Beyond the Logo: Unconventional Branding Tips for Small Businesses
Small businesses make the world go round.
Making up 99.9% of all businesses in the US alone, SME businesses are indeed up against a behemoth of competition no matter which industry they find themselves in—which can make it hard to stand out among the crowd.
Finding fresh ways of marketing your small business is one of the biggest challenges today. There are so many other brands that consumers are becoming harder and harder to please. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t ways to make your brand snap, crackle, and pop.
Yes, a great brand logo is a powerful tool when it comes to marketing. However, an emblem alone cannot expand your audience and sustainably gain momentum. You need to gain mindshare and awareness.
Instead of putting most of your focus and resources into developing a brand’s logo, try funneling some of that energy and money into marketing tactics other small businesses ignore.
Some less-than-unconventional branding tips to consider to help your extraordinary business rise above the ordinary.
Get Interviewed on A Podcast
Podcasting has exceeded ” fad” status and is currently one of the most popular media consumed worldwide. In the words of Jordan Harbinger, who is often referred to as the Larry King of podcasting, “podcasts is essentially audio Netflix.”
If you’re looking for an off-the-beaten-track method for getting the word about your business, interviewing on a local podcast is not the wrong place to start.
With over 504 million listeners globally, a mature consumer audience follows these entertaining audio dialogues daily, and many of them are likely in your target audience.
Whatever niche your business fits, a podcaster talks to a relevant audience. Sell knitting supplies? Podcasters are talking to knitters. Sell vegan salad dressing? Some podcasters speak vegan and talk to other vegans. (or the vegan-curious). Sell specialty gear for cars made in the sixties? There is a podcaster for you too.
And you can use it as a platform to speak about your brand, available products or services, upcoming projects, or even competition giveaways that capture the local audience’s attention.
If you can sell online, a national audience is in your new local neighborhood.
Think “old-school” Tactics.
When it comes to branding beyond just a logo, many small businesses run towards the latest, shiniest marketing tactics.
But while keeping your finger on the pulse of new marketing trends is essential, sometimes, looking backward can be just as advantageous. Doing so may pick up on touchpoints in the customer journey that you’d otherwise have missed.
Take email marketing, for example. It gets a bad rap. Some think it is outdated. But this decades-old marketing tactic surprisingly remains one of the most effective options for one-to-one communication. It would be best to find a way to be clever, compelling, and relevant to the person you email.
The buying conversion rate for email marketing is X3 higher than social media.
It’s also an excellent method for gathering consumer data and producing cost-effective campaigns, both of which are crucial for the success of any small business. But find an unconventional way to use email. Make sure it fits with your brand personality.
Not every email needs an image. Text-only emails can break through. Find a way to simplify what you say – and only communicate one message per email, not eleven.
Ask ChatGBT.ai for Ideas
When I gave ChatGBT the following prompt, I got ten ideas. If even one of them are helpful, you can leverage the power of Ai to help market a small business.
The Prompt:
What would you do if you were a small business in a local town that wanted some counterintuitive strategies and tactics to help promote their business? I’m looking for ten ideas that aren’t conventional, traditional, or obvious.
Here are ten tactical ideas:
- Host a “No Sales” Day: Have a day where you don’t sell anything but instead invite customers to come in and engage with your business in unique ways, such as playing games, enjoying free refreshments, or participating in a fun activity. This will encourage people to visit your store and help build stronger customer relationships.
- Partner with a competitor: Instead of viewing other businesses in your niche as competition, try partnering with them for a joint promotion or event. You could both benefit from cross-promotion and pooling resources.
- Create a limited-time free offer: People are often skeptical of limited-time offers, so instead of a discount, try offering something genuinely free, such as a complimentary service or product. This can be a great way for people to push your business and create loyal customers.
- Offer personalized gifts or services: Instead of just selling products, offer customized services or gifts tailored to each customer’s preferences. This can help create a more meaningful relationship with your customers and set your business apart.
- Use humor in your marketing: Try creating humorous ads or social media posts instead of traditional marketing. People are more likely to remember and share something that made them laugh.
- Host a “Bring Your Pet” Day: Many people love their pets and enjoy spending time with them, so consider hosting an event where customers can bring their pets to your store. This can be a fun way to bring people in and create a positive image for your business.
