic templates, which are obtained from generators and discounted logo purchases).
The real custom logo can be registered as a trademark.
Moreover, computers do not understand human emotions, color or shape theory, or psychology. A true logo designer understands what people think and how to create an emotionally strong brand.
For more insights and a list of questions to ask a designer or agency when looking for a logo, check out this guide How much should a logo design cost.
Brand palette
Logo is the cornerstone of visual brand.
However, this is not the entire visual brand.
A complete visual brand provides a broader visual background that people can associate with your business. Moreover, without a dedicated color palette, any visual brand is incomplete.
Color is a major brand power.
Color can resonate with people, attract attention and convey emotion.
Moreover, when colors coexist repeatedly in the combination, they will show their own identity.
Red and yellow are reminiscent of McDonald’s. Forest green and white are reminiscent of Starbucks. Looking for Best Buy? Long before you read the font, you will recognize it by the royal blue and yellow signs.
Your business can also benefit from brand color recognition. And, the best news is that this powerful branding tool should cost you very little-just a little time.
Therefore, please take the time to develop the brand palette.
How to use color effectively
Your brand logo should inspire your color palette. It should include your logo color, some neutral colors (black, white, gray, taupe, etc.) to increase flexibility, and possibly one or two additional complementary colors (based on how many colors are in your logo).
Don’t overuse too many strong iconic colors. Balance the intense colors that attract attention with calmer, more invisible colors to ensure that your ads, social media content, website (and more) are easy to read.
To learn more about colors, please read Small business branding: what color represents your business.
Illustrator system
For companies with more leeway in brand budgets, please consider illustration system.
The illustration system is a series of illustrated graphics that can be used, remixed and reused throughout the website, social media posts, business cards, blog graphics, and email templates.
A good illustration system complements your logo visually. And, together with your logo, they create a larger visual environment through which people can identify your brand.
This investment will bring you brand effect in three ways:
- This is another way for people to visually identify your business, increasing the likelihood that they will understand your brand.
- Providing a broader visual background creates a larger neural network in people’s brains, dedicated to your business, so they are more likely to remember you.
- The illustration system can be used and reused in countless situations. Therefore, you will always have multiple resources available for brand visual effects without having to spend more after the initial creation cost.
If you cannot afford an illustration system now, please set aside funds to invest later. This is an investment that will continue to return you.
4. Build a strong online image
When deciding where to spend money for your brand, please prioritize your website.
A website is not only a major brand representative; it is also a functional sales tool. Therefore, this investment can bring returns to your business on multiple levels.
Every Business website It should load quickly and be easy to navigate. However, important functional details like these are only part of the equation.
Your website also needs to act as your brand ambassador—help people understand your business, advertise your business to them, and convince them that they have found the business they are looking for.
Fortunately, if you invest in a unique custom logo, a memorable and brand-friendly palette and illustration system, you already have all the building blocks needed to create a great brand website.
Since most potential customers will see your website before interacting with your business in any other way, you cannot take shortcuts on the website. Just like your logo, Put your brand money here.
To understanding Six simple steps to create a custom website suitable for your brand Here. with, Check out this guide to see how much you can pay for your website design.
5. Develop a unique brand voice
Brands don’t just communicate through graphics.
They also communicate through written and spoken language.
Moreover, the words you choose must conform to your brand personality and values. This gives the impression that your business has a consistent identity.
Trust grows from repeated contacts—but only when each contact confirms our initial impressions. It’s hard to trust an unstable and unreliable person or company.
Therefore, your website copy, social media posts, emails, packaging design (if applicable), and customer support language should all sound like they come from the same “person.” Your brand.
Recognizing and continuing to use a specific brand voice is the core pillar of your brand identity. Moreover, it is free. However, this does require some thinking.
Define some adjectives to describe your brand voice. Whenever you write new copies, keep them handy. And share them with anyone who interacts with your customers. A consistent brand voice will return your customer trust and additional sales.
Read our The authoritative guide to branding and developing a unique brand voice.
The last sentence
Your brand is a valuable tool that can improve or hinder your business. These strategic brand investments will enable you to create a compelling brand without breaking the bank.
