Branding for Small Business
Sanchai Thiewprasertkul
September 2007
1
Know What is Branding!

Branding is the process of creating a clear, distinctive and
durable perceptions in the minds of consumers.



Technique of branding include association of a company with:









Most people associate branding with big company
Small company can also use branding technique with great
rewards
Logos
Distinctive colors
Slogan, musical jingle
Unusual qualities and product uniqueness
Packaging
Mascots
Memorable name
Behavioral incidences and hallmarks
Brand strategy must be a vibrant interaction between you and
your target market
2
Why Branding Pays Off?

Time, money and efforts spent on branding comes
back when the process is done intelligently because
of things that it create:




Memorability: It is easier to remember the branded company
than the non branded one.
Loyalty: With positive experience with a memorable brand,
they are more likely to repeat buying, and less likely to go
for competing brands
Familiarity: Familiarity create liking and this makes even
non-customers to recommend a brand they know
Premium Image and Premium Price: Brand can take you out
of becoming commodity and price competition. Customers
are willing to pay more for a well known brand
3
Why Branding Pays Off?




Extensionability: Ability to expand a well-known
brand to cover a new category, product, service,
or locations
Greater company equity: A powerful brand means
that you can get more money from your company
when you decide to sell it
Lower marketing expense: Once a brand has been
created, you get more payback for every Bath you
use afterwards.
Lower risk and greater confident for consumers:
People tends to buy from a well-known company
over a no-name one
4
Building a Brand: The Decisive Edge for
Your Small Business

Building a brand is one of the most important
things a small business will do:


Marketing doesn’t happen without a brand and
sales
We have already have a brand whether you know
it or not!



A brand started when we open doors and sold our first
product or service
People who contact your company has experienced your
brand and formed an opinion about your business
Brand reputation is being formed and your firm’s future
is being determined!
5
Building a Brand: The Decisive Edge for
Your Small Business

The important question is: What do they
think of you, and how it affect your sales?




If you cannot answer this question, you have no
control of your brand!
Without control, your business is at the mercy of
your competitors and other unseen forces in the
market
Your company will lose because you choose not
to play the branding game!
Profitable companies understand how to
build a winning brand!
6
Building a Brand That Wins Sales!


It takes hard work, planning, execution and
control to build a brand
Branding does have direct influence on
building sales!




Branding is not merely creating image
Branding create reputation
Reputation is often the first interaction of buyers
and our company
Branding create TRUST, and trust create sales!
7
Building a Brand That Wins Sales!

To build brand, we must rely on these five reputation
building benefits:






A quality of product or services
Product and services that are available when customers
need them
Honesty and make it easy for customers to do business
with our company
Friendly and helpful people in our business
Product or services that provides a satisfying result to
customers’ needs
These five benefits are minimum requirement to
make sales and create a loyal, satisfies customers.
They are foundation for your Brand Building
8
It Takes Time to Build Brand!




Look around you now! There must be at least a
dozen of branding elements at work. Mostly it’s
LOGO!
The Branding Game is constantly being played
around you, all the time
The goal of brand is to own a share of your mine, so
when you need solution, you will buy from the brand
you trusted
For many, especially advertising agencies, they think
that brand building is merely advertising



That perception is partially right
The best thing for brand building is REPUTATION
Branding do not require massive budget available
only to large company. You can also do it!
9
Creating Your Branding Strategies: What
Is Your Branding Strategy?

Branding strategy is the most overlooked
part of a small business. Without strategy,
you are at the mercy of your competitors!!!
10
Rules to Turn Small Business To a Big
Brand

Rule 1: Consumer Perception is the key to
success



Whether true or untrue, what customers perceived
about us is the truth, regardless of the facts
Positioning is the key to success
Rule 2: First to the market player has more
chance to win


First mover has more chance to position your
brand into the mind of consumers first
First mover has the best chance to select the best
positioning to win
11
Rules to Turn Small Business To a Big
Brand

Rule 3: If you cannot be the first mover, the try to
move the battlefield!