- Create a community space: Instead of just selling products, create a community space within your store where people can gather and socialize. This could be a great way to build customer relationships and become a go-to spot in your local town.
- Offer classes or workshops: Consider offering classes or workshops related to your business. This can help establish you as an expert in your field and attract customers interested in learning more.
- Use unexpected advertising locations: Instead of traditional advertising locations, try advertising in unexpected places, such as on the side of a building or a street art mural. This can help grab people’s attention and create a buzz around your business.
- Create a social media challenge: Create a fun social media challenge related to your business, such as a scavenger hunt or a photo contest. This can help create engagement and bring more people to your business.
Exercise Your Brainstorming Muscle Often.
Maintaining a fresh perspective is essential to keep your marketing strategy on its toes. Many small businesses struggle to survive those first few years because their marketing campaigns get drowned out by more prominent companies with fatter budgets.
But through collectively brainstorming regularly, you can develop a stronger bond with your team and create an environment ripe with fresh new marketing ideas. Find a group of business owners or managers who don’t compete in your category – and make a monthly brainstorming coffee meeting at a local shop.
Other ideas include:
- Unplug – when you hold brainstorming sessions with your team, tune out from distracting tech and social media. This can help you be more present.
- Assemble the right team – small businesses often have small teams, which means every member should be carefully selected. With the right people on your side, better ideas will flow. Outsiders are great because they feel freer to share ideas.
- Use personas – this is a creative brainstorming tactic. Assuming the persona of a famous individual whose ideas or work ethic you admire can help you unlock concepts you may not have thought of as yourself. It’s also a fun team-building activity.
Making brainstorming a part of your Routine is something that too few small businesses latch on to. Read this post to learn about a novel way to see brainstorming ideas – as a ladder.
Think About Engaging Arts, Signs, and Murals
Real-life branding is a great way to connect with local audiences and promote your business in a tangible, community-driven way. The traditional route of a banner or printed billboard featuring slick product photographs and snappy slogans is always a winner. But if you want something different (and if you’re on a budget), you’ll get a lot of traction with public art.
Hiring an artist to paint a colorful, engaging mural in a public space is a branding tactic far too few businesses utilize. And if you hire an artist with a branding background, they can find clever ways to make the design more engaging (and Instagrammable), attracting a larger audience. You can even include a scannable QR code that takes people to your website.
Another way to tap into less conventional branding methods is to research other small businesses that cracked the code. Here are some examples of quirky branding worth considering:
Find Unconventional Stimuli for New Ideas
- Toni and Ryan’s Hot, Fun Garbage podcast – author Toni Lodge and partner Ryan Jon run a podcast that centers on funny, random stories – i.e., what some might call “garbage.” They’ve turned their business into something far beyond a logo by driving around a literal garbage truck, meeting with fans, and collecting donations for charity.
- GoPuff convenience store app – this smartphone app allows users to order items as they would food from Uber Eats. But instead of promoting its logo as most brands do, GoPuff promotes its products by tweeting customers’ weird shopping orders late at night. The tweets are hilarious and get followers interested in using the app themselves.
- Tiger Beer’s Air-Ink – Tiger Beer is an American brand that sells beer in Singapore. In an anti-pollution campaign, Tiger Beer worked with Graviky Labs to turn air pollution into black ink, which was then gifted to artists around Singapore who promoted the brand through their art.
There are so many ways to go about branding your small business. And as these innovative businesses from around the world have shown us. A great logo is just one of them.
Embrace the Unconventional and Counterintuitive
Looking beyond just the logo image of your brand can help you cultivate a more rounded identity that consumers respond to in a more impactful way. And while sticking to tried-and-tested branding strategies can still help you stay consistent, experimenting with unconventional approaches can yield surprisingly positive results.
A guest post by Megan Hudson who enjoys writing about marketing.
You can set up a time to chat with me about your marketing challenges using my calendar. Email me jeffslater@themarketingsage.com Call me. 919 720 0995. The conversation is free, and we can explore if working together makes sense. Watch a short video about working with me.
Photo by Michael Boalch on Unsplash
