Branding and its importance for small businesses
What is branding and why do small businesses require it?
view-point-marketcentral

In this series, MarketCentral's ViewPoint will dive into brands, branding, and how your business can become a brand.

Have you seen these logos before? Have you ever thought about why or how so many people instantly recognize these logos? If you have, you already understand the concept of brands and branding.

view-point-marketcentral
view-point-marketcentral
view-point-marketcentral
view-point-marketcentral

A brand is a promise. It stands for all the benefits that an organization promises to deliver to its user. These benefits can be functional, such as with Indigo, whose brand promises on-time arrival. Or the benefit can be emotional, such as the trust and homeliness tied to the Tata brand.

Simply put, a brand is born when there is something that sets it apart from other sellers of similar products—something that helps customers to choose it instead of many others like it.

An easy example to take is choosing airlines: many customers today choose Indigo for their on-time promise as compared to other brands. Another example: while many shops sell fried chicken, customers still know and understand that KFC is the 'original' fried chicken brand.

A brand has two components: brand identity and brand image.

  1. Brand identity consists of visual elements. Logo, slogan, or visuals. For example, fast-food chain McDonalds has their famously red and gold M logo, and their slogan is “I’m Lovin’ It.” For years and years in India, MDH Masala has used their tagline “Asli Masale Sach Sach”. Any Indian will immediately recognize MDH Masala when they hear that tagline. This is MDH's brand identity.
  2. Brand image, however, is the public's perception of the brand. A great example is the Apple brand. Every Indian knows the iPhone and understands how Apple’s products differ from other products in the market with their premium value, different look and feel, and a completely different operating system. This brand image allows Apple to create a loyal base of customers who identify and associate with the brand. A 'brand image' is a feeling that even translates to our film industry: we know which actors to expect what kind of movies from, and each of those actors have their own loyal fanbase.
Why do small businesses need branding?

You want your company to be the first one a customer thinks of when they want to make a particular purchase. Branding is how your business can:

  • Let people know who your product or service is for. Is it for new mothers or for people who love cars? Maybe your company manufactures cement and you want to communicate to builders.
  • Help them know what to expect from your product/service. Maybe your brand promise is to make cement stronger than any other cement in the market, or maybe it is to add trendy design styles to your textile business every week. Branding helps you communicate this idea to your customers and makes it clear why you're the best choice out of all the other choices the customer is considering.
  • Create customer loyalty.Every business, big or small, wants their customers to instantly recognize them, their logo and their product. This will help customers talk about your business, to make repeat purchases, and to become loyal to you.
  • Create the feeling of 'premium'. Branding is also how small businesses can create a 'premium' feel. As your brand identity becomes strong, the value customers place on you also increases.

To conclude, branding is how you will create positive feelings and associations about your company, thereby leading customers to purchase more from you.

In next week's ViewPoint, we will dive into how small businesses can start to create a brand - stay tuned!

Read more from Viewpoint:

MarketCentral will bring you interesting business stories and Small Business news every week through ViewPoint. Let us know what you think about this article at support@marketcentral.in. For more, you can follow our social media handles below:

Instagram: marketcentral

Facebook: marketcentral

LinkedIN: marketcentral

Popular Articles
view-point-marketcentral

Indias-first-online-credit-card-for-MSMEs

view-point-marketcentral

7-Innovative-Ways-to-Fund-Small-Business-Growth

view-point-marketcentral

5-Ideas-to-Grow-Your-Business-Using-Technology

view-point-marketcentral

8-essential-to-promote-online-business

view-point-marketcentral

Budget-2023-MSME-loans

view-point-marketcentral

What-is-immersive-customer-experience

view-point-marketcentral

Online-advertising-for-MSMEs

view-point-marketcentral

Key-trends-msme-coming-year

view-point-marketcentral

SMBs are top job creators in India

view-point-marketcentral

Here's How UPI Can Help Your Business Grow

view-point-marketcentral

5 Small Indian Businesses That Grew Big

view-point-marketcentral

5 Ways to Make Your Business Safe from Future Shocks

view-point-marketcentral

Diwali business: Tips for small and medium businesses during the Indian festive season!

