Digging deeper into branding, to level up as SMEs

This article was written by Dr Elnerine Greeff, Senior Lecturer in Marketing and Help to Grow: Management Facilitator at Derby Business School, University of Derby. 

If you are at the helm of an SME, you have undoubtedly constructed or revised a mental list of bog-standard elements that need to be ticked off to ‘be in business’. 

These are the elements that we think of first when we establish our business or start to grapple with what it takes to become a “real” player in the field. Invariably, as we are ticking off the elements on that list, we get to the point where we think about our logo and name – we want to make sure that it is prestigious and something to be proud of. Something that reflects the kind of business that we want to be. We might even employ a graphic designer to help us sort out the visuals and get the colours just so.

If done right, we feel that the logo represents our business (bonus points if there is symbolism incorporated) and would be appealing to our clients or consumers. Any marketer or business consultant would tell you that this is the right thing to do.

Why then, if we’ve done all that, does our brand not accumulate equity and does it not stand out like the big players in our field’s brands do? Why does it not work for us, allowing for passive communication and goodwill before we’ve even lifted a finger? The answer lies firstly in the fact that we conflate the idea of brand visuals with brand elements or brand overall. Secondly, we stop at the first step of what should be an involved and ever-evolving process of establishing the personality and presence of our business in the minds of our clients or consumers and business stakeholders.

Our brand is not so much our calling card as it is the personality we show up as, in our communications with clients, in our marketing messages, in our business strategies, our vision and mission, and everything in between. 

Brands are there to build lasting relationships with those that we do business with and, as with any other relationship, we cannot and should not focus on showing a veneer that aligns with the image that we assume the other person in the relationship would want to see. This is inauthentic and does not foster true, long-lasting relationships.

The first step to establishing a brand is therefore to get a strong sense of self – to know who we are as a business and what makes us unique. Think not; what do we want to look like, but rather; who are we and how can we show that. Once we’ve gone through the exercise of uncovering that, we need to articulate the elements that signify our personality and that concretise our identity.

In the Help to Grow: Management Course, we talk through elements outlined in Jean-Noël Kapferer’s Brand Identity Prism, which includes physique (the tangible face of our brand); personality (giving our brand a voice); culture (the heart of our brand); relationship (how we connect with customers); reflection (echoes of the image of our ideal customer); and self-image (how customers feel when they use our brand). This sense of self should first run through our business internally (like any other personality and identity, it should start from the self) and only then radiate externally.

When we articulate the elements that make us who we are, we should not focus on the general, over-used and over-hyped traits that put us in line with everyone else; to show, for example, that we are professional or offer quality services. Instead, we need you to tell us who you are and what is unique about doing business with you.

In the modern age of algorithmic personalisation, clients and consumers have become accustomed to hyper-individualisation and establishing relationships with brands who are personable, leading to relationships that are personal. In this environment, it’s essential to tell your story, be consistent in your interactions with customers and clients, (across the board and all functions and interactions) and allow consumers and clients to see your brand as a partner in a relationship, rather than a commodity.

If done correctly, your brand will become a representation and culmination of all your other business functions. It will enact your vision and mission, it will embody your values, it will speak through your digitisation, it will elevate your business strategy through greater pricing power, and much more. 

Rather than a veneer of professional-looking colours and images, your brand becomes a living, breathing personality with visual heuristics that act as a short-hand to what you offer and who you are. Just like any other personality and identity, your brand will keep growing and evolving as it contends with the scaling up of your business – all the things that the Help to Grow: Management Course empowers its participants to do.