Small business branding comes with various challenges since small and medium sized companies often lack the required time, resources, funds and expertise to plan and carry out a successful branding exercise. This leaves a lot of entrepreneurs struggling with the brand building process and end up making quite a few avoidable blunders. Listed below are four of the most common mistakes to watch out where small business branding is concerned.
Mistake # 1
Lacking a solid marketing plan
This is a common mistake that small businesses make when it comes to planning their brand strategy. Building up your brand from scratch requires patience and consistency over a long period of time and while a lot depends on your current financial budget, it is wise to chart out a set of concrete short-term and long-term marketing plans to serve as your guide.
Important to include in your marketing plans are your target audience. Defining and segmenting your target audience in the early stages can help in formatting and deciding on the most effective branding strategy, whether it is through ads, PR campaigns or online marketing.
Mistake # 2
Not owning a website or owning a substandard one
Recent surveys show that 55 percent of small businesses do not own a website. And among those who do, many of them own substandard websites with major usability and credibility issues.
With more and more consumers searching online before making a purchasing decision, it has become imperative to build a strong web presence. Owing a website is the first step towards directing potential customers towards finding more information on your business and the products or services you offer. The second step is to ensure that your website is professionally built and maintained as this will bring in the conversion rates you are looking for.
Mistake # 3
Ignoring social media and internet marketing
The incredible marketing power that the social media platform brings has often been overlooked by small businesses. Social media offers businesses the chance to connect with their customer base and the community of people who care about their services or products. Creating a page on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn and regularly engaging with your customer base can go a long way in creating brand loyalty.
Internet marketing on the other hand offers a wide range of low budget options that a small business can make use of. As a small business owner you can use e-mail marketing campaigns, PPC advertising and SEO to built your brand name and increase conversion rates.
Mistake # 4
Overlooking the importance of e-commerce
E-commerce is another important aspect that is ignored by most businesses. Apart from providing a secure, secure, and hassle-free option for selling products and services via the web, e-commerce helps in establishing a strong brand value and identity.
Furthermore, setting up an eye-catching e-commerce site can develop your company's brand identity by making it stand out as different from a similar crowd of competitors. Choose an up-to-date and reliable web-based ecommerce platform that is safe, customer friendly and easy to use.
