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Mar 7 / 10:30pm

Perspectives on Small Business Branding By Tomi Ogunlesi

Brand

We have a guest writer for our blog today, by the name of Tomi Ogunlesi; a great blogger himself and a serious brand expert from Nigeria. The topic is Perspectives on Small Business Branding. Tomi Ogunlesi is a brand strategist at Bates Cosse Lagos. Enjoy!!


Perspectives on Small Business Branding

By Tomi Ogunlesi

In doing justice to this topic of interest, it is pertinent that we give a concise and uncomplicated definition of branding, a concept which comes from the realization that all purchasing decisions for products and services alike involve a combination of rational (otherwise called functional) and emotional considerations. Rational considerations refer to physical elements of the particular product or service while the emotional criteria sum up the impressions, opinions, experiences and random associations which the customer has logged in his/her mind about a particular product/service. Essentially, in a competitive situation, When a customer is about to make a choice of buying something he/she weighs up several factors against each other to determine what constitutes the most ideal or fulfilling experience. Now, on one hand, these factors are partially related to the performance of the product or service or the utility derived from it( in other words how well it works in comparison to what the customer is expecting). However, it equally incorporates the brand's ability to satisfy other (emotional) dimensions of the customer's needs, be it cultural, psychological, social, etc., and it is these intangible aspects which we essentially seek to influence through branding.

A common assumption by many African entrepreneurs is  that branding always costs a lot of money, since it is thought that it can only be done through advertising and media Most SME owners therefore typically tend to think ‘advertising’ when the subject of branding is brought up, and consequently, and a major mindset block lies in that they’re bound to believe their businesses are disadvantaged (in contrast to well-established global brands, for instance) primarily because of the big-ticket nature of the ‘big-bang’ promotional methods. It is easy to come to the conclusion that the only businesses that are able to build strong brands are the big, multinationals, who have the requisite financial wherewithal to run mass-media campaigns across different channels.. 

To correct the foregoing misconception however, it is a well-established truth that brand building is not done solely through advertising and media. As a matter of fact, it is an assumption that in many cases, lead small brands to think that they have to focus squarely on product and price.

Contrary to the prevalent and misplaced perception nurtured by most people, the reality is that thanks to the revolution which the internet and particularly interactive networks and micro-blogging sites have spearheaded, brand communication and business promotion for small businesses is easily achievable, at optimal costs.  In time past, the technical skills and distribution capacity (budget inclusive) required to create and deliver an impactful marketing campaign were quite significant and indeed far beyond the means of any one individual. However, with the proliferation of personal technology, social media and the rise of interactive networks, the entry barriers have become almost completely obliterated, and this is to the apparent advantage of small businesses – customers, both existing and potential can be engaged in meaningful and on-going dialogue using such channels as twitter, Facebook etc.

However, as a small business owner/manager, so long as you look forward to ultimately expanding the scope of your enterprise and becoming big one day, having a strong recognized brand which incorporates a well-defined personality, then I believe you should act like that from day one.

Another point I must emphasize at this juncture is that by nature, SME branding transcends visual elements such as colours, logos or catchy names. Essentially, a whole lot revolves around the owner’s personality.  You should remember that projecting your personality is a powerful competitive advantage, branding message and business tool that you should be using every day It’s got so much to do with what you as the driver of the  business do, what you say and how your personalistic traits come through to reflect in every aspect of the business, bearing in mind the realization that managing and sustaining small businesses revolves extensively around relationship building, and the way your customers feel….this is where the seemingly inconsequential things count! As a brand owner, you should also ensure that the culture that you have within your organization is in line with your proposed brand identity

 It is equally imperative that as an SME owner, you invest time and intellectual effort into clearly identifying and outlining those unique elements of your business which potentially confer competitive advantage on your business and which cannot be very easily duplicated by your competition– branding is primarily about differentiation. Within a competitive market space, your ultimate goal as an SME will be to earn the preference of your identified customer above competition.

Now, the poser is raised at this juncture; how is this preference achievable? It has become established that differentiation is the key in this regard; either by introducing added-value offerings or benefits that your competition is failing to offer, on the one hand, or by delivering utility to your consumers in a remarkably dissimilar manner, thereby giving the consumer practical reasons to not only want your offering more, but desire your offering and nothing else!

To conclude this interesting discourse, I would like to emphasize the fact that branding is clearly not a new concept by any means, as it has always been crucial, even from time immemorial, for any enterprise desiring to sell an offering to consumers and gain credibility by so doing. What I think small business owners need to understand however is how to optimally leverage on this important concept in order to strengthen their credibility and communicate their unique essence or benefits to targets. Again, as I emphasized earlier, a strong brand is built not only through advertising and media, but the aggregated, holistic experience which leaves a lasting impression on the customer, an experience influenced by all interactions which a stakeholder has with a brand: how the salespeople act, what the packaging of the product communicates et cetera.

The fact remains that running a small business profitably is a challenging endeavour, particularly when viewed against the backdrop of challenges imposed by the operating economic and socio-political environments which are far from ideal, particularly in many African economies . Great opportunities however abound for SMEs that are able to identify and properly articulate their unique competitive advantages and amplify these both by way of meaningful relationship-building with their publics and stakeholders.

 

Tomi Ogunlesi’s  LinkedIn Profile, Connect with Him. He can also be found on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/tomiogunlesi.

 

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