In short…YES!

There is however one exception to the rule.  If you are a local business and all of your customers are local, you are constantly swamped with their business, you can handle that business efficiently and effectively and the thought of even more new customers makes you quiver, then you may not need a website.

However, if that scenario does not apply to you and instead you find you would like to communicate more effectively with your customers as a whole, be able to publicly answer their general questions through an FAQ page, be able to attract more customers and compete more effectively with your competitors – then yes, a website is a MUST!

With that being said, keep in mind that just having a website it not enough.  If you want to be taken seriously then you must have a professional looking website.  A well designed website can give your small business the look and feel of a much larger company, which can help to convey a feeling of trust.

“It’s actually better to have no website at all than to have one that makes your business look bad.” – Entreprenuer 2004

Small business owners are among the busiest and many of them say that they do not have time for website or the financial means to develop a good one.  Sadly, this way of thinking is a big mistake for the well being of your company.  With more and more people now utilizing the world wide web to search for information online prior to making a purchase or hiring a company to perform a service, your site may be the first chance you have to make a good impression with that potential customer.  It doesn’t matter if you are a one man operation or have 10,000 employees, if you don’t have a professional website you are most likely losing business to other companies that do.

“On Google alone, there are over 694,000 searches conducted every second” – HubSpot 2012

 image courtesy of mediabistro

But there is no reason that getting a professional website should break the bank either.  There are plenty of excellent websites that can be produced for well under $5,000 and can help drive new customers to your business, and Castle Rock Web Design can help you do just that.  But keep in mind, the more pages your site has, the larger the initial investment.

You will also need to maintain and update your site on a regular basis, as an out-of-date website with content that is never updated is quite possibly worse than having no website at all.  Many website companies, Castle Rock Web Design included, offer a service called Website Maintenance wherein for a small monthly fee they will keep your website updated and fresh.  But there are also many Content Management Systems (CMS) out there, like WordPress for instance, that are good at making the maintenance of your site so easy that your 12 year old could most likely help you do it.

So if you are a small business and have a mediocre website or no website at all, then you are missing out on a great opportunity to be in the right place at the right time when a potential new customer is looking for your product or service.

Customers are looking for what you have to offer.  Will they find you?

Many small business owners with limited resources think that Branding is expensive and out of reach.  Not true.

Myth #1 – Branding is difficult and time-consuming

Branding your business is not a complex process.  It is a simple strategy that helps you outline your organizations values.  It requires focused thought on your part about what your business stands for and who you want to reach.  Drafting up a solid Brand Strategy may take you a few weeks, but it will be well worth your effort.

Myth #2 – Branding is expensive

Effective branding can be achieved on any budget.  The key to effective branding starts with a clear picture of your ideal customer and developing a value-driven message that speaks directly to their needs.  Branding only becomes expensive when you don’t take the time to build a strong Brand Strategy in the first place and you then spend countless dollars and time on activities that don’t move you forward.

Brand is not about big budgets, it is about making a promise that your target audience cares about, and delivering on that promise in everything you do.

Myth #3 – Branding is all fluff

Brand equity can make or break a company.  Studies show that a strong brand image leads to increased sales, a greater gross margin and an improved return on investment (ROI).  It is the reason that people ask for Coke at a restaurant and then order water when the place only serves Pepsi.  If you build your brand effectively and communicate it to the right people at the right time, you’ll attract the customers that you seek.

Myth #4 – All designers are the same

All designers and branding firms are not same.  If a prospective designer doesn’t ask you about your target audience and what message you would like to convey to that audience, turn and run the other way.

Graphic Design is a skill and a good designer knows how imagery, font, color, shape and spacing impact the subconscious connections people make about your company.  They know how to take a verbal message and convey it visually.  If you create a strong Brand Strategy on your own first, and then spend a bit more money on a good designer who will get it right from the start, you will be very pleased with the results.

Myth #5 – Branding works immediately

Branding and messaging evolve over time as people respond to them.  Before a brand sticks, people need to experience it over time and in different ways.  A marketing research guideline states that people need to see a marketing message five to seven times before acting on it.

While you may be living, eating and breathing your brand message daily, others need to see and experience your brand more than once to before forming their opinion, therefore, avoid the temptation to change things every few months .  If your message is different every time a potential customer sees it, then you are always starting from ground zero with your target audience.  However, if you get consistent feedback that things aren’t working, then you know it’s time for a change.

Think about the person you know who knows who they are and what they stand for, and think about how you admire and look up to that person for that.  A good Brand helps your customers have that same respect for you and your organization by knowing that they can trust you.  As customers encounter your brand in various forms and situations they’ll remember you, tuck you away into the right part of their brains, and your brand will stick with them.  The more you fulfill the brand promise in everything you do, the more you’ll solidify your brand to the people who matter most, which in return will build their confidence in your organization.  Your Brand Strategy is the tool that helps you accomplish this.

Each week I will be going over the importance of branding your company, what Brand really means and offering tips and tricks on how you can do it yourself.

Some think that they have their brand in place because they have a logo, a website and a color scheme. This is a popular misconception.  These items are in fact the “visual” result of your brand, but not the brand itself.  These items are very important indeed, but are just another way to communicate your brand to the world.

So what is Brand?

Your brand is your business’s “story”, its core purpose, values and customer promise.  It is the essence of your business and the reputation that you have among your customers.  It is the consistency of what you promise through your visual and verbal messages and the experience that customers have with you.  It is also by “living” those values each and every day for you, your employees and your partners.  It is more than just the advertising that you put out to the public; it is also that same public’s impression and interaction with you.  It is making a clear promise and then being certain that everything you do delivers and communicates that promise.

Brand is not just this promise however, but also a reputation based on actual user experience.  It should remain consistent with your employees, your customers and partners.  A well thought out brand strategy makes everything easier for you by getting everyone on the same page.  By building a strong brand strategy that is communicated at the right time and to the right people, you will attract the interested customers you seek.  It will help you in determining where and how to advertise, who to partner with and how to price your products.  It will also help with determining what your company name and slogan should be, which in turn, helps a designer decide what logo best suits your company by knowing what target audience you are trying to reach and what you stand for.

If you don’t have a grounded brand strategy then you will be all over the place, grasping at whatever new trend or opportunity is in front of you.  And if you are confused about what your company has to offer, don’t you think customers will be confused as well?

Stay Tuned!  In the coming days we will take a more in-depth look into brand strategies and explore how you can create your own.

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