Small Business And Branding
I know a man who has the words "Harley-Davidson" tattooed on his shoulder. No, this is not some wacko, or a member of the Hell's Angels. Nor does this guy have any other tattoos. He is in fact, a married professional and father of four, who just happens to like riding his Harley - a lot.My friend is so caught up in the whole Harley-Davidson experience that owning a $20,000 bike and hundreds of dollars worth of "bitchin' leathers" was not enough - he had to have an American corporation's brand permanently etched onto his body. Now, as long as Mr. Easy Rider lives and rides, what brand of motorcycle - and associated merchandise - do you think he is going to buy?
You may know the story of Harley-Davidson. After 80 or so years of successful operation, they almost went bankrupt. But the folks at H-D turned things around, and in recent years have enjoyed phenomenal success.
There never was anything wrong with their products. Harley's have been the hallmark of sport and touring motorcycles since Mr. Harley and Mr. Davidson began making the contraptions in 1901, to "take the work out of bicycling." But almost too late they discovered that just making a good product wasn't enough.
Do you know what saved them from failure? The silver bullet for H-D was world-class branding. They created a community with their brand as its nexus. And based on what my friend did, and who knows how many others, I call that extreme branding.
The Noun And The Verb
A brand is a trademark or distinctive name identifying a product or a company. Branding is the strategy the owner of a brand uses to establish it in the marketplace.
Successful branding begins with acceptance of your product or service by the customer. Brand dominance happens when customers not only want to do business with you, but they become so personally attached that your brand becomes one of the ways they identify themselves. How many times have you heard a guy say, "I'm a Chevy man"? And then there's Mr. Easy Rider and his tattoo. (I'm sure there are female examples, ladies, but forgive me, I just don't know any. Perhaps women are not as easily manipulated as men.)
When customers purchase and identify themselves with a brand, a kind of community is created. In my opinion, the ultimate position in the marketplace is owning a brand that is the nexus of a community - like the Harley-Davidson story.
A Powerful Force For Some - A Mystery For Others
A brand exists as an intangible asset - it's often felt more than seen. But when done well, a brand can be as valuable and marketable as any tangible asset. During a recent visit on my show, Brain Trust member and branding expert, Mary Hessler-Key, reported that some major corporations attribute more than half of their sales revenue to the strength of their brands alone. In other words, the power of branding can be counted on to deliver a significant portion of their sales volume, irrespective of any other marketing efforts.
While that level of branding is an enormously powerful intangible force, it is unfortunately an absolute mystery for many small business owners.
Oh, we know what a brand is. Indeed, we are aware of our own brand preferences and loyalties, which influence our behavior as consumers. It's just that we either don't understand or have not thought about the fact that branding could, and should, be part of our own company's business strategy.
I think this disconnect is associated with our definition of a brand. To many people, a brand is something big corporations have, not small businesses. It's the name on the stadium, or the logo on the racecar, or on the professional athlete's clothing. But placing such a limit on the definition of a brand is like saying only movie stars can have beautiful children. And every parent knows that's just not true. (I'm not a movie star, and I have two extremely beautiful children.)
The only difference in the brands Coca-Cola owns and the one you own is in the size of the brand community. Coke is an international brand with thousands of points-of-purchase available to millions of loyal customers. Tom's Tires may only be available in one location, but there is no reason why Tom can't own a powerful brand in his universe - his market.
One of my mentors once told me that the only difference between the challenges and opportunities of a big company and a small one is the amount of numbers in front of the decimal point. Ford may make what to you and me is an intimidating financial commitment to maintain and extend it's brand, but that's only because of the size of its marketplace, which is the world. Branding in our small business world - our market - is almost identical in nature to that of our big cousins, we just don't have as many numbers in front of the decimal.
I also believe too many of us think a brand has to be a product or service. Well let me disabuse you of that notion. In your market, your name, and your company's name, are brands. Your brands.
Branding Made Easy
Mary Hessler-Key says that a powerful brand is one that is familiar, is special, and has authority. Let's talk about these points for a minute.
Familiar - By definition, a brand cannot become familiar unless you let people know it exists. Making a financial commitment through a marketing strategy and budget is one way to do this. AT&T may spend tens of millions of dollars on branding, while you might spend a few hundred or a few thousand.
But it could also be as simple and inexpensive as...
• Putting your company name, or that of any other brands you have, on everything that goes out of the business.
• Having your employees use the company and product names when they talk with customers, such as, "Thanks for getting your tires at Tom's", or "I'm sorry you had a flat, but one of the benefits of doing business with Tom's Tires is that flat repairs on our tires are free." You're planting little subliminal messages in your customers' minds.
Special - As I've said many times before, almost anything you sell can probably be purchased in six different places within a mile of your business. So how can you hope to create a powerful brand? By being special.
• Make sure you have the friendliest employees.
• Deliver customized service, advice, and technical support.
• Employ the "Baker's Dozen" philosophy: Always do a little more than is expected.
Authority - If you accomplish the first two hallmarks of a powerful brand, over time you will pull off the hat trick by adding authority to your branding arsenal. Once people become familiar with your specialness, they will want to talk to others about their experience with you. When that happens, your brand's authority will have spawned a community of loyal customers who will not only do business with you, but will identify themselves with you. "All my tires come from Tom's."
I'm not saying that otherwise rational people will have your business' name tattooed on their bodies, but they might wear your ball caps or tee shirts. And I am saying that you will begin seeing the power of your brand as it becomes an intangible asset - delivering a certain level of sales revenue, through repeat business and referrals, irrespective of any other marketing efforts.
Small Business Branding Takes Time
Creating a small business brand takes more time than money. The good news is you probably have more time than money, so congratulations. But creating and maintaining brand consistency over time takes commitment and discipline. You have to believe that you can own a brand as powerful in your universe as Coke, Chevrolet, or IBM owns in theirs. And you have to do what these big guys do every day: Be committed to supporting, strengthening, and delivering your brand - not just products and services - EVERY DAY.
Write this on a rock... Here's your branding goal: When customers in your marketplace need something you sell, the first image that pops into their heads should be your brand, the name of your company. Believe me when I tell you that you can accomplish that level of branding power for your small business, in your marketplace, as effectively as any Fortune 100 company can in theirs. And when you do, success will come and play in your backyard.
