Comments on: 9 Branding Tips For Small Businesses

By: Mal Maher

Mal Maher — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 15:12:35 +0000

Great, to the point article. Very well done compared to all the fluff out there.

By: Lee Newham

Lee Newham — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 12:30:22 +0000

Branding is more than a logo or symbol. It’s as important on your website as it is on your business card. And it’s not ‘expensive’. That suggests it’s a luxury. It’s not. It’s an investment.

Good branding (and there isn’t much of it out there being honest overall), is emotive, it’s recognizable and is the first point many have that communicates the values of your brand.

Make sure you use a proper designer.
Make sure you brief the designers properly.
Make sure it focuses on what you want to communicate and make sure you don’t try to communicate too much.

In short. KEEP IT SIMPLE.

We have been trying to get the message across regarding design for shopfronts via the What If Project: whatifsydenham.wordpress.com

It’s not easy. People think design is about pulling the wool over people eyes. It shouldn’t be. It should be about truth.

By: Samuel

Samuel — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 22:32:28 +0000

Interesting article. I’ve always thought that the main thing was having a logo, but you’re right. It’s best to put your logo on print material and not so much on Websites (or at least don’t spend too much worrying about getting an expensive logo on your site like you mentioned)

By: Business Promotional Products

Business Promotional Products — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 11:08:55 +0000

Learned a lot of new things from Smallbusinessbranding.com. The bonus tip #10 was really an incentive, realizing how important one-on-one conversation is! Liked it a lot, its been tweeted!

By: nurdianto

nurdianto — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 02:54:52 +0000

Nice post,i like this..

By: Aaron

Aaron — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 18:19:50 +0000

I know it’s an older post Nick, but it’s extremely relevant still today. We realized that the most important driving force out there is .. people.. as you outlined in your last tip. I was working with a company, and we went so far as to change our motto to “People First.” just because of that aspect. Great post. I’d say you should update it, but there isn’t much to add besides social media aspects.

By: Vancouver Graphic Designer

Vancouver Graphic Designer — Thu, 06 May 2010 04:27:34 +0000

This is an excellent list. Consistent branding is critical to an organization’s success and can speak volumes. Thanks for posting!

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By: Hosted PBX

Hosted PBX — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 18:10:56 +0000

Great tips! I’m starting my own business as well. Branding is extremely important but it is much easier said than done. Finding the right branding tools, i.e. logo, taglines, etc takes alot of brainstorming to get right. However, once perfected, they become the foundation of the business and can help your business take-off!

By: CSPD » Blog Archive » 100 skills you should learn (for free!!)

CSPD » Blog Archive » 100 skills you should learn (for free!!) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 14:55:33 +0000

[...] Follow up: Make sure you follow up on promises and after meeting new people. [...]

By: Donna Price

Donna Price — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 03:56:54 +0000

Great tips for the small business owner, when branding feels BIG and overwhelming. Creating a business brand smartly is important.

By: Skills to Learn While Unemployed to Make Yourself More Employable | Need A Job?

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:42:06 +0000

[...] Follow up: Make sure you follow up on promises and after meeting new people. [...]

By: 9 Branding Tips For Small Businesses

9 Branding Tips For Small Businesses — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 19:06:16 +0000

[...] Read More… [...]

By: 10 Branding Tips for Small Businesses « LimitlessE Branding Blog

10 Branding Tips for Small Businesses « LimitlessE Branding Blog — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 00:30:51 +0000

[...] Read the entire article here: http://www.smallbusinessbranding.com/655/branding-tips-small-business/ [...]

By: Demetrios Tzortzis- Strategic Social Media» Blog Archive » Known By Sight: Brand Image Importance

Fri, 02 Oct 2009 20:28:19 +0000

[...] brand themselves as well, regardless of whether they are the CEO of a huge corporation, a small business owner or the young graduate just starting at the bottom rung of her career ladder. Even the freelance [...]

By: Alicia

Alicia — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 16:12:44 +0000

I enjoyed reading your post. However, I will say I think the logo is important. It doesn’t have to be a great logo, but it should be memorable..something easily recognizable and relevant to the business. I agree it doesn’t have to cost a lot.

I completely agree with Tip #9 and your bonus Tip #10.

By: Joanna Spilioti

Joanna Spilioti — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 02:25:48 +0000

“Blogs are good, but they’re just one tool” I completely agree with you. Because I have to write blog everyday for my company, and I think only this way is not enough for our business.

By: grafikdetail

grafikdetail — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:12:34 +0000

LOL that 1st one is the reason why i hate marketing ppl — just kidding — okay maybe i’m a little serious about it

By: HOT PEPPER

HOT PEPPER — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 17:33:21 +0000

I would strongly agree with these 10 steps. I would say the biggest step when starting up a small business is having a good looking logo, something that will catch the eye. One huge way to be able to put your logo out there is using pop up displays and Banners.

By: lee newham

lee newham — Sun, 17 May 2009 10:29:17 +0000

Your logo isn’t as important as your brand. Your logo is one element within your brand.

Your brand is the interface with the consumer. How you business feels, is like to use, sounds, how your personel act, what you sell or the service you provide.

Your brand is important.

Even small businesses need to consider their branding as a whole and that includes your logo. Companies like logoworks.com create illustrations, not really logo’s. It’s vitally important that your designer/s concider how your visual identity is implemented. So consitant use of colour palettes, typefaces, layouts and a whole brand armoury are important. Your idenity should be more than just you logo stuck on everything!

Your logo is often the first point of contact anyone will have with your company. If you want people to remember you, you want your promotions and advertising to be effective, if you want your products to get listings in supermarkets, if you want people to notice you then you HAVE to invest in design. It’s not expensive either.

This is a quick check list for your identity.

1. Is my logo/symbol distinctive and memorable. Ideally you can quickly draw it or is it easily describable?
2. Is it emotive? Does it FEEL like my business. You don’t want something that looks cheap for a business selling expensive watches!
3. Is it adaptable? Does my identity still look and feel like my identity when it’s large, small, B&W etc?
4. How do all the other elements work? Ideally all the elements that visually represent your brand should feel like they are from the same family. From uniforms to signs to logo’s to business cards to the typeface you use on your brochure or website, the colours you use, shapes and the tone of voice for the language you use. Check out http://www.innocent.co.uk for a good example of this.