First 5 Steps In Branding Your Business
Contributors: Angelo Zammit & Ami Pancholi are regulars on the Radio Talk Show Price of Business & Co-Founders of the multi award winning marketing agency East Coast Loyalty
1.) Think of a name that’s relative to your business
When I first though to open my own business I was so oblivious to the fact that my businesses name was going to play a key role in the whole success of my company. I mean in fact, I didn’t think much of it at all, I thought I’d slap a pretty cool name and logo on a business card and of I would go, not true!
You see, the best part of what my business consist of (marketing) is that you actually have to know what you’re doing beforehand; it’s not one of those kinds of businesses let’s say like an ice-cream shop you can just open and mimic.
I had to go to school before the franchise I bought into would allow me to go live, at first I was angry but once I started I realized how uneducated or ignorant I actually was when it came to mobile or text message marketing.
One of the very first things I learned during my online courses was that the name of my company was the biggest part, as far as search engine optimization and how people or our customers would find us and know what it is we actually offer as a business and to whom we offer it to.
I always recommend startups to picture a business like a person, first step is your identity, and the rest (personality) is developed over time.
2.) Get on every local business listing site, directory, social site, review site etc.
You have to imagine how hard it is and will be to start a new business, especially when anything you can think of has already been done and is being done as you read this article. The only way to compete is to outclass or outdo your competition.
I can guarantee 90% of your competitors either don’t know how to market themselves online or are just too busy or lazy to care. That gives you the advantage and opportunity to showcase your talent and work in your industry to potential customers. It also gives you power to brand or market yourself as a company who understands what it means to interact and engage with the people.
Think about it like this, people go where their trust and loyalty lies and that’s usually with what and whom is familiar to them. Seeing your logo and promotions etc. over and over eventually becomes embedded in their minds, thus creating a sense of trust, it’s simply common sense to be honest.
3.) Join your local chambers of commerce
I strongly recommend this one to any business new or old. Joining commerce puts you in a position to meet likeminded individuals and entrepreneurs like yourself who can offer a lot of guidance. These are now your peers, linking yourself to your local business community can create so much opportunity to sell and pitch your services or products. Plus you never know, you might end up meeting the right person who
can take you and your business to the next level. We all need people, nobody can do it alone, and “Rome wasn’t built in a day” after all.
4.) Build a really clean mobile friendly and easy to navigate website
Your website is your businesses identity in a real life form so to speak, it is the only way for people searching via web to find you and know what it is you do and if what you’re selling is in fact what they are in need of.
Your website should be as detailed as possible and in lament terms so the readers can follow along. Using your industries terminology can sometimes lose the readers. So if possible or unless it’s absolute, try to use as simple context as possible.
Make sure all your social sites etc. are linked to your website so when customers visit they have a way to follow you on other platforms they use daily. This is a great way to build strong followers who can potentially become your future marketers free of charge, just because they like what you are selling or do for work.
Always be sure to leave your updated contact information on a contact page (usually the last page on a website). I cannot tell you how many times I have visited a website and their contact info like email, phone number etc. was incorrect. This sets a terrible precedence and shows me you could care less for your businesses reputation or me as a customer.
One last tip is your websites upload time and this is a crucial element when it comes to visitor’s leaving your page before they ever see what you offer. People will leave a website within moments if it does not load within 2 seconds. Today people are so used to instant gratification via web they lose interest extremely fast. My suggestion is to find a really good hosting company like go daddy.
5.) Throw a grand opening and meet the people (they are your future)
Now this is tricky depending on what it is you do, some of us are a b2b not a b2c business, but even then we have to get out there and shake hands with the locals. This is a great way to let people know the face behind the brand, the owners or founders. Like I said before, shaking hands with the right people can be life altering when it comes to business.
These are the people we see every day, the townies as I like to call them, we always support our own. Every success story starts from within, so why would business be any different? Nobody will support you if you don’t support them, be proud of your community and do all you can to become part of it.
They are now your family; these very people will be responsible for your kid’s college tuition, mortgage payment, car payment etc. So you own them a little bit of respect and love, be grateful, humble and always give back, karma has a funny way of repaying us, weather good or bad.
