Personal branding is all about you. It is something that any
of us can relate to because it is what other people see as a reflection of our
identity and values.

 

Hence, each and every one of us has a personal brand whether
we like it or not. The issue now is whether you can sustain your own personal
brand to create a clear and memorable impact of who you are, what you do and
what you stand for.

 

Whether you are a sole proprietor, a conglomerate and
Fortune 500 Company, or even a company executive, it is essential that you have
your personal branding that would make you recognizable to your target
audience. It helps you to build that powerful personality that has a positive
impact to your audience whenever they think of your brand.

 

Your personal branding is a combination of different
factors. This includes your values, traditions, capabilities and actions that
you believe in. It is what makes you different and unique from the rest of your
competition. The important thing with personal branding is you. It may be in
your color printing ads or even in your business cards – the bottom line is to
make your personal brand ubiquitous in everything that you do.

 

One advantage of having personal branding for your business
is that it creates that personal element in your marketing campaign. People
would recognize the various benefits of your product as truly yours which can
help you stand out amongst the crowd.

 

On the other hand, corporate branding is a great tool in
order that the name of your company will be recognized. You can do this by
applying it to your product’s brand name. What you do is to include your
company’s name in the name of your products and services. This way, your
company would be remembered along with your product.

 

What makes corporate branding beneficial to your business is
that it saves you money and time when it comes to your marketing campaign.
Since it is your company name that is used for your products, one advertising
campaign done by an experienced commercial printing agency is enough for many
of your product offerings.

 

One disadvantage though with corporate branding – your target
audience may have a hard time treating your products and services on the basis
of individuality. Instead of focusing on the product’s unique features, your
target clients would most likely be concentrating on your name because that’s
what they’ve been exposed to.

 

Another drawback is that corporate branding can confuse your
customers from what is the name of your company with that of your product. Your
company’s name is interchangeable with your product that your clients and
prospects may have a hard time distinguishing the two elements. This then leads
to your business losing that ‘trademark protection’ and making you a generic
product or service.

 

So which one do you think would be most beneficial for you?
Whatever you choose, just remember to select what would help you create a
positive image to your clients and prospects. And the rest will follow.

When we speak of branding most of the time people try to relate it to big business house, however, the fact is that every business needs to establish their brand in order to survive the competition. This is nothing new; experts and management gurus had been preaching the same sermon for years now but what they have not told is why you need to brand your small business? How is branding going to help you to establish your business? How can you establish your brand without spending a fortune on it?

You might be having a very small business but would you like your client to perceive your business as a small time entrepreneurial effort? Definitely not, and your business cards, letterheads and other marketing collaterals does just that. They create an impression to your clients that you are an established business house of considerable strength and not just a mom-n-pop shop.

While you have read till this much, you might have started to plan to get a few home printed business cards or visit the website where you saw the preformatted business cards being sold for peanuts. Beware! The quality of your business card is an indication of the status of your business and your clients are intelligent enough to understand the difference between a standard designed perforated business card and a professionally designed business card printed on good quality card stock.

Most of us, including you, would prefer to consider the stability of a company before making a purchase decision. Once you have established your brand with a professionally designed logo, business card and other marketing efforts it becomes much easier for you to build your credibility among the customers.

Getting a professionally designed custom logo is one of the very important elements of branding a business. A logo is not just a symbol or a piece of graphics; it is actually your corporate identity. A properly designed logo can leave long lasting impression on your clients and will never let your business slip out of their minds. It also makes your business easily recognizable. Just think, wherever you see the Golden M of McDonald’s do you really need to think twice, what company is that referring to? A good logo should ideally exude the nature and attitude of the business.

Once you have got a logo for yourself it becomes easier for you to establish your brand. You can use that logo in your business cards, letterheads and other accessories. Don’t you think it is going to make a difference if the pack that you use to deliver your products to your customer has the logo of your company on it? And if you are using a reusable pack, your customer might just use the same pack to pass on some other goods to one of his friends- what happens then? Yes! Your logo gets noticed by one other person, you add one more name to the list of your potential customers. You are on your way to establish your own brand.

Similarly with business cards, as they get passed on from one person to the other, more and more people knows about your business and the potential customer base increases.

Having a business card or professionally designed logo also shows your commitment towards your business.

A short, easy to remember punch line is another useful tool for branding. Getting a tag line printed on your business cards or your business stationery makes it easier for people to understand the nature of your business. Ideally, your tag line should not only say about what you do but also speak about your USP.

Having said all that, the ultimate question that most of the small business people would have is, how much does it cost to get all these things done? I’d say, “not much”. Money is always a problem for most of the small businesses (that’s why they are small, otherwise most of us would like to open a Microsoft and be as rich as Bill Gates) but if you know where to look for, you really don’t need to spend a fortune to get a professionally designed logo or a business card. There are loads of websites that offer them really cheap and some even allow you to decide the price that you want to pay. (Check out this twin sites, http://www.mycorporatelogo.com and http://www.mycorporateidentity.com).

So, if you think you are tired of being a “small business” and its time to grow up, take the first step; establish your brand!