Brands are built one customer at a time

One of the marketing questions most frequently asked by an entrepreneur or small business owner is, “Why do I need to worry about branding?” The answer is really quite simple: It is to gain more customers and keep them coming back, again and again.

By Michael Denning  |  Professor of Practice

One of the marketing questions most frequently asked by an entrepreneur or small business owner is, “Why do I need to worry about branding?” The answer is really quite simple: It is to gain more customers and keep them coming back, again and again. There are many definitions of what a brand is and isn’t. My favorite, and the one I believe resonates with most businesspeople, is that a brand creates the promise of an experience. Brands ease the sales process because it tells the user or customer what to expect. This promise is reinforced by the experience the user has with the product or service.

It gains value over time as more and more people recognize it and begin to prefer it over competing products or service. Yes, the company’s logo — or name or even the company itself — can become brands. The Nike swoosh, the Mercedes-Benz three point star, Ralph Lauren’s polo player and many, many, more become instantly recognizable and tell the potential buyer what they can expect when buying or using the product or service. The small businessperson or entrepreneur at this point is asking, “Great! But I don’t have the capital to hire a big name marketing company and spend millions developing that sort brand recognition. What can I do with my limited resources?”

Again, the answer is not complicated. Each prospective customer that contacts you has an opportunity to demonstrate the value of purchasing from you, and if you demonstrate that value repeatedly, your customers will associate it with you. That’s a brand. Brands are built one customer at a time. As your brand gains exposure to more and more people, you build “brand equity,” and that adds value to your business.

If your brand (regardless of what it may be) is recognized in your market, it sets up the sales process, because people have an impression of what they can expect from the purchase. Entrepreneurs and small businesspeople can help spread that recognition by making use of free advertising through social media, news releases, public relations and happy customer referrals.

So the secret is this: “Delight your customers.” Make them walking, talking advertisements for your business. Exceed their expectations every chance you get. In today’s interconnected, real-time, world with all its affinity groups on social media, people share experiences instantaneously. “Buzz” about great experiences with a product or service spreads quickly and builds that thing called brand. Go get yours started.

"Getting Started" is an entrepreneurship column by the faculty of the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University. Professor of Practice Michael Denning teaches entrepreneurship and marketing and is a frequently quoted business expert. First published, August 10, 2015.