How to build a brand for a small business

A brand is how a business sits in the marketplace. Your brand refers to how customers see you based on your looks, values, communication, etc. But how do you go about building a brand for your small business? 

This guide will show you how to build a brand by doing the following:

• Do your research
• Pick your focus
• Choose your business name
• Choose your brand look
• Let customers become your brand ambassadors
• Be consistent

1. Do your research

As you figure out how to build a brand for your business, you need to understand what the market looks like, including what customers look for from a brand like yours. 

The only way to create a brand that resonates with your target customers is to learn what makes them tick. Take time to learn about your target audience, including their likes and dislikes, hobbies, values, demographics, and pain points. 

Once you understand your audience, start looking into what other brands bring to the market. For example, how do other companies in your market position themselves? Look at their chosen brand colours, communication style, products or services, prices, and so on. Make a note of what you like and don’t like and determine how your brand will fit in.

2. Pick your focus

When you’ve figured out what the market and your target customers need, it’s time to pick a focus for your business. As the old saying goes, ‘if you try to reach everyone, you’ll reach no one’. 

A successful brand needs a focus that you use as the foundation for your entire business. Start by looking at your offering and pinpoint the space it holds in the market. Once you have your niche, you can start forming your brand to support it. 

3. Choose your business name

Your name says a lot about your business, so choose it carefully. As a small business owner, choosing your company name might be the biggest commitment you have to make. After all, it’ll impact every aspect of your business, from your logo to your trademark registration (unique brand names are easier to trademark). 

Ideally, you want a business name that is difficult to copy and impossible to confuse with other brands (like Nike or Apple). You also need to consider your future plans when choosing your name. For example, if you plan to expand your product range down the line, you need a name that makes sense for the expansion as well as your original product.

4. Choose your brand look

When you’ve settled on a business name and focus, it’s time to move on to the fun stuff: designing your look. Here’s how:

First, you need to design a memorable logo so people will recognise your brand right away. Some business owners choose to design their logo later, but you’ll have higher chances of standing out if you have a killer logo from the start.

Unless you’re a skilled graphic designer, you might want to outsource your logo design to a professional. Once you have a design, display it across any print, online, and social media material.

Colours define the look of your brand, convey the feeling you want to communicate, and help you make it consistent. Choose colours that are unique in your field, and that also align with your focus. 

It’s important to consider how different colours work together. For example, black text on a navy background will be nearly impossible to read. You could try using a tool like Coolors to brainstorm colours that work together. 

While a slogan isn’t a crucial part of your brand look, it’ll help you create a memorable brand. A slogan is a brief tagline that you can use in your website header, social media bio, business cards, email signature, flyers, advertisements, and so on. 

You’ll want to make your slogan short, catchy and worded in a way that makes a strong impression. Also, make sure it captures your unique selling point. Unlike your business name, you can update your slogan as your business evolves. 

5. Let customers become your brand ambassadors

While most of the work of building a brand falls on you, having satisfied customers act as brand ambassadors can help you build it much faster. Brand ambassadors are essentially walking representatives of your brand.

Once your business gets going, and you gain some happy customers, you can create referral and loyalty programs where customers get special perks for recommending you to others. You’ll increase your chances of customers recommending you if you also have excellent customer service and build a strong rapport with them.

6. Be consistent

To successfully break into the market and differentiate yourself from your competitors, you have to remain consistent in presenting your brand. Making even the tiniest alterations could throw people off and make you look like you can’t make up your mind. Indecisiveness is a sign of weakness for brands, so stick to what you’ve chosen.

In addition, until you build a reputable brand, you need consistency to help people remember you. Everything has to match, from what you write on your website to how you present yourself on your social media channels. Stay true to yourself to show people that you mean business. The best way is to create a strategy for your brand, which you can learn more about in our brand strategy guide.

Creating a strong brand means you’ll attract more customers and make more sales. More sales equal more income to manage. Financial management can be stressful and time-consuming when you’re self-employed. That’s why thousands of business owners use the Countingup app to make their financial admin easier. 

Countingup is the business current account with built-in accounting software that allows you to manage all your financial data in one place. With features like automatic expense categorisation, invoicing on the go, receipt capture tools, tax estimates, and cash flow insights, you can confidently keep on top of your business finances wherever you are. 

You can also share your bookkeeping with your accountant instantly without worrying about duplication errors, data lags or inaccuracies. Seamless, simple, and straightforward! 
Find out more here.