Small Business Branding: How to Create Your Brand Persona
When you are running or a part of a small business, start-up, solopreneur your time is scarce. That’s a given. You needed to do a dozen things yesterday. So, why should you take time to develop your small business branding by creating a brand persona? Answer: Higher ROI.
Brand consistency is a huge part of starting or maintaining a successful business. It doesn’t matter if you’ve been in business for 5 minutes, 5 years, or 5 decades. Every time a potential customer, new customer or repeat customer interacts with your brand anywhere in the virtual or physical world that interaction has to be the same (and good).
Small Business Branding’s Unique Dilemma
The trap that small businesses or startups are susceptible to, is inconsistency in branding. People that start or work at our type of companies are a different bread.
- They want to do good
- They want to pitch in and help wherever they can, even if it’s not their area of expertise
- They are eager to help the company grow
All of these are fantastic traits, and ones I posses. However, everyone is going to have a slightly different take on “who” your company is, how to talk to a customer, how to write a blog post to persuade someone to engage with your company; either on the street or online. It’s this innocent inconsistency that hurts brands.
OK, you say, but:
- How do I stop this? – Brand persona
- How much time will it take me and my team? – ~10 minutes
- How much is it going to cost me? – Nothing. It’s free.
How to Create a Your Brand Persona
Alright, now the question is how to create it. It’s very easy. Send this 5 question quiz around to your employees, your trusted friends that know your business, heck even send it to your investors if you have them. Don’t just ping your marketing and PR staff. Make sure that you ask people across departments and skill sets.
By doing so, you will not only get a bigger set of data to utilize, but you will also be building company culture. You are letting people know that you care about their opinions and everyone is invested in making your company succeed.
The 5 Question Brand Persona Quiz
- What type of person would “X Brand” be?
- Ex: Hipster, coolish nerd, outdoorsy person, etc.
- What personality traits would FairWinds have?Ex: Friendly, sarcastic, bubbly, aloof, etc.
- How old would you say “X Brand” is?
- What gender, if any, would “X Brand” be?
- What Brands would be “X Brand’s” favorite? Why?
- Ex: Patagonia – Durable, stylish, eco-friendly.
- Are there any existing Brands that you would like “X Brand” to be like? Why?
- Ex: GoPro – How they take technology and demonstrate that it’s an integral part of someone’s life. Technology is fun, exciting and enhances my experiences.
Once you get everyone’s responses back read through them and pick out the commonalities. There will be some off-the-wall responses, but read through everything. Take the best from everyone and create your brand persona. Here’s an example of what one will look like completed:
Company “X” Brand Persona
Company “X” is late-20/early-30 something person that is approachable, techie and concerned with making the world a better place. Company “X” is intelligent, curious and a realistic idealist. He/She is a problem solver that goes out of his/her way to help those he/she knows. Company “X” could be called a modern day Renaissance person for their unquenchable curiosity.
Company “X” believes in the power of community and actively works to make the world a better place. Company “X” cares about his/her neighbor and as a result creates apps to help people better connect and better the physical world around them.
Defining Personality Traits
- Problem solver
- Generous
- Approachable
- Optimistic
Brand Promise
Company “X’s” brand promise is to be a cutting-edge leader in the community development revolution sweeping our economically downtrodden urban environments. Company “X” is a steward of the environment and champion of building vibrant, kind and economically prosperous communities. Company “X” believes in building communities and will work in partnership with others to teach, innovate and create the ability for every community to vibrant, supportive and economically prosperous by working together.
In Conclusion
Small business branding can not only help your bottom line, it can help you build a stronger team. If you have any questions or need any help in crafting your brand persona, please just leave a comment below.
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