Breadcrumb

How Important Is Branding for Small Businesses?

Written by

The GoCardless content team comprises a group of subject-matter experts in multiple fields from across GoCardless. The authors and reviewers work in the sales, marketing, legal, and finance departments. All have in-depth knowledge and experience in various aspects of payment scheme technology and the operating rules applicable to each. The team holds expertise in the well-established payment schemes such as UK Direct Debit, the European SEPA scheme, and the US ACH scheme, as well as in schemes operating in Scandinavia, Australia, and New Zealand. See full bio

Last editedNov 20212 min read

For a small business just starting out, there are so many different things to consider. From registering the business to acquiring licenses and finding customers, anyone starting up a new company has a lot on their plate. It’s easy to forget about elements such as branding that may appear to be mostly aesthetic.

However, branding is a crucial part of any business strategy and building brand awareness. Essentially, it refers to the process of giving meaning to a particular company or organization through a consistent identity. Traditionally, this has been reduced to visual identity through elements such as the logo, packaging and design, but it also refers to the way that the company presents itself, the tone of voice in copy and any other factors that give a company a distinct identity.

Keep reading to find out more about why branding is important for small businesses and how you can improve your brand strategy.

What is branding?

Before answering the question ‘why do businesses use branding?’, it’s first important to establish exactly what is meant by this marketing term. You can understand this concept simply as the process of creating a strong, consistent and positive image of a company. This is what comes to the minds of your customers when they hear your company’s name.

This brand image is created in a variety of different ways. The most obvious way is through design elements such as the logo, website or packaging; for example, you should have a distinct and recognizable color scheme that is used throughout any visual presentation of the company. In addition to this, your customers will expect a consistent tone of voice in the copy that is used across different platforms, such as email, social media and on your website.

How important is branding?

You might be wondering: how important is branding, really? In fact, it’s one of the most crucial elements of building a successful business. Creating a strong, unique brand will give you a competitive advantage compared to rival companies, and it can support both bringing in new customers and customer retention. Some of the key benefits include:

You create a bond with your customers that encourages them to stay with you and to make repeat purchases.
A successful branding strategy can improve recognition of your products. Customers will instantly recognize your products and will therefore be more likely to purchase them.
Good branding creates trust. If you have a consistent brand then your company appears more professional, which means that new customers are more likely to trust you and make purchases.
An unexpected advantage of a good branding strategy is that you can improve employee motivation. When you have a consistent brand, your employees are more likely to feel pride and share in the company vision, which is a great way to boost productivity.
A consistent brand means that your customers are more likely to refer the products or services to others. Word-of-mouth marketing is one of the most powerful tools available to you as a business owner, and you can activate this through strong branding.

How to build a good brand strategy

Now that you understand why businesses use branding, it’s important to also establish how you can go about creating a good brand strategy.

First of all, you should aim to determine what your brand identity is. This goes beyond the visual elements such as the colors and style that your logo will have. Rather, it refers to your company’s morals – what are your values, and how do you aim to communicate these to your customers? You can establish this by thinking about your purpose and what value your products or services provide to customers.

When you have a good brand identity, you can build up from there and think about what visual elements or tone of voice are suited to accurately conveying this identity. Through understanding why branding is important for small businesses, you will encourage your own organization’s growth.

We can help

GoCardless helps you automate payment collection, cutting down on the amount of admin your team needs to deal with when chasing invoices. Find out how GoCardless can help you with ad hoc payments or recurring payments.