Branding is Still Important for Small Business
I hope readers of that last article didn't misconstrue my meaning. I still think that a certain amount of branding is absolutely essential to any successful business. And far too many businesses don't pay enough attention to it.
For example, let's take a look at a really awful branding job. WordsmithBob.com. Yeah, me.
(Note: This website has been redesigned since this article was written. Yes, I took my own advice)
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No logo
I don't have a logo. My website is as colorful as a parade in Chinatown . Do the colors have any relationship to me or my business like Red and Target or Green and Waste Management? Not a chance.
No slogan
I don't have a slogan. The closest thing I have to a slogan is, “I turn websites into 24/7 sales machines,” which I use at the end of my elevator speech. In another article, I'm going to play with the ideas for a slogan.
Just a Screaming Yellow Zonker
The closest thing I have to a logo is my Screaming Yellow Zonker. For those not old enough to remember, there was a corn snack in the Seventies called Screaming Yellow Zonkers. They were bright yellow. Ergo, my bright yellow Ford Focus ZX3 earned the nickname Screaming Yellow Zonker.
History lessons aside, the one thing people remember most about WordsmithBob is my bright yellow car with the WordsmithBob.com stickers on the sides. The car itself is a great marketing tool.
However, my website has no evidence of branding at all. No logo, no consistent or recognizable color scheme, and no tie in to the one item that people remember. And, as I said, I don't have a slogan
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I do have one thing that ties in to the car. My business cards. They are yellow and black, just like my car. That was the idea of my graphic designer.
In our discussions about marketing WordsmithBob.com, we've toyed with the idea of a new website, a new logo, and a new slogan. They have to be consistent, simple so they're memorable, and present a unified image, as hopefully, your business does. Right now, they don't.
As I said, those are next. If you'd like to see where I go with this, check back for more articles as I revise my website, create a by-line and a logo.
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