The importance of business branding for small businesses

Business branding is the latest buzzword to crop up in the world of entrepreneurship. But, what exactly is it? Business branding is your unique selling point; it’s what sets you apart from others. It essentially is your niche. Branding comes in many forms, it can focus on the individual running the organisation or the organisation as a whole.

Having your own brand creates a key delineation from your competitors and is great for marketing purposes. Think of Instagram marketers- their success purely relies on their unique brand; how they portray themselves and their own focus. Their audience is driven to follow and engage with them based on the uniqueness of what they offer. As an organisation, you need to adopt the same attitude.

Moving from slogan to design

When focusing on business branding, brand psychologists can play a fundamental role. They usually use a mixture of methods such as coaching to cultivate your USP, help clearly define who you are as well as your own narrative; a statement that defines the business, but also use colour, design, and much more to help optimise your publicity.

Brand consultants can get your message out there with, not only the power of words, but the use of imagery and art. It’s a multi-faceted approach that tells a story of who you are. It’s about sharing your story to the world and using much more than just words to do this. It encompasses words, design, and colour.

Without branding, you can only compete on price. Personal branding allows you to stand out from your competitors and gain the attention of your core audience. Psychology is key- we like attractive things, so having a good logo, website, and branding is imperative. This is what sets you apart from others.

Colours and slogans help your niche audience recognise you and to understand what is different about you too. A slogan shows what you stand for, not what you sell, and it is a way for brands to show what is authentic about them; their values and mission for the business. Good slogans tell a story in just a few words. Colours tap into subconscious positive associations. For example, psychological studies link the colour red with hunger. Now think about the predominant colours of fast food chains. Red. Blue is linked to tranquillity and is one of the biggest engages on social media. Studies have shown that images on Instagram that are blue are linked to higher engagement.

Who is your niche?

Coaches and brand psychologists work with organisations and small businesses to ensure that they clearly define who they are what is unique about them. This is their niche. It’s important to have a unique selling point because we cannot wear every hat and be everything to everyone. There is power in harnessing what is unique to us. So, reduce your scope until it hurts. Advertising to everyone is not advertising at all. Focus on who you want to target and direct your marketing towards engaging these people.

Brand consultants take this a step further by taking a step back. They look at your target market segmentation and use data to separate you from your competitors. A brand consultant can help you find which unique selling points resonate best with your niche, increasing the ROI on every marketing dollar and making your brand valuable in the eyes of your customers. As Bill Gates said, “if I was down to my last dollar, I’d spend it on PR.”

Sarah Tottle, Business Psychologist and Caroline Naguib, Brand Consultant, Infomatrix PR