The Power of Branding for Your Small Business

Published on September 3, 2020

Whether you’re a big fish in a small pond trying to cultivate your own niche industry, or a small business looking to bring your own unique approach to an existing field, it’s important to stand out - for the right reasons.

The secret to standing out? It all comes down to one key – branding. More than a buzzword, branding is at the heart of what we do here as digital marketers, and developing a strong brand is one of the most important things you can do to ensure that your business finds and keeps customers.

There are many aspects to “branding” today; for our purposes, we’ll think of in terms of the content that your business produces, and how that content reflects who you are and what you represent. Practically speaking, when we discuss branding with our clients, we’re referring to logo design, photography, graphic design, and copywriting, all of which should be consistent and unified across your website, your email marketing, and your social media profiles.

So, why is having strong branding so important to your small business? Here are three big reasons to focus on creating your brand right now:

Stand Out in a Crowded Field

In today’s crowded marketplace, there will always be competition. And in the age of the internet, those competitors aren’t just the other businesses on your block, or even in your city; instead, you may be competing for customers with similar brands from around the world.

Now, while all of that may sound intimidating, we don’t see it as a reason to fret. Rather than fearing competition, embrace it. Take it as motivation and inspiration. Remember that while there may be similar organizations out there, your brand is unique. No other business has your focus; no other business has your team; and no other business has you at the helm.

Shine a spotlight on what makes you you, and you’ll have no trouble standing out from the rest of the class. Having a strong visual sensibility, a singular voice in your content, and an accessible presence on social media will let you tell your unique story and reach your ideal audience. On the other hand, failing to take a hold of your branding, or resorting to pre-fab defaults like stock photos and canned content, may just cause you to get lost in the shuffle.

Unify Your Online and Offline Reach

Chicago business – and certified Friend of the Geeks – Snow Promotions specializes in making “a product for every promotion,” including hats, water bottles, towels, and other products, all branded with their clients’ unique logo or messaging.

We love Snow Promotions (they even made our team’s hats!), and we think that what they do is an essential part of marketing today. Why?

In our view, businesses today live both online and offline. For example, we’ve seen how television advertisements help spur online searches for some of our clients; similarly, we’ve seen how the positive PR of being quoted by a newspaper can translate into new, valuable followers on social media.  

Having strong branding in place – including a one-of-a-kind logo, a specialized color palette, and a distinct font – will help connect the online and offline sides of your business, making it easier for potential customers to switch from one platform or channel to another. With strong branding in place, you’ll be able to stay top-of-mind and easy to identify, wherever and however your audience may be trying to connect with you.

Inspire Customer Loyalty and Retention

Retention is vital for any business; one customer is able to generate a ton of value beyond their initial purchase, and it costs significantly more to acquire new customers than it does to retain your existing ones.

Fortunately, many of the keys to successful retention marketing are tied up in the keys of successful branding: Your content, shared on your website and on social media, helps promote your brand narrative, inspiring loyalty and engagement. Your visual branding – reflected by your logo, your use of colors and fonts, and the design of your website – ensures that you’re easy to find and easy to trust.

We could go on. The most important takeaway is that having a strong visual and narrative brand is vital to the success of businesses of all sizes.

Looking for help finding your voice? Ready to roll out your branding on a new website or across social media? The Geek team is here to help! Drop us a line today to get the conversation started.