Brand Your Business

Building a brand is an ongoing process for both small and large businesses to develop a memorable identity. Since customers have high expectations of the companies they rely upon for goods and services, it’s important that businesses constantly monitor their brands to ensure they represent the core values and needs of their existing and potential customers. Branding efforts can cause companies to change aspects of their businesses, such as logos, or cause them to add new products and services.

Step 1
Talk to current customers to get their feedback on your business, your products and services and ways you can improve. Find out what led them to start a relationship with your business, and what keeps them returning. Use customer surveys, focus groups and one-on-one interviews to gather these facts.

Step 2
Identify potential clients and determine their impressions of your business. Although potential customers have never made a purchase, their insight is invaluable in helping you determine how your business, products and services are perceived. Find out what would motivate them to buy from you and why they have never before tried your products or services.

Step 3
Ask employees how they feel about working for your company. To solicit honest responses, give them surveys they can return anonymously. Include questions that reveal likes and dislikes, as well as opinions they may have heard from customers.

Step 4
Use all the information elicited to devise a list of brand values that represent the company. These values could include "superior customer service," "cost effective," "environmentally friendly" or "community service." Brand values represent the essence of a company and would be damaging if changed or removed.

Step 5
Work with a graphic designer to include the brand values in the company logo, product packaging and other materials displaying the company’s identity. Redesign existing marketing materials if a current logo or tagline needs updating to fit the new brand values.

Step 6
Reinforce the company’s brand through all activities--from greeting customers entering the store to submitting a customized client order to planning a sales event.

Step 7
Build a team of employees who understand the company’s brand. This means training new employees from their start date about company culture and brands. Use seminars and motivational events to invigorate current employees.

Step 8
Give the business a face. Introduce customers to the company owner, regardless of company size. When customers can assign a face to a company, it helps personalize and strengthen the brand.

Step 9

Set up a system for collecting regular feedback from customers and employees. This will ensure that branding remains consistent with company direction and customer needs.

Things Needed

Survey
Graphic designer
Logo

References (6)

Resources (4)

Photo Credits

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Easy Tips and Ideas to Start Business

Although anyone can start a business, many people fail because of a bad product or improper research. If you want to start your own business, you can improve your chances for success before you even begin. In order to make your business successful, start strong and make sure that your idea will hold out for the long haul.

Have a Good Product

Ensure that you plan to sell something useful. Although you may think that your product is important or special, that doesn't mean the general public will agree. Ask friends, family and strangers what they think of your product. If they don't seem that interested, ask them why. With their suggestions, you can either improve the product or scrap the idea completely. According to Brad Sugars of Entrepreneur magazine, most small businesses fail because they sold a product that didn't have an adequate market. This also applies to small businesses that provide a service. A lawn-care business might be useful for part of the year in a northern state, but it is in-demand year-round in the south. Consider whether people will actually want to use your service and get constructive advice from those not afraid to give their opinion.

Research Local Businesses

Research local companies before starting up your own business. This will not only give you an idea of the amount of competition you will have, but it will also help you price your product or service. If you're looking to start a wedding photography business, you may find during your research that the market is over-saturated in your area. If not over-saturated, you should contact each business and ask them for a price list. Alter your prices so you can stay competitive with the competition in town. Researching similar local businesses will also help you decide where to locate your business location. Try not to start up a store or office close to another business of your type. If your small business is located away from similar business types, this will cause locals to choose you over businesses that are farther away from where they live.

Get Professional Advice

You may know someone who has started their own successful business. Ask him for advice and listen to his stories of how he started his company. You may gain useful advice on the good and bad ways to start a business. Local entrepreneurs can also introduce you to local product providers or advertisers that you may not have met without their help. Accept any advice with open arms, especially if the advice is coming from someone successful in the area.

How to Calculate Business Start Up Costs

Starting a business in no easy endeavor. It takes a great deal of research, perseverance and hard work. While sweat equity will make your small business more successful, you will most likely need real capital to get the business started. Before you start raising capital and/or investing your own funds, the first thing you need to do is determine the total start-up costs.

Step 1

Determine your costs of sales. For most small businesses this means inventory, the cost of raw materials, manufacturing equipment, shipping, packaging, and warehousing. However, not all businesses sell products. In this case, the cost of sales is primarily the direct labor involved in making the sale. For example, to open a small shoe business entails purchasing enough inventory ($10,000) to stock the store.

Step 2

Determine professional fees. Planning your business structure, i.e., limited liability corporation or general partnership, means hiring an attorney. There may also be the need to pay an attorney for help with establishing trademarks, copyrights, and patents. In this scenario, that puts total professional fees at an estimated $20,000.

Step 3

Determine technology costs. Technology can greatly reduce the cost of labor for small business if used effectively. Most small businesses require computers, printers, cell phones, website development, Internet access, software applications, information security, data storage, and outsourced information technology (IT) consulting. If the cost of technology is $10,000 to start, add an additional $5,000 a year for maintenance (hint: maintenance is not included in start-up costs).

Step 4

Determine administrative costs. This varies with business types and may include items such as business insurance, office supplies, product packaging, parking, rent, express shipping, desks, chairs, fax machines, phones, or anything else necessary to operate the business daily. A good estimate for start-up administrative costs would be $5,000 for the first six months.

Step 5

Determine initial sales and marketing costs. Now that you have your product, you need to let folks know about it. Sales and marketing costs generally include marketing materials for presentations, printing stationery, business cards, advertising, trade show events, and public relations. These initial sales and marketing costs can add up to $3,000.

Step 6

Determine the wages and benefits needed to secure a staff. This includes employee salaries, benefits, workers compensation, and payroll taxes. Let's put the cost of wages and benefits estimated at $20,000 for the first three months of business.

Step 7

Add all costs associated with starting the business for a total. Be sure to only include business start-up costs that will be incurred in the first three to six months of operations. For this example, the calculation is: $10,000 + $20,000 + $10,000 + $5,000 + $3,000 + $20,000 = $68,000.

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Brand Your Business

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