Branding and marketing for a small business isn’t easy, partially because small business owners have a lot in front of them and little time to think strategically about their current and future place in the market. Brand planning and marketing planning are both processes that require regular input from the business owner.
Customer profiles can help your branding and marketing plan
Brand planning and marketing are strategic activities. To be successful over the long term, you really need to know who your current customers are, who your desired customers are and what their needs are. By creating products and services that meet their needs, you can advance your business toward the vision you’ve created for it.
Website design, targeted sales brochures and materials, advertising that appeals to your ideal customer demographic, special offers and other value-added services can really make your small business stand out in a crowd. Knowing who you’re talking to and knowing what they need are key components of success.
Creating branding and marketing profiles can help you understand who your current customers are. This information is invaluable to you as you look for additional customers who “look like” the customers you already serve. Whether you’re looking to expand your local customer base or open new geographic markets, knowing more about those you already serve successfully can help you locate similar customers in unfamiliar territory.
Don’t stop with creating a branding and marketing profile for your current customer base. Create a profile for the customers you would ideally like to serve. Perhaps you’re looking to secure some accounts that generate more income than your current customer base does. Or maybe the ideal customer provides more steady income than your current customer base does, or could really benefit from a new service that you’ve just begun to offer.
If you’re really ambitious with your branding and marketing strategy, it also helps to know which customers you’re not looking for. In most cases, this market segment will be a customer whose needs simply do not fit into your business model, and you cannot address them without making significant changes to your business.
Branding and marketing profiles can also help you determine the kind of website design, advertising, sales brochures and special offers you’ll need to attract more of your ideal customers and serve your current customer base.
Branding and marketing profiles should be one small piece of a broader branding and marketing strategy for your small business. If you would like more information about branding and marketing strategies, and how you can put them to work for your business, please contact Dave Ramsell, the creative director at Grantstreet Creative. You can also reach Dave by phone at (330) 243-0651 for a consultation on branding and marketing strategy for your small business.
Photo Credit: sureight, via StockXchng
