In an information-soaked world, it is more important than ever for any business or organization to employ an integrated and focused brand strategy in order to be successful. And this is no different for small businesses – in fact, it might just be more important for small businesses. In a small business or organization, rarely do you have the financial support, time, or recognition in the marketplace to simply “plod” along. In a world where thousands of companies and products are vying for consumers’ attentions, it is vital to make sure you are positioning your product or service to cause consumers to choose you.

Remember, it does you no good to just offer your customers another choice – you have to offer them a better choice. You can do that by employing three primary branding strategies to your business:

1. You Must Be Different.

When creating a product, or thinking about how to market a service, it’s not enough to just “dive” into the marketplace. It’s estimated that the average consumer is bombarded by over 6,000 marketing messages every day. It’s no wonder then why consumers tend to develop habits that they stick with – especially when it comes to purchasing products or utilizing services. It’s your job to shift these habits and loyalties over to your organization, and you do that first through differentiation.

You have to be different. In your particular industry (unless you’ve created the next lightbulb) there’s probably several competitors within a 50 mile radius. More when you consider the ease of the phone and the internet. So what makes you different? Why are you unique from your competitors? What sets you apart that will make your target market pay attention?

Here are some quick questions to ask:

A) Identify your main competitors in your industry – what makes your products or services different from theirs?
B) Why would John Q. Consumer want to use your products or services over your competitors?
C) Make a list of how your products or services are similar to your competitors. Now make a list of how they are different. How can you exploit the differences to draw attention to your brand and away from your competitors?

2. You Must Be Relevant.

As important as it is, you can’t just be different. As I mentioned before it’s not enough to offer your potential customers more choices – you have to offer them a better choice. Your brand must be relevant. Your brand has to matter to the consumer – otherwise, you may have the most unique product on the market, but nobody will buy it because you haven’t done a good job convincing them WHY they should buy it.

Take Clear Pepsi for example. Pepsi came out with the product in the 1990s and it made a big splash initially because it was different. How could something taste like Pepsi but be clear? It was clearly a unique product (no pun intended). But Pepsi missed one important part of the puzzle, and as a result, the brand flopped a short time later. They didn’t make the product relevant. People didn’t care. They figured, if it tastes like Pepsi, why not just drink Pepsi? Or maybe they liked Sprite better.

The bottom line is that Pepsi created a unique product that people just didn’t care about. And it wasn’t successful. In the same say, you have to position your brand in such a way so that people will care about it enough to shift their purchasing habits. It’s a challenge, but a necessary one in order to achieve success.

Some questions to ask:

A) Why should consumers buy your product or use your service?
B) What will make the average consumer shift their habits and loyalties from your competitors’ brands to your brand?
C) What will the average consumer “GET” out of your brand that they won’t get out of others?
D) Why can’t the average consumer live WITHOUT your brand?

3. You Must Be Able to Evolve.

Finally, in order to achieve lasting success, and to not end up just a flash in the pan, your brand must be able to evolve. The first step is to create a unique brand and brand idea. The second step is to define why consumers can’t live without your brand. The third is to develop a long-term strategy for growth that allows your brand to stay ahead of the curve, and evolve with the changing market trends and consumer demand.

We’re seeing this firsthand in the auto industry. With higher gas prices, economic challenges, and changes in consumer tastes, the SUVs are shifting from a product of high demand to a product of low demand. Several SUVs are very unique products. And several companies have done a good job convincing the consumer why they should care about a particular brand of SUV. But how many of these companies will make the necessary changes for the brand to evolve? How will the changing market trends and consumer demands affect the long term success and failure of this industry – that will be determined by which brands successfully evolve.

In your small business or organization, you must think long term. You must employ strategies and initiatives that not only keep your brand in the forefront of your customers’ minds from a unique and relevant perspective – they must see you brand as one that is not affected by change, but rather as one that AFFECTS change. You’ve got to be a trend setter, a leader, not a follower. It may be different from business to business, from industry to industry, but if you don’t pay attention to the shifts in market demand, you’ll find yourself with yesterday’s news.

Some questions to ask:

A) What are the changes in market trends and consumer demand that I see in my industry in the coming years?
B) How can I position my brand to embrace change and evolve during those shifts?
C) How can I embrace technology to help my brand evolve – this can include the web, new media, and social networking.
D) Where do I want to be in 5 years? How can I position my brand now in order to make sure my brand is still different, relevant, and evolutionary at that time?

