Small businesses have to compete hard to make their presence felt. There are hundreds of new and established brands vying for customers’ attention. So, making a name and place with limited resources is challenging. This is where brand identity comes into the picture.
Usually, startups and small businesses do not have access to sufficient funds to be spent on aggressive marketing. They have to utilize their finances cleverly for different promotional and operational activities. That limits their approach when reaching out to target customers.
But if the brand identity is strong, it can do wonders for small businesses. Static visuals such as a logo, colors, fonts, images, websites, etc., need one-time spending. Then, these identify visuals, such as a logo, repeatedly appear on your products or services and websites. Such visuals continue to engage customers with your brand.
So, first decide on your brand colors, fonts, images, etc., elements, which will later become your business’s identity in the market. Once you have decided on the colors, fonts, images, etc., ensure they are everywhere on your products and other online and offline visuals. Such consistency helps consumers identify your brand. They can immediately recognize your business by seeing that particular combination of colors, fonts, and images. That is why logos are crucial visuals of businesses of all scales.
But you should never randomly pick colors, etc., elements to make your identity. That may do more harm than good. Even if you are a podcaster who creates and shares content, pick colors and other design elements carefully for your podcast logo that visually conveys what your podcast is all about.
So, what exactly is brand identity, and how will it benefit your small business? Make sure that you understand it first before setting out to create it.
What is brand identity?
Brand identity is a gamut of visual elements that make a brand look different and unique. Its logo, color, fonts, and design are instantly identifiable from other brands. In this way, such a brand identity is registered as a distinguished brand in consumers’ minds.
Brand identity is mainly about the visual aspects of a brand. The visual could be a symbol or illustration representing a company and its business. Take, for example, Apple’s ‘apple’ and Nike’s ‘swoosh’. These two symbols or visuals are the expression of the companies and become the strong identities of these brands.
Key benefits of a strong brand identity
After researching the market and target customers, a strategically created brand identity benefits small businesses in many ways. Here is how they grow with a strong brand identity in place:
Look different from your competition.
Modern businesses face a stiff challenge from dozens of established and new companies in any given niche. If your small business has limited resources, looking different in your target market is critical. After all, how would your brand be noticed instantly in the crowd of brands?
So, if your small business’s logo is professionally created and unique, people will notice it instantly. They can quickly recall your brand upon seeing the logo. Similarly, your brand’s color scheme and fonts also help drive potential customers’ attention.
When consumer shops for your products, many are already on the shelf. So, with the shelf having multiple products, your product can stand out with its color scheme. If your use of colors and fonts is not trendy and instead unique, customers might notice the product instantly.
So, when launching a business, build its unique logo, which is the core brand identity of any small or big company. Make sure that the logo stands out. For example, choose a monogram logo if your competitors’ logos are mostly just wordmarks. Decide on the colors and fonts that can evoke the right emotions and give personality to your brand visuals.
But you do not have to hire an expensive logo designer to do the job. You can design the logo all by yourself using a logo maker.
This AI-driven software generates multiple ideas for your business, such as a bike logo based on the design brief. You can then pick an idea to make that your logo.
Build brand recognition and relationships.
New and small businesses have to work harder to expand their market reach. They have to come up with some unique marketing tactics. But the effort to appease customers and gain their attention persists.
A key aspect of marketing strategies is to build comprehensive branding solutions. Small businesses want people to identify their brands as reliable and authentic. Communication using visuals is a surefire way to make good recognition and reputation. Your business’s logo is a core visual that appears everywhere. It is on your products or services, websites, and marketing and advertising campaigns.
If your logo makes an impact due to its unique design, it becomes your excellent brand identity. It then dramatically helps you run a campaign to get the brand recognized amongst the target audience.
Your logo and many other brand visuals also help build relationships with consumers. The relationship is about getting potential customers closer to your brand and its offerings. Your small business’s visual designs, such as logos, websites, marketing, advertisement materials, etc., signal that customers can trust the brand.
Logos are especially useful in building recognition and relationships. When you create a logo, ensure its design is unique and memorable. Such a logo is a great visual asset in helping cement your relationships with customers.
Ensure a solid online presence.
A strong online presence matters a lot for the rapid growth of small businesses. Most potential customers search the web for information and products or services. But online presence is about more than just putting up a website. It is much more than that.
Of course, your business must first have a well-designed website. Potential customers will visit the website for detailed information about your business and offerings. It will also ensure that they are with an authentic business to buy things. Ensure that your website contains the pages such as About, Services, Privacy Policy, Terms and Conditions, and Contact to make it look trustworthy. Visitors check these pages to check if they should rely on the website.
Besides a website, your small business must build a consistent presence on different social media. Your new business can benefit from a log in its initial stage by posting valuable content on social pages. So, open an account on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn to promote your brand. Then, post your brand-related content regularly on each channel to enhance its online presence.
Convey your brand message.
A carefully build brand identity also is a way for small businesses to convey their brand message to target customers. If visuals such as a logo have the right brand elements, it signals the viewers about the brand.
By using colors, your brand identity visuals evoke the intended emotions of passion, love, aggression, calmness, etc., of the consumers. They take those emotions or feelings as your brand message. Brand identity also effectively communicates your brand values to the consumers to win their trust.
So, these are the significant benefits for small businesses when they build a strong brand identity. People, especially target customers, can relate to the brand, which helps grow the business.
So, when you create a logo, ensure you know beforehand about your target customers and how to drive their attention through visuals. Then, ensure that your brand colors and fonts are part of the logo design. People can identify such a logo instantly by seeing it on your products or services and marketing campaigns.
Wrapping Up
Building a solid brand identity is essential for a small business to enhance its market reach. Its benefits for an upcoming business are many. Companies can stand out from their competitors, build brand recognition, ensure strong customer relationships, and convey your brand message.
