How to Effectively Brand Your Small Business
Do you run a small business? Want to market and brand your company in order to increase your visibility, gain new customers and make more money? There is no better time than now! Branding your small business can be difficult but it doesn't have to be. Branding your small business effectively is about taking the time, research and effort needed to create a great name for yourself. Here are some ideas that may help you succeed.
1- Make Your Business Personal: A personal brand will ensure that people remember what you have on offer by associating it with you personally rather than an established company or product line. Take the time to create a name that is personal and trackable. If it's not, you will forget about your business and customers will forget about you.
2- Choose a Name that is Easy to Remember: Do not choose something that sounds like a misspelled word or acronym. It's important to remember what you want people to know about you as well as what your business does. A long name can be confusing and hard for certain people to remember, be sure to make it easy for everyone else too.
3- Be Consistent: When the name of your company has several different names it can easily confuse customers and damage your reputation if they are more than one thing. For example, if you market your company as Bee's Honey Farm but then put out a new product line called Bumble's Farm, it will be confusing for customers. Make sure your company name is the same across all platforms and word of mouth marketing efforts.
4- Make Sure Your Name is Easy to Remember: Don't choose a long name that will be difficult to remember or spell. Avoid acronyms too because people may not know what it stands for or spell it correctly each time. Don't make customers have to think about remembering your brand each time they see it; let them easily associate and remember what you do by making the best possible choice for your business name and being consistent with it.
5- Seek the Right Professionals to Help You: If you haven't done so already, try to find or hire a branding firm that specializes in helping small business owners come up with names for their company. These people will have an easier time branding your company than you. They might also be able to provide phone numbers and websites in order to allow customers who want more information about your services and/or products to find you quickly and easily.
6- Make Sure Your Name Sounds Professional: A name that sounds professional is one that seems like it would work well for your product or service. It will be easier for people to remember what you do because they know it is quality. A professional name should be one that you can proudly put on your business cards, letterhead, company website and even social media pages.
7- Choose a Name that is Unique: It's important to choose a name that no one else will have. Do not choose something that is too similar to another because it may confuse your customers and hurt your reputation. On the other hand, choosing a unique name can help people remember what you have on offer as well as make them interested in finding out more about you and what your company does.
8- Choose a Name that Evokes an Emotion: A name that evokes an emotion is one that anyone who hears it will remember. This can make you seem like more than just a company and make your customers feel like you are the solution to their problem or issue. A name that evokes an emotion can also make people want to find out more about your business, product or service because they feel good about it and want to know how they can benefit from it.
9- Use Your Company Logo: A logo is a great way to brand your small business because it allows customers to instantly recognize what you do each time they see it. It also allows them to easily associate your company with something that seems professional and capable.
10- Use the Internet and Social Media: If you are interested in branding your small business consider putting up a website. There are several free services that will help you start a website for free, but if you want something a little more professional it is possible to get one for as little as $5 per month. It is important never to just have a single website for your company, customers need somewhere to go when they want more information about what you do, what kinds of products or services you offer and where they can find you. It is important to have a website that gives them all of this information and more. Use the Internet and social media so that you can reach your customers wherever they are and make your business stand out from others.
11- Leverage Online Resources: There are several educational websites, blogs, forums and newsletters that can help you brand your small business. These sites will provide you with many different ideas for names, slogans, tag lines, logos and even color palettes for your company.
12- Ask for Advice: Start by talking to family members, friends or co-workers about what name they think would be best for your business. You can also start by naming your business after something that you like and see if it is already being used. For example, if you are an artist, musician or photographer you may want to use something that is a reflection of your passion. If someone is already using it, you will know what not to do when it comes time to name your company.
13- Look Around: Browse the Internet and check out social media sites to see what types of names other small businesses are using. You can also look into past magazine articles or Internet columns that discuss this topic in order to get more inspiration for what kinds of words to use when creating the name for your small business.
14- Don't Panic: If you are looking for a name you can finally relax and use that butterfly your children drew in kindergarten as inspiration. Take the time to think about what kind of image you want to project and how exactly your company is going to market itself. This is the first step in creating a great brand around your business and ultimately getting more customers.
15- Keep It Simple: Don't try to use a lot of words, numbers or letters when naming your small business. By using only one or two word names or ones with only one main word it will be easier for people to remember your company and associate it with what you do.
16- Keep It Short: Make sure not to choose a name that is too long. In fact, try to keep it as short as possible because the longer it is the more difficult it will be for people to remember it.
17- Don't Use Numbers: Avoid using numbers because they can be difficult for customers to remember. You should also consider staying away from using words like "number one" because it will say alot about their products or services without saying anything at all.
18- Stay Away From Punctuation: Punctuation marks like question marks, exclamation points and periods have a tendency of making your brand look amateurish and unprofessional.
Conclusion:
There are many factors that you should consider when naming your small business. While it is true that your product or service may be what ultimately gets customers, a good company name will let them know exactly what you have to offer and get them interested in finding out more about it. Use the ideas above to get started on creating the perfect name for your business and getting more customers to check it out.