Building Your Business Identity

Owning your own business requires a lot of savvy to stay ahead of the pack. You want to stand out above the competition, you want to be remembered and you want to make a positive impression. So what does it take to keep your business in the mind of your targeted audience? An identity! Impressing customers and driving sales get a lot easier when prospects know your name. There are easy ways to quickly and efficiently create a company identity. Here are just a handful of ways. 1. Create A Blog - Web logs or blogs are online journals that can be used to help supply your customers or potential customers with the latest industry news. Blogs also encourage the input of readers, which makes them feel a part of your business and its ideas. There are many articles online regarding how to build blogs and if you do not have the time, how to hire a content writer. 2. Put Your Name In A Public Place – Now this kind of advertising seems obvious but getting it done in perpetuity is the trick. One way is to contribute to a local charity, neighborhood project, public park or playground. Choose a group that has some affinity with your company goals to donate to. You can then send a press release jointly with the organization to announce your gift and hopefully that organization will put up a plaque with your company’s name in a public place. Discuss this option with the organization you are donating to ahead of time. 3. Stay Visible - If you can't afford to underwrite an entire project, just get involved in the community. Join a local service club, such as Rotary. Make sure you're personally connected to the community. Stay visible by serving on the board or chairing events or committees. That will get you known around town and reel in clients. 4. Identify How You Are Unique - Invest in your brand. Hire somebody to help you design a logo and then a public relations campaign to go with it, something that shows how unique your company identity is. 5. Get People to Wear your Brand - Once you have had your unique logo designed, have it either embroidered or screen-printed onto T-shirts, hats, workout gear, scarves and more. Use the clothing as premiums for favored clients or employees. Free T-shirts not only make people feel special, but they get worn on weekends and when customers travel. Depending on the identity you want to promote you can make people look fashionable, promote an adventurous life, fight for freedom of speech, or make people laugh. Your brand could go far. 6. Use Your Online Presence Wisely – Keep your website looking professional and relevant. If it is outdated, hire somebody to help you keep the content up or make changes to it. Don’t leave a half built website up, it is better to have no website than one that looks incomplete. Remember this is your identity people are checking out and judging you by. Use your website to provide information to your customers, show them you are on top of things as well as trends. When using your email, always have an e-mail signature. You can add your logo and tag line as well to your signature. Remember that identity or brand building is the ongoing relationship between your business and your most influential audience, including customers, media, investors, employees, family, suppliers, and so on. A brand is created from the inside out, from the CEO to the administrative assistant. So stay ahead of the pack and start building your business identity today.