Business Development Specialist

To compliment my recent series of blogs written on the 5 P’s of Marketing I have asked local marketing gurus Hot Pyjama Productions to give some advice on why branding is so important for Small Businesses.  Wendy Riley and her team have been providing their expertise in Marketing both off and online since 1998 they provide much more than Marketing services so be sure to check out their website.

Rebranding is not an exercise to take lightly – the more established a brand, the more time and attention that needs to be given to researching, developing and launching a new brand.

A rebrand is not just a change of logo!The brand ‘experience’ must match the brand ‘image’. It therefore requires buy-in at all levels of the process from all stakeholders; existing clients, target audience, staff and management. Without this the success of the new brand can be compromised.

The naming process:

In order to settle on a new name it is first necessary to understand:

• what is relevant to your existing clients. What do they feel about the existing brand? Do they think it is worthwhile changing?
• what is relevant to your target audience (those who are currently not your customers/clients)
• the changing market place (what the market trends are)
• how your staff see the business
• how your competitors fit into this picture

Small businesses without the budget to commission full scale research can involve their staff in this process – their participation and understanding is important to the success of the rebranding process (they must also ‘believe in’ the new brand). At the same time the business owner or manager needs to take the lead decision-making role. Decision by committee is an inefficient process that often leads to delays, frustrations and compromise.

A short anonymous survey that clients can complete at a time that is convenient, i.e as they wait for their appointment, carried out over a week or two, can provide valuable insight into what is relevant to them. This information will help shape the new brand in its entirety; brand image and brand experience.

You’ll want your new brand to attract new clients/customers so it is also important to understand what is important to these people. This is a lot more difficult as you don’t often have ready access to these people. This is why it is important to purchase or commission research into these people. Without this you are just making assumptions – and we all know the saying about assumptions ‘making an ass out of you and me’!

The design process

Most professional designers have honed this part of the process, however it should always involve you, the client at key stages. There is nothing worse than being presented with a logo at the end that you have had no involvement with. That’s a highly risky process; the chances of you not liking it will increase if your involvement has been minimal.

Generally there should be at least 3 stages to this design process, once the research has been completed and direction agreed upon:

1. Development of initial design ideas, sometimes called ‘thumbnails’. These are unpolished concepts that explore a number of different directions the logo could take.
2. Refinement of one or two of the concepts, including how they would look when used in context. Be sure to give your designer constructive feedback. Saying “I don’t like it” without explanation doesn’t help to further the process.
3. Completion of the final logo and supplying it to you in a number of different file types suitable for signage, inhouse desktop printing as well as high end commercial printing. Be sure to get a full suite of logos from your designer for this purpose, and all the necessary Pantone and process colour breakdowns.

Remember that whilst your own personal preferences are often an influence, what is most important is the preferences of your target audience. I liken this to buying a house for investment versus a home to live in yourself. The first is a business decision – and to ensure success you would apply a different set of criteria to choosing which investment property to buy than you would if buying a family home. Emotional attachment should come second to sound business criteria.

Launching the new brand

The new brand needs to be launched in a planned manner to avoid alienating existing clients. This will involve a strategy for communicating with them throughout the entire process.

The launch strategy needs to combine both personal interactions (all staff involved with the public must behave in such a way that reinforces what the new brand stands for) as well as exposure to the new marketing tools such as signage, business stationery, website, etc.

Continuity is one of the keys to any brand’s success. This maintains trust and understanding – the client knows exactly what to expect each time they deal with your business.