Not Just Pretty | Building An Effective Small Business Brand

Make sure you have a market

When you start a business, you have to make sure that there are people out there who will buy your products and services. (Your mom doesn't count.) 

Ideally, you want a market group that will either have to buy from you over and over again, or is re-filling all the time with new members, or just a market with money and want. 

In any case, your market needs to know that they need you, and want you enough to pay you. Your product/service can be great, but if the market thinks they can do/make it themselves, then it will probably be difficult to convince them that they should make a purchase from you. And if the market refuses to believe that your service is as important as you think it is, then that can also make sales difficult.

Web design trends for 2009

Want to make your website look modern and up-to-date? Here's an article that talks about the top web design trends.

http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/01/14/web-design-trends-for-2009/

Some of these are pretty fancy, but there are a lot of ideas here that small businesses can use to make a stylish website. 

Refresh your website with a new background

If your website is looking a bit stale, but it's not yet time to invest in a complete redesign (and all the work, strategy, and writing that goes with that), you can make some small changes to your site that make a big difference.

One of the easiest things to change is your page background. If your site does not extend all the way to the edge of the page, then you can just go into the main BODY tag in your HTML and either change your background color, or add a background pattern image that will add some visual interest. Just make that quick change to every page of your site and you're set.

Here are a couple of examples of background patterns being used on websites:

The blue bubbles at http://www.uplevelstrategies.com/

The green diamonds at http://www.elf-design.com/ 

Is Your Business Ready for A Logo?

You're just starting your business. Opening a bank account, getting a business license, and setting up your office are top priorities. And, of course, the question of stationery and marketing comes up. If you're starting a business, you need business cards. And probably stationery. And a website. All this means you need to design a logo immediately, right?

Maybe. But maybe not.

A lot of small businesses start out with one vision, but by the time they really start rolling, things may have changed. Services or products may wind up being modified to better match customers' wants or needs. New product and service lines may get developed. You may discover, after you start making sales and talking to customers, that you're doing things in a revolutionary way. You may be serving a different type of client than you'd originally envisioned—or solving a problem you didn't expect to encounter for those clients.

Any of these factors can play a major role in your logo and brand design.

Starting out your business with your logo, stationery, and marketing materials all perfectly designed can certainly jumpstart your brand building process. But the key word here is "perfectly." If your business is in the very beginning phase, you may not have had enough practice running it to know what it is really all about, so you can't use that information to design the perfect brand.

Here are questions you can ask yourself to determine if you're prepared to create your logo:

1. Do you have a solid plan that lays out exactly what you're going to do in your business? If you've only sketched one out, or if it has gaps and holes, then waiting until those are filled in will result in a stronger logo and brand.

2. Are you committed to sticking to that plan? Or are you planning to stay flexible and make changes in your business as you try things out? If you're willing to make changes, then those changes may mean that your brand ends up not matching your business—which means that the effort and cost invested in design and printing has been somewhat wasted. You have gained some value from your brand, but you have to do everything all over again.

3. Can temporary marketing materials work for your business, or will they detract from potential sales? How important is it that you get off the ground with your marketing materials finished perfectly? Don't postpone the branding process if it will cost you customers or hurt your business. However, do be aware that if you try to brand too early, you may not design your brand correctly.

4. Have you started a business and/or created a brand before? If not, you may want to take it slow. Branding is easy to rush into, but it's a major business decision. Waiting until your business is stable and established can really pay off. 

If you have definite answers for these questions, then you may be ready for your brand. However, if you aren't sure that you're settled in your business and on its personality, services, differentiators, and target audience, it may be better to hold off creating a logo so that it will be as accurate and as lasting as possible. 

Even your wardrobe can be a part of your brand

Your company's visual brand includes your graphic designs - your logo, business card, brochure, and website - but it also includes all of the visual elements that your clients see.

• Your clothes. Especially those clothes in your head shot.
• Your hairstyle.
• Makeup.
• The interior design of your office, if you have clients and vendors over for meetings.
• The kind of car that you drive.

I'm not saying that you should go crazy trying to impress clients with these elements, but do make sure that the appearance of these elements aligns with your brand message. 

