5 Small Business Branding Tips To Build Recognition And Loyalty — Ask Jenny

Every business has a brand. Whether there’s a strategy behind yours or not, your audience sees your company in some sort of way. Putting a great strategy behind your small business branding is the best way to ensure those audience members are delighted by the experience they get.

Many companies will outsource parts of the brand development process. We can’t all create killer logos or write the perfect brand story, after all. However, every business owner needs to know key brand-building basics to succeed. You know your company better than anyone, so you must pave the way toward a brand that excels and exceeds customer expectations.

To help you get started, here are five small business branding tips you need to implement (including one from our founder, Jenny Poon!):

Jenny’s small business branding tip

Jenny is no stranger to small business branding. She’s the graphic design pro and master business strategist who built the CO+HOOTS brand and helped build many others in the past. It’s safe to say that she knows her sh*t when it comes to creating a brand that reflects your company. 

However, her big branding tip isn’t about looking inward at your business. It’s about looking outward at your customers first.

“Focus on your customer. Get very close to your customers’ problems and make sure you communicate that you are the expert in solving their problems.

“Branding for small businesses isn’t just about how you are presented, but how your customer sees you. So do what you want people to recognize you as. If you want them to see you as trustworthy, you better make sure you deliver on time every time.”

By understanding your customers’ needs and expectations before you begin the full small business branding process, you can create a brand that is built to drive loyalty over time.

Four more small business branding tips

With your customer at the top of your mind, you can get started with building a brand that speaks to them as much as it reflects your company.

1. Create a cohesive visual identity

From your logo and brand colors to your photography style and brand fonts, all the imagery you put out into the world should look uniquely you. Creating a brand style guide can help you build a visual identity that is always consistent and sends the right message.

As you create your brand’s visual guidelines, consider what feelings you want to evoke in your customers. Even the colors you choose can be the difference between a customer feeling relaxed or energized by your brand.

2. Know the messages you want to send

You should know at this point what your customers are looking for in your brand. Speak to these wants and needs by narrowing down a handful of core messages you want your brand to send, so you can effectively captivate your target audience.

Even as you focus on your customers, make sure your messaging stays true to your company’s unique mission, vision, purpose and values.

3. Don’t forget customer service

A common mistake that small businesses make is keeping branding within the marketing realm. While your brand may start there, it should actually penetrate through every part of your company — including your customer service.

Your support team directly impacts customers, making it a great opportunity to showcase your brand. When you handle all customer support situations professionally, in a way that reflects your company values, you follow through with your brand promises and give shoppers a personal reason to stay loyal to you.

Train yourself and every team member who has a hand in customer service on brand voice and make sure they’re experts at your brand story. Plus, make sure your support processes are built to help your team successfully manage even the toughest situations.

4. Always be consistent

Consistency is always key. As you build your core visual identity, messaging, voice and more, don’t forget to keep up with it. Only a brand that’s sure of itself can be identifiable.

With consistency comes brand awareness, which steadily scales up to recognition, sales and loyalty.

Start Your Path to a Great Brand

As you’re growing your business, understanding the best small business branding practices can help you pave the path toward greater customer loyalty and more sales. With these tips, we hope you have a clearer picture of the next steps you need to take to build a successful brand.

Want to build up your core business skills even further? Get our business book recommendations to scale up your knowledge today.