Guest Article
Tiny. Miniscule. Small.
When it comes to business, “small” shouldn’t be seen as a disadvantage. To the contrary, being a small business opens the door for making a huge impact as “the next big thing”.
Big brands take advantage of this newness of locality all the time. It’s how they flourish through franchising. “We’re getting a Chipotle,” some will happily yell. “Our town’s finally getting a Walmart,” others might say. They’ve heard stories on television, seen web clips, and read interesting stories. Now, the big brand they’ve been anticipating is finally coming to town, and consumers already know what to expect.
And more importantly, they’re excited!
This is a textbook case of a well-crafted brand. It’s the result of a perfect storm of sorts—when appropriate marketing channels, creative design, and clear-cut messaging come together. It’s the perception you have of a brand before even purchasing, and it’s what the greatest advertising & publicity firms are constantly fighting to achieve.
However, because of the tremendous time constraints on the average small business owner, building the brand is usually seen as an unimportant “want,” not a vital business “need.”
As most recent sources indicate, the average small business doesn’t make it past 3 years. The fail rate is at 50-80% depending on industry. And with the number of start-ups and individual-driven professionals popping up, that rate continues to climb.
It just so happens that most small businesses also suffer the pains of poorly executed branding. Sales quotas, brand awareness, and credible digital presence of these businesses are usually fractured or appear incomplete by today’s marketing standards. Coincidental? I think not.
As a small business owner, picking your head up from the hustle of daily demands, you want to see the fruits of your labors growing ripe. That internal success is what keeps your business relevant and dominant. But (and this is the kicker) if no one knows about it, they can’t be compelled to buy your products or services. It simply will not happen. If a tree falls in the forest, no one is going to hear it—simply because the act of “hearing” is an experience. The same applies for your brand building efforts. If your target clientele can’t experience some part of the work you’re doing, your efforts are all for naught.
The very best business owners get in and do the dirty work. Yet they know that a fresh set of eyes and a new perspective every now and then is important too. This is why consulting and expert opinions are becoming fundamental to business development.
To succeed in today’s economy, the best business owners need to establish their brand as the clearly credible, vastly experienced, productively positive, community-engaged, innovation-driven company. That company will always get top dollar.
When dealing with clients, we can easily tell which recognize the importance of creating this brand image. It just so happens that they are usually the companies that enjoy the biggest and best successes within their market segment. They know the importance of branding early on, and when push comes to shove they’re able to identify the latest opportunities and act on them. All of this is because they focused on creating a top-notch brand.
In the end, the choice is simple. Take charge of your brand before one of your competitors takes charge of theirs, and blows you out of the water in the process. Stop thinking small, and start branding big!
About the author: Dan Antonelli is the CEO and creative director of New Jersey advertising agency Graphic D-Signs, Inc., The Small Business Advertising Agency®, and the author of Building A Big Small Business Brand, available at Amazon
“Brand Seal” courtesy of Naypong / www.freedigitalphotos.net
Great post Dan! The situation is similar for small businesses here in the UK too- time and resource constraints mean that business owners concentrate on their day to day activities, getting the sale and so on that they neglect building a brand! I think more need to learn to delegate their daily tasks so like you say they can focus on building the bigger picture.