Jeff Bezos says a brand is “what people say about you when you are not in the room”.
Many small business owners pour time and effort into their business, but ignore the importance of branding. Branding is a two-edged sword. It can be good if you do it right, or detrimental if you don’t control it. Even for a small business, branding can make a large impact.
At the just-concluded May edition of the #FutureFirstLadiesVirtualSeries, Mrs. Ngozi Princewill Utchay shares four steps you can take right now to set your branding strategy in the right direction:
1. Know your differentiation? Knowing what makes you different from others in your sphere helps you develop and implement a strategy that communicates what makes you stand out from the crowd.
2. Write down your Vision & Mission statement. If you have a business plan, then you’ve done this exercise. But even so, revisiting and refining your mission statement gives you a target for your branding efforts. A company that is successful at branding knows its target, and won’t waste time, efforts, or resources on things that don’t move them towards the target.
3. Be Consistent in your strategy. Consistency is key! “Your brand is the sum total of people’s experiences with you – a combination of your image and reputation” – Ngozi Princewill Utchay
4. Be Honest. The best brands are honest brands. It’s important that you’re delivering on your vision and mission statements as well as your brand promise. Branding is all about trust, and the moment you lose that, you lose clients.
