For many small business owners, brand identity is a luxury only big players could enjoy. So, their brands are often limited to a logo, while the rest of the identity work is left to take up later.
But brand identities are not just for big brands. They can add incredible value to smaller enterprises, too. Here are 5 compelling reasons for you to develop a brand identity for your small business today.
1. Differentiate your business from the competition.
Standing out in a crowded marketplace is particularly hard for small businesses. In many industries, differentiating a product could be costly. For some, it’s not even an option. But a unique brand identity could help distinguish your business and products from the competition.
Unlike tangible elements, an effectively crafted identity could offer intangible differentiators more cost-effectively. It could be especially valuable in industries with generic products. A good example is bottled water. While Perrier and Evian may not have much to say about how their water differs from one another, they certainly have no trouble setting themselves apart with their brand identities.
So, if you’re a small enterprise competing with big brands, a brand identity could be just what you need to help your products stand out.
2. Make your brand memorable.
A brand identity creates consistency in your visual communications and messaging. It personifies your brand with a unique set of cues and values. For instance, you can add visual cues like logos, color palettes, and fonts. You can make use of other sensory elements, too, like auditory prompts. Here’s a well-known example of sonic branding by Intel.
All these can make your brand stick. When consumers are constantly barraged with hundreds of brand messages all around them, the memorable few are the ones that will occupy the consumers’ mind space.
3. Make your marketing spend work harder.
Without a strong identity system, your communication tools and marketing campaigns will work in isolation. But an identity will help create a link between each of your marketing efforts. In other words, every one of your marketing activities will support and reinforce each other. This creates synergy and a unified whole, which is much more powerful than the elements on their own.
And ultimately, it can amplify the return on your marketing spend.
4. Create intangible value.
A powerful brand identity could create significant intangible value for your business. It could sometimes even be the deciding factor for consumers to choose your product over your competitors.
A perfect example is Coca-Cola. Its massive brand equity had played a major role in securing market leadership, even when the Pepsi Challenge pointed to a clear win for Pepsi based on blind tests. As it turned out, customers were not purchasing Coke for its taste but rather for all the cool, hip intangible assets associated with it.
Personifying a brand could help it stand for specific values that would appeal to and inspire your audience. It’s how you build trust and loyalty and create fans out of your customers. Image perceptions may even help you charge a premium.
5. Build credibility.
A professionally developed brand identity is essential to boost credibility for a small business. The logo, business cards, website, consistent brand messaging will all add to your brand image and how it’s seen by your stakeholders, from customers to lenders and suppliers. And credibility builds trust. It’ll make it easier to introduce new products to the market, attract and hire top talent, and positively influence your suppliers during negotiations.
A well-crafted identity is not just about impressing your stakeholders. It can go a long way to professionalize your communications and define your business values.
The bottom line is, a brand identity could be an invaluable asset for a small business owner to increase conversions, boost revenue, and expand their business. So, ensure you spend sufficient time crafting it before you set up shop and tap into its true potential to drive business success.
