Branding - Is it Important for Small Business? Vikki Hankins Provides 8 Tips to Full-Proof Branding

Originally Published by Vikki Hankins at VMH Magazine

By Vikki Hankins|

Branding is a necessary part of any business. It differentiates you, your products, and/or services from the next product or service. Branding builds a certain expectation of a company. If people know you are reliable, professional and punctual, generally they come to form an expectation; if you build a strong full-proof brand your service/products or even ‘you’ will be selected over the next. With that said, branding ties directly into sales and marketing.

So how does a small business or person build a brand? I did it and so can you! I created my own unique brand. And, although I run a very, very small business I take great pride in my work and the brand I have created. Over the years I have compiled a list of branding techniques that I continue to draw upon to help build and grow my brand.

Care: I care about the well-being of any business owner that reaches out to me. I think genuine care is the catalyst to brand building. Usually people can discern whether you’re out for a quick buck or if you’re truly working to strengthen and maintain a company or product.

Love What You Do: I love my work! There are times when I’m completely consumed with my work because of my passion, joy, and fulfillment of a finished product. If you love what you do, everything that follows ‘flows’. There is no strain in what you do for others. There’s been several times when clients, or even strangers clearly see my love for my work.

Professionalism: I cannot emphasize this enough. I pride on professionalism; treating customers with dignity and respect. Old fashioned principles help in this area. If a customer only has $50 for a $5000 service, do not demoralize them. There is a way to share your price expectation without crushing self-esteem. Such things as punctuality, returning phone calls, answering emails, interacting with people all play a role in professionalism. When answering phones or returning calls, put some ‘joy’ in your voice and pay attention to what’s being said. I am a talker so this is a challenge for me, but to offer a service, at some point I have to “be quiet” and listen.

Quality: My skills have developed over the years and continue to develop as I learn more about me and my natural abilities, but each phase of my growth came with quality. I produce quality products for my level and my lane. I don’t place Sony, Lionsgate, or Warner Bros. expectations on myself; I work with what I have.

Graphics/Logos: It is important to identify yourself via graphics. One of the things that I found difficult over the years was for me to get to a place of using one graphic/logo that identifies my work. This challenge stemmed from the never-ending development of my company name. I went from one name to the next as I added more services and met a few bumps about ‘names’. It took quite some time but my company has finally decided to just one company identity and one identifying logo.

Belief/Tenacity: I was once told that I am tenacious. Not being exactly sure what the term “tenacious” meant, I turned to Webster’s dictionary. If you are uncertain of the meaning of certain words do not be ashamed to look them up. The person that told me this was quite correct. I have never stopped believing in my business. When I started on this road, I continued to plow at it, even though I was immensely discouraged at times. I never gave up. I always believe in my abilities!

Research: The very first thing I try to do for my business is research. Research allows a business owner to appropriately set ‘real’ expectations, understand cost, determine target markets, and understand the needs for services. It also allows you to learn from others who have come before you. Research, understanding the numbers, and knowing your areas of improvement is vital to the strength of your company.

Trademark/Copyright: It is a horrible feeling to have your work pulled from beneath you. In order to protect your business name/identity it is important to copyright or trademark your company name and/or logo.

These are just a few techniques I have used to help build and grow my brand. If one stops branding, your sales may be impacted. When I look at companies such as Pepsi-Cola and Coca-Cola, I value the method they use to maintain consumers. Have you noticed that as times have changed their logos continue to evolve? Their corporate branding is ever-growing, ever evolving. We can learn a few things from these major brands!