Top ways to create a memorable business

Q: I have read some of your answers and like what you say about creating a business that is unique and a stand out from the rest of the competition. Could you explain how to do this?

— Natalie

A: I would be happy to. The problem with many small businesses is they try hard to be everything to everyone — but in the end, they are nothing to no one. Rather than taking a stand about who they are, who their customers are, and what they are all about, the mediocre small business attempts to avoid alienating anyone. The end result is that they create a business that is nothing special, memorable or exceptional.

It's like a restaurant that bills itself, "Chinese and American food." Make up your mind! Which kind of restaurant are you? Instead of doing one thing well, you may be doing two things poorly.

If you look at successful businesses, both big and small alike, one thing they have in common is that they have a unified, distinctive identity, or brand. Your brand is your promise to your customers that you will excel in your niche. So as a business owner, you need to create a brand that resonates with people.

Consider the businesses below and you can see the value of creating a strong brand:

Don't make the mistake of thinking that branding is only for big businesses. It's not. Branding is probably more important to small businesses because of the amount and intensity of their competition. We need an identifiable, unique brand so as to be remembered above the din. Moreover, a memorable brand gives you a cachet, increased earning potential, and a leg up on the competition, all at once.

So what do you stand for? If you don't know, that's the problem, but not an insurmountable one. Here are four steps you can take to create your own, unique, identifiable, memorable, small business brand:

Step 1: Analysis.

Set aside a half a day or so to meet with your staff, or advisors, or just some folks whose opinions your trust. Start by asking them how they see your brand today. What do customers think of your business? What do competitors think? Get them to be brutally honest.

Now, what do you want your customers to think? Exactly, what is it that you do better, and differently, from the rest? What niche is available in the marketplace that would be an honest one for you to capture — understanding that a brand must be based on reality and integrity? Do you want to become known as:

• The affordable antique store?
• The dentist with the light touch?
• The friendly small-business expert?

Come up with a few general ideas. Then boil them down to an essence. Put it in writing, maybe a paragraph or two, and then reduce it even more — to a single sentence.

It's all in the messaging. I once knew a high-tech company whose brochure read something like "We utilize cutting-edge duffel transponders to secure high-speed data transmissions over network outlays . . ." Eventually, their tagline, and brand, morphed into a clearly-messaged "We protect communications."

Step 2: Test it.

Try out your intended brand on customers, clients, employees, friends, relatives and investors. Get feedback. Make sure that other people like it as much as you do, but remember, a great brand will turn some people off. That's the idea. You want to take a stand and capture the customers who will stand by you. Inevitably, you'll risk alienating some customers who may not want what your newly-branded business will be selling. Referring back to our restaurant: It's Hunanese food now, not "Chinese and American Food" any more. Now it's unique, distinct and focused.

Step 3: Develop a marketing plan and materials.

Great brands are built by consistently doing the same thing again and again, and repeatedly telling people about your company's strengths. That means implementing procedures, which reinforce your brand and coming up with marketing materials that do the same.

A critical tool in your marketing arsenal will be your tagline, a phrase that epitomizes your newfound brand essence, such as "BMW: The Ultimate Driving Machine." Yours must be similarly short and to the point.

You will also want to create a logo that reinforces your brand. Your store and prices must also reinforce your brand, as must your signs, letterhead, envelopes, business cards, invoices, etc.

Step 4: Repetition is key.

Reinforce your brand with everything your business does, from how the phone is answered to how employees are treated. Repeat your tagline often, especially in your advertising and marketing.

The end result will be both a business and a brand that are memorable and which stand for something.

How did Steve answer other questions? Read his previous columns

Steve Strauss is one of the country's leading small business experts, a columnist for USATODAY.com, and the author of the "Small Business Bible." If you would like to have Steve speak to your group, or to sign up for his free e-newsletter Small Business Success Secrets!, visit his Web site. Have a question for Steve? Send him an e-mail.