You may be running a small business, but are you also building and maintaining a strong brand?
Your initial answer may be ‘yes’. After all, a business and a brand are pretty much the same, right? Well, not quite. In fact, there can be a big difference between the two.
Brand vs business
Think back to when you were a child and you’d run into one of your school teachers at the supermarket. It was always strange, wasn’t it? That’s because we knew that person by what they did: they taught. We knew them by their business side. We weren’t accustomed to seeing their human side. We didn’t really know them by their individual characteristics, personality, or unique qualities.
The brand vs business differentiation is somewhat similar. The ‘business’ is about what an organisation does. The ‘brand’ is about who that organisation is, and what they stand for.
Let’s say you run a small recruitment agency, for example. Your business is filling vacancies and promoting job opportunities. That’s what you do. But is that who you are? Is that why you’re in this industry? Probably not. You might be in this industry because you’re passionate about career development, supporting top talent, and helping organisations achieve their goals. That’s your brand.
A brand is usually a combination of a wide range of factors, including:
- Values
- Beliefs
- Vision
- Goals
- Methods
- Techniques
- Processes
- Tone of voice
- Communication
- Customer service
When all these things come together, they tell your story. And when that story is a good one, people will start to listen and take notice. Ultimately, a strong brand can be your business’s greatest asset.
Why is a brand important?
A lot of people can do what you do. Only you can do it in your way.
Going back to the recruitment agency example above, there are thousands of job placement companies all over the UK. Of course, some have their own specialities, but at the end of the day they all carry out the same core action: matching businesses with the most qualified candidates. And yet, businesses will have their own preferred agency to work with. Why, if they’re all the same?
Because while the business side may be similar, the brand side is not. A brand is what differentiates a business. Especially in highly competitive industries, it’s not always what you do that makes you stand out from the crowd. It’s your personality, your communication, your values… it’s your brand.
Think of your brand as being your reputation; as being what customers say about you when your back is turned. Do you want them saying, “This business does X, Y, and Z”? Or would you rather they said, “This business was really friendly and helpful, and supported me to achieve my goals”? We know what we’d prefer.
Building a brand
Just like building a business, building a brand isn’t something that happens overnight. The first step is to create a brand strategy, and determine your business’s identity, purpose, voice, unique selling point, and more. At Make, we’re here to walk you through the process, every step of the way.