You may also consider matching your clothes to your brand colors for greater visual reinforcement (though this isn't required, and you should make sure that whatever you wear looks great on you).

Business resolution for 2009

I wanted to commit to my business resolution for 2009: to actually enter all my financial data into Quickbooks and get it all balanced once every single month. This year, I did a batch in April, and then just had to do the rest of it all this week. What a mess!

Any resolutions that you'd like to share/ commit to this year? I'd be interested in seeing some other inspiring business ideas.

Make Sure Your Business Card Stands Out

Let's set the scene: You're at a business networking event. The second you've been to this week. You're working the room (yet again), meeting people and handing out your business cards. But their reaction is pretty discouraging.

Most of them shove your card into their pockets without looking at it. Those who do look barely take a glance before putting it into their pockets with everyone else's cards.

You get the feeling that they get home and put the cards in a pile in a drawer or a dusty corner somewhere that acts as their "business card graveyard." Or, worse yet, that they toss them directly into the recycling bin! Of course, that means they never follow up.

After several events like this, with no follow up from prospects you've been working so hard to meet, you start to wonder why you bother networking.

Do you wish that your card would stand out?

If it's time for a business card that makes a lasting impression instead of ending up as recycling, here are some tips to help make that happen:

1. Design a custom business card to match your brand. This means not getting sucked in by free or inexpensive business card template offers online. Design a card that's visually representative of your business, with your own logo and Visual Vocabulary elements. (A Visual Vocabulary is all the other visual elements on your card that coordinate with your logo.) An original, unique card will help you stand out more than any template ever will.

2. Print your business card on thick paper with a nice "feel." Have you ever noticed that some business cards just feel more important than others? They're a bit thicker, with paper that's smoother, softer, or maybe even textured.

Upgrading your paper requires printing with a traditional printer instead of a digital printer. It also means increased printing costs. Choose paper that reinforces your brand message. If you're going for a traditional or even slightly old-fashioned look, choose an ivory linen paper. If you're going for a high tech look, choose a smooth, bright white, even slightly glossy paper. If you use ivory linen paper for a high-tech business, for example, it may look out-of-place and give customers the wrong message about your capabilities.

3. Use both sides of the card to get your message across. The back of the card is already there, so why not use it? The back is the perfect place to put your tagline, a brief list of your services, or information about your products. There are lots of possibilities.

To placate networking contacts who like to use the back of a card to make notes, don't fill the entire area with text. Leave plenty of margin space for those notes. If you use a background color, choose a light color that's easy to write over. To make your card more eye-catching, you can also use the back of the card for a photo that reinforces your brand or more of those Visual Vocabulary elements.

4. Make your card more valuable by making an offer. Do you have a free report or bushels of free information on your website? Do you offer a free consultation, a free coaching session, or even a discount coupon for new contacts? Publicize your offer on your card so people will know what you have for them, and they'll be more likely to hang on to the card at least long enough to cash in. This gives you a chance to follow up with them once they touch base with you. And your card will be more memorable for saying "I have something for you" instead of just "Will you hire me?"

5. Consider a fold-out card. There's no rule that says a card can't fold out like a brochure. If you find yourself constantly getting the same question when you're out networking, you might be able to answer it with a fold-out card. This format is particularly effective in showing samples of your work when people expect you to have a portfolio. You can also use a fold-out card to tell prospects more about your star product or service—to give them just enough information to pique their interest.

The simple fact that your business card folds out will make it memorable. And you'll get that much more information into your prospects' hands during your first meeting. This may just lead to more business or better lead quality.

6. Cut the card in an interesting way. I've seen (and designed) square cards, shorter-than-normal cards, cards with rounded edges or angled corners that are visually interesting and not much more expensive than standard rectangular business cards. If you want a truly unique card, ask your printer to create a custom metal die to cut your card into any shape you'd like. This, again, is higher-cost option, but no one else will have a card shaped like yours, and it will definitely stand out.

Any of these ideas will differentiate your business card from the others your prospects gather. Or, you can combine a couple of these options for a card that's even more effective. In any case, your card will be more likely to wind up in the "keeper" pile than the recycling bin—which will lead to more business leads for you.