Daria, our editor, forwarded me a link of a book review for OBD: Obsessive Branding Disorder, a book on branding gone overboard. I believe Lucas Conley, the author, feels that companies (and he is alluding to large, well known brands) are spending too much on branding and not enough on product development. While there may be some truth to this (think McDonald's), branding is crucial to all businesses - especially those that are in highly competitive or commoditized markets.
First, let me give a really quick definition of branding. A brand is the image that comes to someone's mind when they hear a company name. So, as an example, some might feel that when they hear or see "Starbucks" they think of good (and expensive) coffee and perhaps a place where they actually don't mind waiting on line. In fact, they may think of a store where they can hang out for an hour to check email or read the paper. Many business owners think of themselves as being "too small" to have a brand because they don’t have millions of dollars for advertising. WRONG! They already have a brand. It’s what their prospects, customers and others think of when they hear their name. So, for example, an accounting firm has a brand. It might be a very bland one, meaning that they are just thought of as an accounting firm. For some, this is ok. Others want to create a professional service firm that’s really perceived differently. This starts by defining what your business does differently (think, over the top service, but really over the top service, or servicing a particular niche like fast growing businesses), then ensuring that everyone in your company understands your brand. Then, it comes down to marketing your brand. The first step is delivering on your brand promises (we had a great article on this here). Finally, a company can then conduct different marketing strategies such as advertising, public relations, trade shows, etc.
What are the benefits of building a branded small business? Well, assuming the brand has positive connotations, it means less negotiations on price, more respect from customers, easier sales-cycles and probably a nice premium when exiting the business.
So I agree with Conley that some brands invest too much in the sizzle and not enough in the steak. However, branding is crucial for businesses of all sizes. In fact, branding can often differentiate two companies that deliver equal quality services. The company that has created a positive brand in the eyes of its constituents and markets themselves correctly will often win out.
One final note - this blog entry is not a book review. This is a discussion based on a review of a book. The reason I wanted to blog about this was because much of what we read in the media is related to big companies. So if you interpret what you read and try to figure out how it applies to your small business, you may often find that these article are somewhat misleading, if not outright wrong, in terms of small businesses.
