Ties That Bind (and Define)!! – Brand Building for Small Business

Welcome to another installment of 10-minute branding!

10-Minute Branding Refresher: How do you build your brand 10 minutes at a time? You start small, and you simply begin. An excellent way to convince yourself to get going is to plan your ending. You can even set a timer. Then, be sure to bask in the success of your huge accomplishment of actually beginning and also appreciate the amount of work that got done. Then, repeat the process tomorrow. And the next day. And so on. You will be amazed at your branding progress . . . 10 minutes at a time.

Who Are You? 

Are you a member of your local Chamber of Commerce?

• Your Rotary?
• The Kiwanis?
• VFW?
• American Legion?
• Junior League?
• Union?
• Trade group such as the National Restaurant Association)?
• College Alumni?
• Local PTO?
• Church or other religious organization?
• Etc.

Frankly, the list can go on and on and on!  Most people have far more affiliations than initially imagined, and each of these relationships help define our personal brand, which in turn can be very useful in promoting the brand of your small business.  So . . .take 10 minutes to build your list of ties for further action.  Then, take another ten minutes tomorrow or the next day to act upon your list.

How Can Your Affinity Group Involvements Help?

Within whatever limits or restrictions imposed by your organization, spend your customary block of time getting the word out about your business . . . but presented in such a way as to benefit the interests of all the group’s members (not just you) by highlighting the manner in which your product and/or service can satisfy their personal needs and interests.

How Can This be Done? 

You might consider . . .

• Sending an e-mail to members.
• Posting a social media comment or message on the platforms of choice. 
• Placing a small business-card ad in the most popular communication vehicle of the group (such as a newsletter or bulletin).
• Etc.

In other words, take a few minutes to harness the power of networking, word-of-mouth advertising, and personal branding acting in unison.

Aside from delivering a needed value via some aspect of your product or service to them, consider adding a financial incentive as well:

• A special discount.
• A coupon (perhaps a buy-one get-one free offer for fellow group members).
• Extra reward points that accumulate toward a few items.

We believe that 10 minutes spent on a regular basis informally promoting your brand to your fellow affinity group members will yield surprising benefits and increase the brand recognition of both you and your company.

As always, we welcome your comments and questions. 

Published by Bob Thomas

During a four-decade career in communications, Bob was responsible for developing the brand of a company that began as a small, one-state de novo operation (GUARD Insurance Group) with a dozen employees and sales of $500,000. During his tenure, that start-up grew to be active in all 50 states with 900 employees and sales in excess of $1.5 BILLION. Bob created the communications function within that organization and oversaw all aspects of the discipline across a 36-year period. During that time, the organization underwent several name changes and strategic rebrandings. That period included two sales to new parent corporations – the most recent to Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway family in 2012. Historically, the company’s communications activities (from advertising, web development, and public relations to more technical tasks) were all handled by an in-house staff of less than 10 people who created and maintained GUARD’s brand. Bob has often said that he has worked for a number of employers (from small to quite large) without ever having to change jobs. While he has enjoyed experiencing the size and scope of the current variation (Berkshire Hathaway GUARD Insurance Companies), he has always had a particular fondness for the smaller versions.

In addition to insurance, Bob has experience with branding- and communications-related activities for the following industries: commercial real estate, banking, technology, and retail operations. He is a graduate of Bucknell University.

Bob and his wife Molly have two adult children (Caitlin and Dylan) and split time between Dallas and Harvey’s Lake in Pennsylvania.
View all posts by Bob Thomas

Published
March 2, 2023