Brand
In short
Your brand is what people think and feel when they hear the name of your business. The logo is only a small part of it.
A brand is built from everything the customer meets. How you answer the phone, what the invoice says, what the van looks like and what people say about you to the neighbours. Logo, colours and website are what you control most directly, but they have to match the rest. A great website does little good if the customer waits three days for a reply.
Chosen without being cheapest
A clear brand makes it easier to be chosen without being the cheapest. When the customer knows what you stand for, price is no longer the only thing you are compared on. Marketing gets easier too, because everything you make pulls in the same direction.
A small business needs no thick strategy document for this. You need to know who you are for, your target audience, and what you want to be known for, your positioning.
What you can do today
Send a short message to three good customers. Ask why they chose you, and how they would describe your business to a friend. Note the words they use, and compare them with what your front page says. Use your customers' own words the next time you write about yourself.
If you also want a language for how your brand should feel, take our free archetype test at brand.ibenta.no. Fifteen questions and a couple of minutes, and you will know which brand archetype suits your business.
Need a new website?
Get a free design draft of your website's front page, tailored to your business and your goals. You see what your website could look like before you decide, and you commit to nothing.