Not to you but to me it happened to me several times that I have attended a conference dedicated to branding and brand positioning for SMEs finding me the following:
- An exercise ratio words like BMW (sportsmanship), Volvo (safety) or GEOX (footwear that breathes)
- After a video of Nike with Michael Jordan where inspires you to face life as a challenge
- Finally, a SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, threats, strengths and opportunities) with some more examples of multinational
When I go out there I think, why c … I want to talk about branding using corporations that have 1,000 times my budget, an enviable historical and a marketing department 3 times larger than an SME. For once, let’s talk about branding for SMEs. Is it an opportunity or we are throwing money?
Branding for SMEs: What to do?
In my opinion, some branding is always necessary because after all, how you will differentiate your business? You’ll be remembered in some way by your customers?
The biggest problems that have the manager of an SME when these issues arise are:
- As it is not apriority, it never addressed in day to day
- “We have no money for branding”: We have emblazoned we need to budget for an exclusive brand image when it has to be. You can work combined with or without branding spend money just selling such shares
- “This is only for multinationals”: If you want to do as they did. Here we must “play something else”
Essential elements to branding in a SME
Summing long as there is no one department to deal with this:
- Well crafted corporate image: Web, cards, social networks, if there is any physical point … makes a good impression visually does not cost much money
- Proposal for well-defined value: What can you do? Because you have to buy from you? What differentiators your company? In summary this is what you want to communicate
- Creativity: A lack of a lot of money ingenuity to make cheap and effective actions
Ideas and examples to branding in SMEs
Once it located the problem and the necessary elements will try to launch some actions or ideas that could be helpful:
- Well-defined strategies “branded content” on a smaller scale: It is to produce content or sponsor (in collaboration with bloggers) very oriented to your target audience:
- In developing a personal blog associated with your activity: Is very famous case Bere Box with blog Elegance 2.0
- With a corporate blog: Very helpful in travel or fashion topics such
- “Adding value to your prescribers”: If your business prescribers are those that can provide billing you try to be of help for you to take into account. For example, if you need some physicians prescribe your product you can create a monthly newsletter that provides valuable and useful information for the doctor.
- Search internet viral actions: It is true that we must take risks but there are many cases of YouTube videos that got small business brand visibility at low cost. Here I leave an example of an American company that was film with such actions:
- Shares of co-branding with trademarks or related companies: here it is joining forces with a complementary brand that fits your activity, not competition and is in a similar situation:
- Jointly pay any advertising campaign
- Seek synergies in a social media site among other actions.
- Organization of thematic events that reinforce your brand newspapers: usually happens in the early years is difficult to see the feedback but eventually relate that event attendees with your brand and open new business opportunities.