Why Branding is Important for SMEs

They all require a well-established brand name to create increasing value and efficiently market their services or products. Developing and establishing a solid brand name is fundamental for any business to contest and grow.

The exercise of building a brand plays a significant role in defining your organization in the public eye and it is a vital part of an MSME’s business expenditure. Successful MSMEs traditionally exhibit a strong entrepreneurial spirit, and power that spirit through a defined culture to provide innovative services and products. In fact, the brand image must be consistently delivered and supported by the organization’s values and culture. A well-structured strategic planning process requires full consensus on brand strategy and develops integrative sales and marketing promotion programs which must align with the overall business strategy to create brand value.

The following are some tips to keep in mind when creating value through brand building:

• Plan your marketing strategy and prioritise. Ensure you stick to the plan
• Drive the strategy with the values that reflects your brand
• Know your customers’ requirements better than anyone else
• Translate the above into all branding and communication activities

Why is branding important?ReputationA strong, consistent brand image, which often starts with a well-designed logo will help you in the initial stage of establishing your business. It makes it easier for customers to remember, recognise and recommend you. A great logo should be powerful and easily memorable, making the right impression on your target audience at first glance.
Your logo has to be strategically placed:

• Website
• Social Media Profiles
• Business Cards
• Physical Business Location
• Printer and promotional products

Investment

A strong, well-known brand can help you generate future business, and even increase your business’ value by giving you more influence in your industry. This makes it a more attractive investment opportunity because it’s a firmly established place in the marketplace.

Customers

A good brand will make it easier for you to generate referral business. Strong branding generally means there is a positive impression of your company among consumers, and they are likely to do business with you because of the familiarity and assumed dependability of using a name they can trust.

Employees

When an employee works for a company with a well-respected brand, and they genuinely agree with what your brand stands for, they will be more satisfied with their job and have a higher degree of pride in the work that they do.
They’ll feel proud to tell their friends where they work, will feel more confident having your name on their CV, and have a greater sense of belonging (which in turn will make them less likely to be tempted away by your competitors!).
Branding your workplace and creating promotional merchandise for your employees to use can help to reinforce the strength of your brand and the values it stands for.

Marketplace

A professional appearance and well-strategized branding will help you build trust with consumers, potential clients, and suppliers.
People are more likely to do business with a company that has a polished and professional brand image. Being properly branded can also give the impression you are industry experts and help the public to feel as though they can trust your company, the products, and services you offer and the way you handle your business.                                 

Advertising

It’s easier to create strong advertising (and expect better results from it) if you have a strong brand. Advertising can be as big (and expensive!) as TV, press and radio ads, and as strategic as social media ads, competitions, special offers and using promotional products.

Some of the challenges faced by MSME’s in branding.

• The lack of knowledge in getting started
• Achieving clarity when creating a unique and differentiated value proposition
• Financial limitations
• Having the accessible resource that contains the insights into the industries best practices
• Focusing on aligning the gap between claim and delivery
• Maintaining positivity when handling complaints

In ending this, you will need to remember that you will need time for your brand to gain traction, and you should avoid viewing branding as a marketing function or a tactical approach that will produce fast results. Remember to craft your brand carefully, and with effective branding and value creation, your brand will successfully represent the value and foundation of your company.