Your brand is the total sum of the experiences your customers and potential customers have when interacting with your small business.

A strong brand tells the story to your customers and potential customers what your company does, how it does it, why it does it and what you stand for.

A well designed brand also establishes trust and credibility, which are the ultimate foundations of your brand. Your brand lives in the hearts and minds of your customers. You don’t actually own your brand, your customers do. You’re just the caretaker making sure its always presented the way they’ve come accustomed to seeing and feeling it. The images you share, the messages you post on your website, how you answer the phone and customer support, the content of your marketing comms, and the way you post on social media.

So, how can a small business like yours develop an awesome brand on shoestring budget?

Here’s our 10 tips to help get the ball rolling:

1.BE YOU-NIQUE

One of the best known and icon brands of the era – Apple – went through a re-birth after it launched, in 1997, an innovative campaign inviting people to “Think Different”. Apple’s products today are “perceived” to be better designed, more intuitive, better fun, and more reliable than their competitors. So, what makes your small business unique amongst your competitors? Who are you? What’s your story, and what do you do that others in your industry don’t do? How you get it done and how do you communicate that? and lastly, Why do you do what you do? In short, there’s 4 main questions you should ask to create your unique place in the small business landscape.

2. GROW YOUR TRIBE

Most of the world’s best brands spend modest sums on advertising. They also spend a lot of money investing in growing their communities and building raving groups of fans of their product / service. There’s a great book by Douglas Atkin - “The Culting of Brands - Turn Your Customers into True Believers” which explains how creating a loving and loyal brand fan base builds strength for a companies brand. Small businesses that understand that when people trust a brand’s community, they’ll extend that trust to the brand.

Small businesses have many opportunities to build online and offline communities. For example, online you can build a thriving community on Instagram, Facebook, your small business YouTube vlog or any other social network where your people hang out. Remember you can’t be in all places at once, so pick one or two places you can focus building your community, and invest your time and resources there. Find your tribe, then love on them.

3. BUILD IT AND THEY WILL COME

You can have a great looking and sounding brand on paper, however if you don’t have a product or service offering to match your brand efforts and strength will go down the drain. FAST.

Some companies are guilty of stopping to build great products and services when they became successful. BIG mistake. Remember Nokia? In 2008, Nokia was the world’s ninth most valuable brand, however in 2011, Nokia slipped to 81st and over the the years fell even further. Even the strongest brand will suffer if it creates average or below average products or services its customers have come to expect.

4. BE MEMORABLE.

Think of a brand you remember… You’ll either recall a unique name or look that resonates with you. Brand recognition usually starts with the name of your business. Your name will normally appear on your business stationery, website, social media, promotional materials, products, and pretty much everywhere in print and online to identify your company or your company’s products and/or services. You’ll also need to answer the phone, and verbally communicate it with others, so make sure it not only looks good, but its east to say.

There are so many ways to create an awesome brand, and it all starts with having a memorable and unique name that people will remember.

Pro tip : If you’re developing a new name, make sure it can be registered. Domains, Social Media account - ie. Instagram Handle, Facebook Pages, Twitter handle etc. We have seen so many businesses go down the branding path only to find out they cant register websites, or social media accounts (or versions there of) that work for them.

It’s also not enough to have a recognisable name. Small businesses sometimes associate “brands” with their company logo. When developing your corporate logo, keep your audience and products/services in mind as you want it to be relatable and engaging with your target audience. A well-designed and thought out logo builds trust will help to pull your brand together to communicate your overall brand to the world. Think about how you feel when you see just the Apple, Nike, Mercedes-Benz or Corona Logo. Each has a different personality, and target demographic. So, how do you want people to feel when they see your small business logo?

5. YOU’RE THE VOICE - UNDERSTAND IT

What you say is important, however what’s even more important is HOW YOU SAY IT. Your small business’s “voice” is the branding language and personality you and your employees will use to deliver your message to your customers and potential customers. A successful brands speak with a unique voice. What makes the brands you admire unique? How do they speak to you? What do you like? Are they amusing? Detailed? Casual? Strange? Think about your small business, and what personality you think will suit your audience best.

6. CONSISTENCY IS KING

The No.1 rule to any type of success in business, personal life is consistency. So many small businesses change their messaging on a whim depending on their audience. eg. A company might be more serious online however on their social media might be more casual. This may confuse your customers and potential customers. To build and maintain a strong consistent brand, every part of your brand should reflect the quality of your product or service. You must also be consistent in presenting your brand in this way. All parts of your must be presented consistently, speaking the same voice to build your brand strength - From your company’s name, logo, brand style, products and services, marketing materials, website, trade shows, to content posted on social media, etc.

Why should you care about being consistent with your brand? You should care, because brand consistency leads to familiarity, and familiarity leads to trust, and people will by from you when they know, like and trust you.

7. DON’T MAKE PROMISES YOU CAN’T KEEP.

Let us tell you, you’d be surprised how many small businesses ruin their relationships with customers by failing to keep their promises. Happy customers who love your business are your best source of word-of mouth referrals. Make sure you are always living up to your brand promise. ie. If one of your core brand values is being prompt, don’t break that promise.

“74% of consumers identify word of mouth as a key influencer in their purchasing decisions.”

— Neilson Report

8. WHAT DO YOU (AND DON’T) STAND FOR.

What brands do you love? Why? The brands we commonly love, often reflect our own values in what we do and don’t stand for. The brands we love connect with us emotionally, and speak to our core values and aesthetics. People love Apple because simplicity is at the heart of everything they do, from their products, to how to book online support with them. What does your small business stand for (or against)?

9. THEY’VE GOT THE POWER, NOT YOU.

Sorry to break it to you, you’re not in control of your brand. You can surely craft it, build it and put it out there, however ultimately how it is received, interpreted and responded to, is all determined by your customers and potential customers. People can become your brand’s biggest fans and ambassadors – spreading the word, your products and your ideas amongst their own networks organically. Spend your time nurturing relationships with your community, and find out who speaks the most about you. Maybe even incentivise those who speak most? What can they give and get in order to help spread the word about your brand? Success small business brands recognise that if they help their customers more, the customers will in turn help the small business back.

10. GIVE MORE THAN YOU GET.

Value doesn’t always mean the cheapest price. You can have best products, most durable, most environmentally friendly, best designed. Value can be perceived in may different way. Apple have the most innovative products, Ikea deliver the lowest pricing because of their operational excellence. Others deliver value via outstanding customer support, or incredibly fast food delivery.

Think about the value your company delivers – you can ask the following questions: What sets your product / service and small business apart from your competition? What value can you provide and how does that value differ from the perceived value provided by your competitors? Which of the benefits are emotional , and how can you leverage these more for greater effect?