When it comes to branding, the benefits are hard to overstate. So it’s almost as though it isn’t a question of why small businesses should brand, but why not.

Branding is all about communicating with your customer. It’s about telling them who you are, what you do, what they can expect, and creating a relationship with them. Each and every point of contact with a customer is an opportunity to grow your brand.

There are myriad factors that go into branding and just as many positives that can result. In this article we will look not only at why branding is a smart idea to begin with but why it’s so important for small businesses in Penn State.

Branding Gives Your Business A Visual Identity

Many think of branding as the visual aspect of a company, such as a logo design or the font choice for the sign. And those things are definitely included in a brand.

But they aren’t the only factors that define your brand.

A well-designed and memorable logo, a catchy name in a user-friendly font, a useful and informative website, a presence on social media — all of these are parts of your brand. And all of them should coordinate to create a harmonious visual identity.

Creating a style manual for your brand and sticking to it across all platforms will help to build your brand and make it instantly recognizable.

A style manual will include everything from a selection of fonts and sizes, to a style of graphics, to your color palette.

Each of these aspects carries a weight of importance for your brand.

Just as some examples:

• 92% of consumers say that visuals are the most important factor in purchasing.
• Web users have two major complaints – font choice and low contrast.
• 80% of consumers believe that color enhances brand recognition.

Branding Helps Your Business To Stand Out From The Competition

The Small Business Development Center of Pennsylvania defines any business with fewer than 500 employees as a small business, though most have 100 or fewer. Obviously, that covers a lot of business sizes!

The US Small Business Administration states that Pennsylvania has one million small businesses.  In a single quarter of the year 2015, more than six and a half thousand small businesses were started. Though Penn State, in general, has a slightly smaller growth rate for businesses than the national average, that’s still a hefty amount of competition for our local businesses.

Branding is key to making your business stand out from the rest.

Just as mentioned above, the visual aspect of branding can do the most to differentiate your business from anything that comes close — as long as you pay attention to the competition, and steer clear of any possible look-alikes in terms of your style manual.

Branding Helps To Establish The Personality And Values Of Your Business

Since branding is about more than just the look of things, there must be more factors to consider apart from the visual, right?

Absolutely.

Branding also helps to define the personality of your brand. It communicates to the viewer what they can expect, not only from the goods and services you provide but from your business itself.

So it’s vital that you know what the personality of your business is before you get into setting your brand.

Is your business warm and friendly? Trustworthy and reliable? Unique and quirky?

Along with your style manual, the content that you create for your website and social media accounts will help to establish that personality. And people are much more likely to trust and engage with a brand when they know and like the personality behind it.

The personality of your brand will also help to establish and promote the values and goals that drive your business. And 64% of consumers state that “shared values” are actually the main reason behind their loyalty to a certain brand. 

All of that adds up to customer loyalty because they know and like your brand.

Branding In Pennsylvania

This has just been a very brief overview of a few aspects of branding. Obviously, there’s a lot more to it.

And just thinking about everything that can — and should — be done can get overwhelming!

Luckily, there’s never been a better time for a small business to brand. With everything from DIY online software to marketing specialists available, even a business branding beginner has a great chance at success.

Author Bio

Emily Woodward is a digital marketing executive who follows her passion for writing via freelance work.