Rule 4: Focus clearly on your unique selling point



Don’t just become a copycat
Try to create a new and unique proposition that we can be
the first, so that you avoid becoming an imitator
Don’t try to be everything for everyone
Concentrate on one thing in the mind of consumers. Try
your best to be a Functional Brand!
Rule 5: Differentiate or Sell Cheap

If you fail to be different, customers will focus on price!
12
Rules to Turn Small Business To a Big
Brand

Rule 6: Use Strategic Public Relations for
brand building, and advertising just for
maintenance

Advertising is less effective to introduce a brand





It has near zero credibility
It is too expensive for small companies
There is full of clutter that make advertising ineffective
It is a big boy game!
Strategic public relations is the key for success
for small companies


It is credible
It is affordable
13
Rules to Turn Small Business To a Big
Brand

Rule 7: Find a great name for your brand!


The name of your product is what separate you from your
competitors
Find a unique and hard hitting name for your brand. Make it:




Short
Unique
Memorable
Rule 8: Make sure that you are absolutely consistent


It takes time to be clear in consumers’ mind
To often change of direction confuse your customers and
dilute the power of your brand
14
Rules to Turn Small Business To a Big
Brand

Rule 9: Know who are your enemies



No Tom without Jerry! Competition between
brands create excitement among customers and
media. It help the industry to grow
You have to know who are your primary
competitors and fight with them
Rule 10: Be ready to introduce your second
brand if needed


A second brand may be required to enter a new
category or segments.
Use the second brand only when you are a dominant
player in the existing segment or category
15
The Three Energizers of Branding

To develop a brand strategy, these three
energizers must be in place:


Relevance of the offer: our product must contain
an intrinsic value that appeals to the needs of the
target market
Clarity of Brand Message to communicate to the
target market:



Clear and focused message is required to influence the
perception of our market
Be clear and concise with the benefits of our products
and services
Be consistent to create familiarity, knowledge,
preference, and finally trust!
16
The Three Energizers of Branding

The Quality of Your Branding Encounters: Make
sure that positive impression is left every time
customers have brand encounter. This will
resulted in:





Satisfaction
Better word-of-mouth reputation
Loyalty
Higher price and higher sales
In branding, perception is reality!
17
Branding for Small Business is a Process

Branding is a sequential process, and not a one-time
event



For small business, the brand manager is the owner or key
employee
Easiest and most convenient method for branding is WOM
and Referrals
Branding is Required to Compete!


Many small business never reach its potential because the
company neglects to create a strong brand presence in the
market
Entrepreneurs are mostly arrogant, overconfidence, believe
that their product is so extraordinary that people will line up
to buy! Even to the best product, branding is required!
18
Elements of A Brand






Pricing: represent value we offer to our
customers
Distribution: how available our offer is?
Quality: this influence satisfaction
Presence: how prominent we are in the
marketplace, high or low profile?
Reputation: the market’s opinion to your
brand
Image: perceptions of your brand by buyers
19
Elements of A Brand




Benefits: the effect our product has on
customers
Positioning: how different we are from our
competitors
Preference: the customers’ propensity to buy
our brand
Customer Commitment: the ultimate result of
our branding strategy, loyalty is built through
brand contact and relationships
20
Elements of A Brand

Other Parts of Branding: Some vital components of
branding are:










Company name
Logo
Slogan and tagline
Letterhead and forms
Signage
Design of marketing materials
Website
Advetising
Staff dresses
Your facilities and maintenance
21
Critical Branding Questions

Answer these to start building a brand that
wins:




What are the benefits of using your product and
services?
Does your product or service have an advantage
over your competitors? If yes, what is it? And how
does it benefit the customers?
How do your competitors position their brands?
What is your main competitors’s marketing
message?
22
Critical Branding Questions





Do your competitors deliver on their marketing
promises?
Can that advantage be positioned into your brand
identity?
Is there a marketing niche that would benefit from
your brand?
Is your company name and logo descriptive and
distinctive? Are there ways that it can be
improved?
What is your company’s core message? And is
your message clear and focused? Do your
message connected to your target audiences?
23
Critical Branding Questions





What promises does your company make during
the sales process?
Do you deliver on those promises?
What process can you use to determine if your
customer or clients believe you are delivering oin
your promises?
What research have you done to better
understand the needs of your target audiences?
Does your brand have equity, personality or
reputation? If not, can we do something to make it
happen?
24
Brand is The Sum of All Parts

Branding is created from the integration of
multiple components, and all of them are
necessary. This includes other thing such as:



Touch point management
Employee education and readiness to serve
SO ACT NOW!!!!!!!
25