5 Reasons Your Brand Matters (Even if You Are Small)

I wanted to start the year by talking about the value of your brand. Every brand, even if it’s not a big one, has value. It might be small or it might be large, but it has value. Your brand also matters probably a bit more than you might think, especially if you are just starting. Building a recognizable and valuable brand is part of every business, though we don’t think about it in those terms necessarily. Because branding is so important and often an afterthought for new and smaller businesses, I wanted to talk about five reasons that your brand matters.

Branding Improves Recognition

Being recognized is important to make sure advertising is more effective and people are return customers. Becoming a recognized brand, even if just in a single small niche or your part of town makes you familiar, which is one of the first steps to building trust with potential new customers. Making sure that your brand is coherent across all platforms and conveys the message you want to share ensures that you are recognized and remembered the way you want to be.

Branding Supports Design

When you go to start advertising, build a website, or even make a flyer or business card, having a brand supports all of those design efforts and saves you money in the long run. Branding, and the guidelines we create with it, helps make sure future design work follows the same rules and creates the cohesive brand you want. It also saves anyone designing for your company time and effort as they know exactly what your brand is.

Branding is Valuable

Examples of this abound, but probably the most easily recognized one is about Coca-Cola. As of 2016 just the brand part of Coca-Cola’s brand was valued at $73.1 billion (yes, with a B). You might not be Coca-Cola, but your brand carries value and only increases with time and good stewardship. Managing and maintaining the integrity of the brand, and making sure it always is represented well through the business and its employees, will increase its value in the long run. This is also something people look at when purchasing or valuing a company.

Creates Stronger Workforce

If you have a lousy, or even non-existent brand, it’s harder to get behind the company and product. Think of your brand as your flag, many great movements in history, from civil rights to those of battle have had something that people rallied behind. Now, brands are the new flags people rally behind. Creating it when you are small makes it easier as you get larger.

Makes Better Marketing

Branding always makes for better marketing. The key is everything matches and makes sense. When you create a brand you are really putting into graphics, and words, the story of the company. It’s who and why, which makes the job of marketing easier and more effective when you do something. Having an ad with unicorns on it when your brand is gothic vampires doesn’t usually go well (though I’m sure there will be some ad campaign using this effectively).

No matter your size, your brand has value and should be a tool and asset you use to bring more success to your business. Hopefully this list has helped you see some more value in your brand, and see where it can be when created thoughtfully and with purpose.