What's in a Brand? Only Your Small Business Success!
By Ruth Kuttler, the "Web PuzzleMaster"

Have you noticed how a company like Starbucks® can charge $5.00 for a cup of coffee and people will line up to pay for it? And the fact that a Starbucks® seems to pop up on every other block is a testament to its profitability. Starbuck's success is due to their brand - something that creates a powerful emotional response attracting masses of people who are willing to pay whatever it costs to get their daily cafe latte fix.

This article will help you to learn three reasons for business branding:

1. Why brand your small business?
2. What is brand identity?
3. How to choose a promotion company to help you with your branding.

Why Brand Your Small Business

Maybe you believe that business branding is only for big companies - those with extensive marketing budgets that can invest major dollars in branding advertising. Identity branding is every bit as important for a small business. When you brand your small business, you will:

• Stop struggling for business.
• Attract business effortlessly to yourself.
• Attract your ideal client to yourself.
• Not find it necessary to base your fees on what your competition charges.
• Not have to compare yourself with your competition.
• Have people choose you in business just because of who you are.
• Make new products you roll out into an immediate success because of your name and following.
• Have marketing products that instantly communicate your brand and drive business to you.

What is Identity Branding?

Your brand identity is the overall message that you communicate about yourself - it is the concept that makes it instantly known who you are and defines what makes you unique in your marketplace. It includes branding marketing - the consistent look and feel of all of your marketing from your logo, colors, tag line, copy, theme and even sounds, lighting and scents in some instances. It is the emotional response that flows from the essence of who you are, readily conveys your identity and brings you a following.

The biggest mistake that most small businesses make is overlooking the importance of a brand identity. They are so focused on selling their products and services that they can't see the forest for the trees. Business branding is every bit as important as your office equipment, phone system and your products and services - even more important. Your identity brand is like the engine that drives the business to your doors.

If branding your company allowed you to triple your sales in the next year, work with your ideal client, reduce your stress and give you an overall improved quality of life, what would that be worth to you? Do you see that this investment could be essential to your success? Once you are committed to establishing your identity brand, you will need to choose a company that can help you to put all the pieces together.

How to Choose a Promotion Company to Help You with your Branding

Choose one company for all of your business branding needs. Dealing with individual companies for logos, sales literature and websites because of price is likely to produce disappointing results. Not only is communication nonexistent between these companies, the message conveyed by their designs is unlikely to be consistent with your identity brand. Choose a promotion company that will help you conceptualize your brand and integrate it into all of your advertising and marketing products. Make certain that they have expertise in website development and Internet marketing as this will also be critical to your success.

Now you know three important facts about business branding. You know why it is important to brand your small business, what identity branding really means and how to choose a promotion company to help you brand your business. Once you implement this very important strategy, you will be well on your way to growing a highly successful and profitable business through your brand.

© 2008 Web PuzzleMaster, LLC, Ruth Kuttler, the Web PuzzleMaster, All rights reserved.

Consultant, design and marketing specialist, Ruth Kuttler, “the Web PuzzleMaster,” is the creator of “Winning Marketing Secrets” E-zine. Get her FREE SPECIAL REPORT, “10 Simple Secrets for Making your Website into a Selling Machine!” at www.WebPuzzleMaster.com. You are welcome to ‘reprint’ this article online, provided it remains complete (including the contact information at the end), and you send me a copy or link to your reprint at ruth@webpuzzlemaster.com. Thanks!

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