Branding for Small Business

1
Branding for Small Business

• Sanchai Thiewprasertkul
• September 2007

2
Know What is Branding!

• Branding is the process of creating a clear,
  distinctive and durable perceptions in the minds
  of consumers.
• Most people associate branding with big company
• Small company can also use branding technique
  with great rewards
• Technique of branding include association of a
  company with
• 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

3
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

4
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

5
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 doesnt 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 firms
  future is being determined!

6
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!

7
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!

8
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

9
It Takes Time to Build Brand!

• Look around you now! There must be at least a
  dozen of branding elements at work. Mostly its
  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!

10
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!!!

11
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

12
Rules to Turn Small Business To a Big Brand

• Rule 3 If you cannot be the first mover, the try
  to move the battlefield!
• Dont 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
• Rule 4 Focus clearly on your unique selling
  point
• Dont 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!

13
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

14
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

15
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

16
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!

17
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!

18
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!

19
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 markets opinion to your brand
• Image perceptions of your brand by buyers

20
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

21
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

22
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 competitorss marketing message?

23
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 companys core message? And is your
  message clear and focused? Do your message
  connected to your target audiences?

24
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?

25
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!!!!!!!