Reilly Newman | For most small businesses, brand and business are two separate worlds. This arises due to the business owner being so busy with just bringing the business to life (and keeping it alive) that there hasn’t been time made to focus on the actual brand strategy of what they are building.
The time and energy to create a brand usually gets pushed off because the busyness of running the business reigns over their agenda. Having busyness be the dictator of your schedule has become conditioned in us to think that is normal. However, it shouldn’t be normal. This is the start of an unhealthy and short-sighted business. A business running on the day-to-day. No strategy. No forethought. Just survival.
Doesn’t sound like a healthy first-step now does it? Imagine the quality of the overall service and impression those first customers must be experiencing. A stressed out owner and staff frantically trying to keep plates spinning because that’s just what you do, right? When you have a business you must be busy or you’re not successful? You must work long shifts and soon dread the monster you’ve created. Sadly, this is the fallacy most have fallen into when starting a new small business.
When brand is taken into account from the beginning this pitfall is avoided because strategy is now inherently part of the business.
What does that mean?
Well, by having a brand mindset, your perspective of your business is shifted to focus on the overall strategy and align all tactics according to that overarching strategy.
Why is this exactly what a healthy, thriving business needs?
Strategy by design has an objective at its core. By focusing on the strategy of the brand, we are therefore focused on the business objective. The strategy now helps all business decisions to align in harmony – working towards that business goal. All touchpoints now work in a beautiful brand orchestra from the design of the logo, to the interior space, to how the employees dress and greet customers, to the way the business advertises and where those ads are placed. Each an instrument or note that all work in unison to create a unique and memorable experience.
All in all, brand and business must be one. The brand must be interwoven throughout the business like a beautiful tapestry. All coming together to create the final image of the goal for the business. The brand holds the system (your business) accountable to not only stay in line and market effectively, but also make sure that each ounce of effort (and dollar) works toward that main goal.
