Saying that branding is important would be an understatement. It’s arguably one of the most important things one can to do ensure a company’s success. But for how important this is, many people aren’t as aware of it as they should be. This might seem like it’s dipping into hyperbole at first, but it really is the lifeblood of any given business.
One of the most important ways of looking at it is through product awareness. One can have an amazing product. It could quite literally be the most important gamechanger for any given technology that’s ever been created. But now consider what happens if nobody knows about it. In this hypothetical situation, one won’t even know it exists. This is where general advertising and branding comes into play. This is one of the biggest reasons that one often has to spend money to make money. It’s not just spending for a product. It’s spending money to push overall awareness of that product into the public space.
The mechanism by which that occurs is quite important as well. One needs to consider the overall reach of the effort. You should also consider cost. A new business, in particular, has some additional considerations there. For a larger and established company, TV spots or product placement in movies are the gold standard. However, one should stop and take a look at how those advertisements operate. They tend to be more about enforcing an already existing idea in people’s minds.
These larger scale advertising efforts aren’t just about informing people about products. In fact, they’re seldom about doing so. Instead, they’re usually reminding people of products they already know about. It’s a subtle difference, but quite important.
This idea can be better seen by using a smaller scale example that’s perfect for a new startup. Consider a company who decides to brand by purchasing wholesale t shirts & apparel from Gildan. They’d first begin by creating a general brand for themselves. This doesn’t have to be overly complex, but it should be something that can be easily put onto a shirt.
This isn’t being specifically tailored around a shirt either. The larger point is that it needs to be pithy and easy to mentally digest. Someone should be able to look at a simple image and be able to get the bulk of the business from it. This is really the key to branding. The image or idea needs to rely heavily on simplicity.
This goes along with the five major tips for a successful business. It’s all about staying within one’s means while also having a solid business idea. By going with a shirt design, one is playing into the successfully created brand image.
But beyond that, you can also push advertising in an organic way. People have to rely on luck for a commercial to go viral on the internet, but people wear branded clothing. It’s fairly easy to give it away as a prize. And one can actually build interest in doing so. It’s also a great item to see in online shops. Once the sale has been made, you can also rely on it as a method of continual advertising.
The New York Times itself wrote an article showcasing how important branding is for a business. The best kind of branding is one which fits perfectly into a larger business plan. As such, it needs to have a few larger points in its favor.
This final consideration should essentially bring together the previously discussed points. The business plan, of course, needs to begin with the proper branding idea. This is the succinct statement of intent. This should also be easily fit onto a shirt, business card, billboard or similar restricted space. The point is to tie into the idea that a picture is worth a thousand words.
The next point is to consider budget and how it will fit into the previously considered branding opportunity. Again, any kind of “swag” type idea tends to be a great idea for small business, precisely because it gets people circulating the advertising without needing to simply hope for viral advertising status.
And finally, you need to keep it all in mind within a greater branding system. This is all just one part of any business endeavor. There are quite a few other points to business, or even branding, but these first steps of really creating a brand are arguably the most important for any small business.
