This post is by Michael Pollock, the original owner of Small Business Branding. Yaro Starak now owns and produces the latest content for this blog.
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Jason from California asks:
"At what level is small business brand building important. I operate in CA and
I’m working on building a brand, but I not sure it’s going to get me anywhere
without a ton of money. Versus a straight direct marketing tactic. How do you
feel about this?"
Thanks for writing Jason, and you ask a good question. Here’s my take on it. Brand building
is as important to a small business as it is any other size business. But
the reality is this. Whether you work on it or not, branding happens.
If you’re out there in the world engaging with people they will form
their own image of who you are as a business. Remember, you brand is just your logo or name. It’s your brand image – what people think and feel about you – that’s important. Your logo just reminds them of what they think and feel about you.
The more engagement people have with you, the more enduring your brand image will be in their mind. Of course, that assumes a couple of things. One, that
you know who you are, what you stand for and what value you deliver; and two,
that you actually deliver it consistently to the world day in and day out.
The real question to ask is how do you begin to build a relationship
with people who might, at some point, want or need what you offer? How do you begin to
establish a network? You can spend thousands of $$ on advertising and
probably get some decent results if done creatively. I think direct
marketing is a much better way for a small business because it’s
easier to track ROI, and it can be much more personal (see Jim Logan’s blog or Bob Bly’s blog for good stuff on DM).
In the end though, you want to bring as much of it as possible back to
some sort of online platform, ideally a blog (but it could also be a
static website) with an opt-in email database. You need to create a way
to start having a conversation with people and to open a channel for
value delivery. Your brand will grow only as high as the amount of
value you deliver to you network/community. Ultimately, that’s what business is about, value exchange.
Hope that helps Jason, and good luck in your endeavors.