In order to achieve lasting success for your brand, especially for small businesses and organizations, you must do your due diligence to create a different, relevant, and evolutionary brand strategy. And you must have all three – it’s an all or nothing play. But if you work to create a brand strategy that effectively employs all three elements, you’ll go far in positioning your brand for success.

Quick Tip: When answering the questions above, think in dual perspectives – think from your perspective, and think from your consumer’s perspective. One good exercise is to take a completely unrelated brand outside of your market and industry, and answer the above questions as an owner, and consumer. It might help you come up with good ideas that can then be translated to your market and industry – and it helps removes the bias you may have.

QOTD: How have you made your brand different, relevant, and evolutionary – post your answers below.

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About the Author: Jason VanLue is a graphic designer and brand consultant who lives in Orlando, FL. He is the Founder and Principal of FiveSeven Studios, a small interactive design and brand consultancy that helps small businesses and organizations grow their brands. Learn more about FiveSeven Studios.

Popularity: 5% [?]

Let’s face it, times are tight. It’s hard enough for small businesses and organizations to keep the cash flow going in a thriving economy, let alone in a difficult one. I’ve covered the importance of viewing branding as an investment, rather than a cost, but when finances are strained, your expenses and your investments seem like the same thing. After all, it’s all coming out of the same place right?
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Popularity: 7% [?]

I read an article today that said more and more clients will be leaving traditional agencies this year and in the coming years. There are a variety of reasons for this but it was interesting to learn that according to this study

“the main reasons clients left agencies were lack of fresh ideas (73%) and the need to cut costs (44%)…”

.The cutting costs is a no brainer, especially in this economy, but amazingly almost double the clients have left or will leave traditional agencies because of a lack of fresh ideas.

What does this mean for you? Well, the solution to securing more business might be more than just being the cheapest option on the block. In recent days the current economic situation has positioned many freelancers and smaller businesses to be able to win business from the more traditional / large agencies primarily because freelancers and small businesses are usually cheaper. But this study shows that as a freelancer or small business you may want to extend your focus on more than the bottom line.

Many clients are certainly looking for ways to save money, but the current economy also brings another element into play – it’s more important than ever to focus on your brand positioning. What makes you different, what makes you relevant? This matters more than ever because the markets have been shaken to their cores and customers are rethinking their habits. So clients are looking for ways not only to save money, but also to reposition themselves to capitalize on this shift in consumer behavior.

So as a freelancer or small business that wants to woo these hungry clients, that begs the question:

What insights, ideas, creative solutions do you bring to your clients that others don’t or can’t?

As the results show, if an agency can’t come up with creative, innovative solutions for their clients and instead provide that standard run-of-the-mill recommendations, clients will leave. Don’t let the same thing happen to you. Find your niche, focus on your brand positioning, and align yourself to be able to offer new and innovative solutions to your clients’ problems.

Freelancers and small businesses have an unbelievable opportunity in today’s market – the traditional core of the industry is literally being shaken, and clients are no longer walking down the same road as everyone else. But in order to capitalize on this shift you’ve got to bring something to the table. Clients aren’t just going to flock to you because your smaller, cost less, and are more available than the traditional agency. You’ve got to be better than the traditional agency – this means better service, better ideas, and better solutions.

The work is out there – businesses need your expertise. So position yourself to grow, become an expert in your field, and be ready to offer unique and innovative solutions to those who come looking. How do you do this? I’ll offer three simple tips to discover how you can bring unique insights and ideas to your clients that others can’t.

1. Find a niche – don’t try to be the end-all be-all expert. That’s the traditional agency way. That’s what clients are shying away from. If you’re an expert in user experience design be a user experience designer. Don’t try to be that plus a copywriter plus a social media guru. Clients want results and if you can offer real results in the areas you’re best at, you’ll succeed.

2. Showcase your expertise – whether it’s through a portfolio, blog, twitter feed or e-book, find a way to market your expertise. If you’re good at something, talk about it. Market it. Showcase it. Determine the types of clients you want to go after and position yourself to offer what they want.

3. Don’t second guess or sell yourself short – It may not happen overnight. It may rain, it may pour, or you may find yourself in a drought. But continue to pump out quality content, and showcase your work in the areas you’re best in. The old adage “if you build it they will come” doesn’t always ring true for freelancers and small businesses. It’s more like “if you can build it, and you market the fact that you can build it, and you’re consistently networking and connecting with people who you’d like to build it for, they will come”. So stay the course.

Freelancers and small businesses have a great opportunity to build something new in this market – with these strategies and good ol’ fashioned hard work, you’ll see success.

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