Written by: Marisa Guthrie, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
If I asked you to think of a brand what is the first thing that comes to mind? Is it Apple, or Coca Cola, or Amazon? One of the big global players? Or is it a local brand that you support or have a subscription to?
Words like ‘brand’ and ‘branding’ are often interchangeable with ‘business’ so in this article I am going to:
Explain the difference between business and brand
Look at what a brand really is and what it does
Explore why small business owners need to think like a brand
Simply put branding is how you visually and emotionally communicate your message to your market or audience. You could describe it as your promise to your customer. Your brand falls out of who you are, who you want to be and what your values are.
If you’re still confused, think of it like this; the business is what you do, what you offer. The brand is the feeling you get when you engage with the business.
Consumer psychologist Peter Noel Murray says:
“A brand is nothing more than a mental representation of a product [or service] in the consumer’s mind... The richer the emotional content of a brand’s mental representation, the more likely the consumer will be a loyal user.”
Or put another way, the business delivers what the brand conveys.
For the corporates, like the big brands I mentioned at the beginning, branding is an integral part of their day-to-day working landscape, and they have huge amounts of resources they can devote to branding. So for us small business owners, our brand is something that we can end up neglecting because we assume we have to have to have a big budget, which is not necessarily true.
Let’s look at why branding is relevant to small businesses and how you can build a brand when you don’t necessarily have big resources.
The Myths of Branding
One of the mantras I hear all the time from clients is, “I’m not good at selling myself”, or “I can write about another business/person, but when it comes to me I don’t know where to start.” Among the small business owners, there is a perception that branding is all about having to “sell” yourself.
So let's dispel the myth that branding is always about self-promotion. It's not. It is in fact about:
Congruency – The brand needs to be congruent with who you are as a person/people and how you communicate and build relationships.
Consistency – It needs to have a consistent feel throughout all the platforms, website, social media accounts, actual shopfront (if you have one), who you are when people actually meet you. If it has a wildly different feel, it’s not being consistent.
Establishing credibility – You are an expert in what you do and people feel secure because you have credibility. Use this to build trust.
Sharing common values – When we come together around shared values, real magic happens, as people feel understood because they know they are with like-minded people. They feel safe and they feel heard. This is how you build trust and influence how people talk about you.
Another common branding myth is that it’s all about the logo. Don’t get me wrong, a good logo adds to a brand, but it really is the cherry on the cake, not the cake itself! Small business owners can get really obsessed with logos, which causes a lot of heartaches and ‘Brand-crastination” as author and self-made millionaire Denise Duffield-Thomas puts it.
It’s a distraction from the things that really matter, which is your relationship to your business, your integrity and how you show up for your customers.
So when you are thinking about your brand, think about what values your business represents in your customer’s mind and use that as your starting place.
A strong brand has a firm foundation in what it is here to do and who it is here to serve, and that starts with who you are as a business owner and why you do what you do. When you have a deep understanding of what your values are, why you chose to start this business and what its purpose is, you are well on your way to building the foundation for your brand story.
Your Story is the Key
In a nutshell, it’s about telling a story, rather than just listing facts and figures. Story creates emotional connection and conveys values and what we are committed to. When we tell our story, we might think that we are talking about ourselves, but what is actually happening is that people resonate with the story and will actually see themselves and their experiences reflected in your story. They will learn something about themselves, which will then create that connection and trust.
Your job is to figure out what you can do to create that emotional content and build your brand around that. When we buy things (products and services) we are much more emotional than we like to think, so figuring out where your clients and customers are at emotionally when they engage with your business helps create that loyalty to your brand as they feel understood and heard.
In other words, in order to build an authentic brand that is congruent with who you are, or who you want to be in business, you need to start with a deep understanding of yourself and why you are in business so begin by asking yourself the following questions:
What are my core values?
What motivates me?
What makes me happy and fulfilled?
What are my interests and passions?
What do I want my legacy to be?
As you answer these questions, think of it as telling a story about yourself to someone who has never met you. Explain with clarity what is important to you and what has brought you to this point in your business journey.
I’ll give you an example from my own story. For me, business is all about people. You are the person you bring to work every day so business should be about bringing our best selves to our work. I also see business as a route to positive social change and addressing inequality. If people run good businesses, and create a positive, fulfilling working environment, with happy workers then that has a positive effect on society. I’m here to put money in the hands of the right people and everything I do in my business comes down to this.
So the point is that you won’t necessarily know this actual story when you see me on social media or land on my website, but very quickly you will get a sense of who I am and what I am bringing to my work – what my values are. And if my values, fit with your values then you are more likely to decide to get in contact.
Remember a good brand is:
Unique
Memorable
Easy to recognize
Authentic to the business (i.e. the business owner)
Conveys your message and values
Your brand is integral to your business. Understanding your business values and story may not come overnight but conveying to your clients and prospects what bought you to this point and what your business is here to do is vital to creating that brand loyalty.
Once you figure out how to tell your story, you are well on your way to creating a memorable, authentic, congruent brand that reflects your values. Getting that right will not only increase your bottom line, but also the impact your business has in the world, and deepen your sense of satisfaction and purpose. And what could be better than that?!
Marisa Guthrie, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Before setting up her coaching and mentoring business in 2008, Marisa was involved in running businesses for nearly 20 years. A serial entrepreneur, Marisa has set up several businesses and social enterprises, including a cross-party think tank and a business networking organization for women. She was also CEO for a health charity and a business policy advisor for the local and national government.
Marisa's work closely supports entrepreneurs in bringing their authentic selves to their work and helps them feel comfortable in their professional identity and business brand. Her mission is for small business owners to do business differently.
