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THIS WEEK
Integrating your Small Business Branding
ALSO IN THIS EDITION
| Integrating your Small Business Branding |
Recently I have experienced two different small businesses. Both have been in business similar amounts of time and yet they have followed two totally different paths.
One business feels integrated – it feels like a "big" business even though it is still only a fledgling. The other feels ad hoc – it feels as if the business owners cobbled together their business on a shoestring and at any moment it may close its doors.
What is the visible difference? Their small business branding.
The integrated business worked with their graphic designer and marketing company from day 1. Even though they didn't have the budget to have everything done at once, they started with their business cards.
They had a logo developed, colour palette and font selected, key words defined and marketing message specified. They included their logo on their emails and invoices, and had a Word template done up for their letterhead for their letters sent via PDF attachments. They made sure they had a marketing template that they then used in all of their future work.
The ad hoc business (a graphic/web design agency) has by the look of it have had a number of different designers work on their branding. The letterhead doesn't match the website design, which is different again to the marketing material they send out to promote their business. Their catchphrase or USP varies across all the different mediums. Particularly given the nature of their business, this does not inspire confidence.
One of the most important things any small business can do is to ensure that the branding for its company is 100% integrated. Learn from the big companies and check every document and email that you send out is consistent in terms of style, image, feel, language and approach.
 Visual branding
When businesses start up they often are working on a very tight budget and watch any penny carefully. It is false economy not to have a professional branding concept created. Invest up front and you will save money down the track. You don't have to spend a fortune on printing – just print what you need when you need it, but make sure your design reflects the image of who you want to be on the market.
Make sure your images have consistent colours across all media and reproduce well both in print and electronic media.
Create a "style guide" so you use the same font size and type across your business. Also include guidelines for employees in terms of how they are to create their signature block at the end of letters and emails.
Consider also the decor of your business, the layout of your store or office and how tidy or untidy it is.
Also consider the little things like the cleanliness – a good cleaner is worth their weight in gold to reinforce your professional visual brand. (Spick and Span are great environmentally friendly commercial cleaners)
Word branding
Consistency of word branding is also important. Many small businesses create their own website and brochure content. If you can't afford a copywriter to help you put your business into its best light, then at least pay for a professional editor to check your spelling and grammar. Poor sentence construction costs you customers – people do notice!
As your budget situation improves, pay for a professional copywriter to review or redraft your content. The difference in terms of customer conversions and page ranking on search engines for your website pays for itself.
Your copywriter will work with you to ensure that the feel of your business is reflected in the words you use. Is your business hip and funky, traditional or alternative? What is unique about you and your business? The language used needs to reflect who you are and what you bring to the world.
Each business also has core keywords that need to be reflected in their content. This is not just for search engines, but to also convey the uniqueness of the business. What are your business keywords?
Sound branding
People forget that sound also is part of your business. How do people answer the telephones? How do they put people on hold? What happens when someone is on hold? What sounds can people hear in the background when they ring or visit your business? What tone of voice is used in radio or TV ads? Is the tone consistent with your brand? Your sound branding is often forgotten when considering your overall branding.
Feel of your business
One of the most important parts of integrating your branding is how you make the customers feel. Do you make them feel cared for, important, better for having visited you? What unique feeling are you trying to share with your customers?
It doesn't matter how great everything else is in your business, if your customers don't feel great after visiting you, then you need to go back and relook at what you are doing and how you can improve. After all, your customers have the ultimate power over your business.
| HR Tip of the Week - Employee Uniform tips |
Branding your employees through wearing uniforms seems like an easy thing to do. As an ex-HR Manager I can tell you uniforms are one of the most controversial and conflict inducing topics in a workforce. Some of the issues you will face are:
- The natural fibre group of employees hate anything polyester. So only want 100% cotton, wool or linen. These employees are battled by the polyester easy-care camp who don't own an iron and do not want the hassle of high maintenance uniforms.
- Fat and thin don't mix. The uniform you lovingly selected usually doesn't come in a range that fits everyone from Victoria Beckham to Biggest Loser candidates. And if it does, the people will complain it doesn't look good on them.
- Religious needs must be considered. Your uniform must be able to be worn by people of different religious beliefs. After working with women of the Muslim faith, this is not as easy as it sounds. Make sure you are not indirectly discriminating against any existing or potential employees and factor this into your uniform design.
- Then there's the pregnant employees. Employees who become pregnant need to be considered when organising uniforms. Will larger sizes be enough or do you need special maternity clothing ranges?
- Who pays for uniforms and tailoring to fit? The whole issue of who pays for what is guaranteed to cause a few headaches. Talk with a good IR lawyer and your accountant before finalising your company policy.
- Good style vs practicality. One company I worked with had one of Australia's top designers create a very stylish uniform ... and the employees went on strike over it.
It was too hot for menopausal women having hot flashes and people with a weight condition, which created WHS issues. The design must match both the climate across your geographic area and your workforce. And the even worse news ... whatever you choose will be out of style next year and the style conscious employees will complain bitterly about it.
- Weight loss/gain. Employees gain and lose weight - that's a fact of life. But what about who supplies the unforms to match changing shapes?
- Supply issues. You finally find the perfect uniform. It is brilliant and 80% of your employees love it. It is pretty much guaranteed that it will be discontinued, out of stock or change fabric within 12 months. It is a fact of life - get over it!
- Pleats vs plain front pants. Don't think it is just women with issues. Men are just as militant if their pants have pleats or plain fronts.
- Compliance policies. You need to be 100% clear on any compliance policies for wearing uniforms - and follow through on actions if people don't comply. This includes specifying sock colour - I have experienced one female employee wearing neon orange and lime green knee-high socks under her uniform.
- Managers are your worst problem. If your manager or CEO hates uniforms, then expect white-anting and non-compliance to be the order of the day as they turn a blind eye to whatever policy you have in place.
So is it worth it? Yes - even with all of the fights, arguments, weeks of work and committee meetings - employees branded with good looking uniforms makes a real difference to the image of your company. Just go in with the understanding that this is going to be the toughest branding issue your company will ever face!
A few clients last year told me about Mark Silver, a US Sufi teacher and business coach who helps spiritually minded businesses make a difference in the world but who also need to make a profit.
Recently I bought his "Unveiling the Heart of Your Business" book to see what the fuss was about. I read the book and listened to all of the bonus podcasts over the holidays and loved his work.
While written from a Sufi perspective, the strategies he teaches can be applied no matter your personal faith or belief system. Topics include his take on finding your USP (Unveiling Your Jewel in his language), heart centred goal planning, the heart of money, heart centred marketing, sacred sales and how business is a spiritual path.
He also looks at branding from a totally different perspective - how you brand your business through what a person feels and experiences when they come in touch with you and your business.
I have gone through many of his exercises to help with my goal planning for 2009, and used them with my mastermind group this week with very interesting results.
If you are interested in combining your personal path with your business I certainly recommend checking out Mark's work.
Many businesses understand the importance of finding untapped niche businesses - that is why this Japanese matchmaking service for over 50s is such a great one!
It's not what you do it's how you do it
exuberantly yours
Ingrid
Heart Harmony
PS: This week's Small Business Tips blog also included a great new business planning resource and Is your heart still in your business?
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