It was supposed to be fun in that financially-independent way. Only now, your small business has burned a hole in your pockets, credit cards and your self-esteem.
You feel far from independent.
In fact, you feel totally at the mercy of your next customer. Spinning your wheels on the latest marketing advice that you read online with no results to show for it.
Even when you have a sales spike, your customer retention rate is low. You’re just not able to keep the momentum going.
If you’re like most fledgling entrepreneurs, the issue may likely be that you lack clear direction. But that is what strategy is for.
There is a better way. Of course there is.
What if you knew exactly which opportunities to take advantage of to scale your business, or what advertising medium will work for you? Imagine if you knew exactly what new product or service to offer to your customers?
As a business owner you may have come across brand strategy but maybe was unsure of how to use it in your business. Or even if it was worth it.
We usually associate brand strategy with multinational corporations who sell their products and services by the millions. Yet it is applicable to small businesses too. Think of it as getting to the core of your enterprise from which the rest of your business emanates. Like a starburst or inclining spiral.
Influencing customer perceptions
If branding is about influencing customers’ perception of your business, tapping into the psychology of the consumer to form authentic relationships with them, then brand strategy is about designing it from the inside out.
Once you have defined your brand, it lends clarity to marketing and operational decisions. You’ll know where and how to reach your customers, what to offer them and how to get them coming back for more.
Steps to creating an effective brand strategy for small businesses:
- Define your brand identity by answering these questions:
- Who are we?
- What we hope to achieve – the impact our business will make on the lives of our consumer. It doesn’t have to be world-changing. It just needs to make a difference to the consumer, no matter how small.
- What are our values? These are not traditional values like honesty, integrity etc. Think of what is important to you as the owner and why you started your business. Is it Freedom? Helping others? Improving customer service? It will be unique to you and your business.
- Who is your typical customer?
- Imagine the type of person your business serves best. Write down everything from their age, likes, dislikes, job, family life and what problems they have. Bonus points for defining problems they have that your business solves for them.
- Define your brand position.
- This is the perspective your customers will have of your brand. This is your chance to directly influence it.
- The easiest way to do this is to write down all the things you want your customers to think of when they think of your brand. If you’re the proud owner of a restaurant, when customers think of your restaurant do you want them to think of fine-dining or family friendly? Affordable or atmospheric? There are no wrong answers here. It is all up to you. Make sure you dig deep.
- Put it all together in a strategy framework.
- Write a paragraph for each of the following:
- Your typical customer
- What the main problems are that you can solve for them?
- What does your competitors offer that doesn’t meet customer expectations?
- How is your business different from the competition?
- How will your typical customer feel once your business has solved their problem? This is not the actual product or service features. This will be the emotional benefit the customer will have once they have purchased from you.
- Write a paragraph for each of the following:
This is a good starting point for small business owners in any industry, from authors to zookeepers, to think about brand strategy. Once you know your typical customer, you know where to find them and how best to market to them and serve their needs. And more importantly, you’ll know how to create an authentic relationship with them for the long term in a way that builds trust and that elusive customer-loyalty.
Post sponsored by Intelligrowth Consulting – my consulting business – I help purpose-driven entrepreneurs achieve strategic growth.
