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Could Your Business Benefit from Improved Branding? - Microsoft Survey
 Although
branding is often seen as something carried
out by big businesses, it is also used to
great effect by many small to medium sized
businesses (and even sole traders). However,
too many businesses ignore the possibilities
that branding can offer.
A new survey by Loudhouse for Microsoft has
found that over a third of small businesses
admit to having no brand values. In
addition, 35% of the small firms questioned
do not acknowledge the strategic impact of
marketing on their business.
Companies of one to ten employees were the
least likely to have built a brand with a
disturbing 58% of this group shunning the
creation and communication of brand values
within the business. Those more likely to
have implemented a brand strategy were the
growing businesses of 10-50 employees, in
which 69% had already introduced brand
values.
Although 84% of businesses already employ
technology in their marketing activities,
and seven in ten do have a business web
site, half of the businesses questioned are
not using a web site for marketing purposes.
In fact, one in five does not have any
contact details or product information on
its web site and only 15% have e-commerce
functionality.
Karl Noakes, head of small business at
Microsoft UK said: “Creating a genuine
identity for your business can have a major
effect on the success of your company and a
direct impact on your bottom line. But,
brand strategy can conjure up images of
expensive management consultants and
designers’ fees. Almost half of small
businesses are limiting their marketing due
to budget constraints but developing a brand
doesn’t have to be a costly process.”
“Think about what you’re selling and why
customers choose your product or service.
Identify the promise you’re making to your
customers. Next, develop a set of brand
values you can consistently communicate.
(Whether that be high quality, low prices,
good service, or something different) Make
sure your brand appears across the whole of
your business and especially in all your
marketing materials.”
One of the cheapest ways to promote your
business branding is to know your brand
values throughout the business, and to make
sure your customers can see and understand
them.
Find out more on the benefits of branding,
and how your business can improve at it with
our free guide to Small Business Branding
here.
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