You should never underestimate the power of branding for small businesses.
You might think that strong branding is something reserved for larger businesses, with recognisable names and logos. But branding is both the first impression your small business makes and a way to create a community of customers, making strong brand identity essential - no matter your business side.
A common misconception is that branding is only about visuals, but a true branding process goes far beyond logos. Keep reading for four ways branding can help your small business and some examples of Connecting Dot’s favourite small business branding campaigns.
1. Branding communicates your purpose to your customers
Branding is an effective way of communicating your WHY (also known as your brand purpose) with your customers.
This focus on your brand purpose is what will make your small business stand out from the rest and attract customers who identify with your brand values. Branding is essentially communication - it tells customers why you do what you do and helps tie together your visual identity, tone of voice, brand values, mission statement and business decisions.
2. Branding provides credibility
Once you have established your why, brand values and tone of voice you have an established brand identity. But don’t forget to ensure your verbal and visual identities align - branding should be approached from a 360 perspective to ensure your small business operates cohesively.
Verbal identity
This includes both what you say and what you write. Throughout the branding process you’ll shape exactly what makes your business different and the impact you intend to have on your customers. Focused messaging makes you look credible to your audience, encouraging customer loyalty.
Visual identity
Design is very much at the heart of branding. High quality branding instils trust in your small business and can increase the perceived value of your products or services.
3. Branding attracts talent and investment
As mentioned before, your branding is your small business’ first impression. Powerful branding helps you stick out from the crowd.
This applies to customers, but also investors and talent. Your small business is your passion and your branding should be something you’re proud of and help attract investors and talent who aligns with your vision and values.
4. Branding evolves with your small business
If you’re a small business owner, you know that you have to leave room for change as your brand grows and develops. Effective branding will evolve with you to ensure you continue to stand out from competitors. But your branding should also communicate your business development with your customers, growing a loyal audience by taking them on the journey with you.
Ready to develop your small business’ branding? Get in touch to find out how Connecting Dots can help and find some examples of successful small business branding campaigns for further inspiration below.
Successful small business branding campaigns
AND UNION
This German brewery wanted to put the beauty back in beer cans. Designed and created in-house, the brewery wanted to shift the perception that good quality beer doesn’t come in cans. They designed minimalistic cans with unusual textures and a bold type-face to ensure their beers stand out. AND UNION co-founder told Hubspot that the cans are intended to be so beautiful you’re reluctant to throw them away, meaning the cans stick around in both your memory and your kitchen!
The Tooth Ferry Pediatric Dentistry
When the founders of a new Seattle-based pediatric dentist surgery came to Odd Dog branding agency, they wanted to create an SEO-friendly brand identity. The challenge started with finding a name that appealed to both children and parents, demonstrated dental authority and had a Pacific NorthWest American twist. Odd Dog came up with The Tooth Ferry Pediatric Dentistry and let the fun name influence the visuals.
“The Tooth Ferry Pediatric Dentistry doesn’t just check both the “kid-friendly with a local twist” box, but it also contains valuable keywords sure to benefit our long-term SEO and marketing efforts. We let the name inspire the brand, the brand inspire the site, and all of it inspire the marketing strategy,” Odd Dog writes on its website.
Muihood
Skincare brand Muihood is pairing traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) with modern skincare to create a unique line of products. Their branding uses a bright orange colour which helps it stand out whilst reflecting the colour’s significance as an indicator of good luck and health in TCM.
The colourful visual identity is complemented by clever verbal messaging, centering the historical roots of TCM and the importance of each skincare ingredient with a modern twist through the fun typeface.
Lune Croissanterie
Lune Croissanterie is perfecting the art of patisserie through futuristic science. They recruited Melbourne agency A Friend Of Mine to create a logo for their small business that expressed their mission to perfect their signature croissant. The result? A croissant-tailed spaceship logo.
A Friend of Mine reflected on the project on its website, "the packaging we designed features diecut 'hyperdrive' ventilation slots in a galactic theme (taking cue from the name Lune) which acted as ventilation for the pastries, paired with a subtle glitter print for a further cosmic touch.”
Girls Who Grind Coffee
Girls Who Grind Coffee is an all-female coffee roaster based in south-west England. They source specialty coffees exclusively from female producers and their branding helps convey their feminist brand values. Their verbal identity is expressed through their slogan (pro-coffee, anti-patriarchy) and the small business uses producers name’s and stories on our packaging to create evocative product backstories and paying 10% of sales back to the producers.