view-point-marketcentral

Get Online, Grow Big: Digital-First Small Businesses Are Prepared for The Future

view-point-marketcentral

The New GST Scheme: How Will It Impact Your Online Business?

view-point-marketcentral

In the News: MSME Credit Card, post-Covid revival, and new schemes for small businesses

view-point-marketcentral

How MSMEs Can Grow And Achieve Greater Independence

view-point-marketcentral

Transport and Logistics Challenges Faced By MSMEs

view-point-marketcentral

The Importance of Digitizing Supply Chains for MSMEs

view-point-marketcentral

How MSMEs Can Grow Sustainably With Three 'R's

view-point-marketcentral

The Importance of Sustainable Growth for Businesses

view-point-marketcentral

4 Customer Retention Strategies for MSMEs

view-point-marketcentral

Customer Retention

view-point-marketcentral

MSME Day 2022

view-point-marketcentral

What is Your Target Market? - Part Two

view-point-marketcentral

What is Your Target Market? - Part One

view-point-marketcentral

9 Ways to Make Your Business Data Safe and Secure Onlines

view-point-marketcentral

Why Automating Your Business Operations Can Make Your Business Smarter and More Efficient

view-point-marketcentral

8 Effective Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Website

view-point-marketcentral

5 Ways to Keep Your Online Business Growing

view-point-marketcentral

What is SEO or Search Engine Optimization, and How Can It Help Your Business?

view-point-marketcentral

6 Tips for Marketing Your Business During Festivals.

view-point-marketcentral

Branding for Small Business - What is It, and How to Do It.

view-point-marketcentral

What is branding and why do small businesses require it?

view-point-marketcentral

Women Entrepreneurship and Women-led MSMEs: Schemes and Benefits PART Two

view-point-marketcentral

Women Entrepreneurship and Women-led MSMEs: Schemes and Benefits PART ONE

view-point-marketcentral

Go Digital, Go Secure: What Does This Mean for MSMEs?

view-point-marketcentral

What is Social Commerce and How Can it Help MSMEs?

view-point-marketcentral

How to implement ISO 9001 for Your Small Business?

view-point-marketcentral

Why is an ISO Certification Important for Your Business?

view-point-marketcentral

Updating Your Financial Operations Can Save Your Business Lakhs of Rupees!

view-point-marketcentral

Keeping Your Business Safe Online: The MarketCentral Way

view-point-marketcentral

Best-Time-for-MSMEs-to-start-digital-marketing

view-point-marketcentral

The MSME Tech Upgradation Scheme: What Does it Mean?

view-point-marketcentral

5 Ways to Protect Your Data and Build a Secure Online Business

view-point-marketcentral

Customer Experience: 3 Ways for B2B Businesses to Stand Out from the Crowd

view-point-marketcentral

Diwali 2021: 3 Trends in Online Business, E-commerce Inflation, and More

view-point-marketcentral

4 Steps To Guide Your Business-to-Business (B2B) Enterprise Towards eCommerce Success

view-point-marketcentral

What The Facebook, WhatsApp Outage Can Teach Small and Medium Indian Businesses

view-point-marketcentral

E-Commerce Market in India to reach $350 Billion by 2030: What Will This Mean for SMBs?

view-point-marketcentral

50 Lakh MSMEs Have Registered on Udayam portal. Enroll your business today.

view-point-marketcentral

3 Recent Schemes and Funds for MSMEs and What They Mean

view-point-marketcentral

E-Commerce Market in India to reach $350 Billion by 2030: What Will This Mean for SMBs?

view-point-marketcentral

Amul, Parle Among Businesses That Has Cut Supplies to Udaan

view-point-marketcentral

Covid-19 Second Wave: What Can Small and Medium Businesses (SMBs) Learn From It?

view-point-marketcentral

Amazon is Opening Physical Stores. What Does it Mean for Small Businesses?