Are you trying to smooth out the roller coaster spikes and dips in your sales chart?
Many small businesses could do just that by using some branding techniques. Some don’t consider branding important for a small business, but I believe it helps take some of the adrenal and anxiety out of your marketing.
Oh yeah, small business wants to sell product/services. Who doesn’t. But spending the ad budget to get a lead or a sale is a very short term solution.
But once the product is sold, or the sale is closed, the next week you’ve got to sell more. And if that sale was the result of discounted price, heavily advertised product or single sale incentive marketing, you’ll find it’s like that cup of coffee in the morning… just doesn’t have the kick it used to.
To avoid the roller coaster effect, consider adding some branding into the mix.
Investing in branding is a longer term strategy. It makes sales easier because the prospective client or customer already knows what the brand stands for, the quality, feature and has a level of expectation of service.
It’s less expensive to roll out new products and services when you already have a strong brand umbrella.
It’s like the difference between a job and a career. Branding is a commitment. Advertising to get a sale is a very short term approach.
Why should b2b companies use a branding strategy? Because it’s less expensive in the long run. Every product doesn’t have to have it’s own promotional program and stand like a silo.
More about branding:
- Branding and Marketing Your Business with a Blog
- 10 Easy Elements that Brand Yourself, Your Products and Your Business on Twitter
photo credit: Amy Loves Yah
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
All good tips. And before you jump the gun, take a minute to sit down with a branding professional and have a chat about what branding really means. There is more to the concept than a new logo and color scheme. Make sure you get off on the right foot and you’ll be pleased with the results your efforts bring you.
I agree that Branding can be expensive to put into practice but the long term strategy will pay off as people see your business through the brand. They will either be impressed or unimpressed so be very careful about how your business is run and how you engage your customers either in person or online. Remember the idea of the long tail on the internet and try not to say something that could hurt your business later on. Branding is definitely the way to get noticed as long as the identity that is created attracts the clients you want to find.
Jennifer:
You make some great points here. Making sure that your business lives up to the reputation is something that is extremely important. And the “long tail” of the internet is a great analogy to branding.
Thanks for your comments!
Chris
Christopher:
You’re right! A brand is so much more than a logo and a color scheme… just like a person is so much more than their face (logo) and clothes they wear (color scheme).
Thanks so much for your comments!
Chris
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