Big branding ideas for the small guys

I was often asked if there are special rules of branding for small businesses to follow. The reason I get this question a lot is that the moment small business owners see the big brands that I use as case studies of companies that have grown from a struggling two-man start-up to successful global brands using these 10 rules, their eyes glaze over and their minds go, “Ah! These rules apply only to big brands. I am a small business. These rules don’t apply to me.”

Well, I have good news and I have bad news. The bad news is that there are no special rules of branding for small businesses to follow. Too bad. Just because you are small doesn’t mean you get special treatment. But the good news is that the rules of branding are like Mathematics. One Plus One Equals Two. They are universal. The same rules apply whether you are big or small.

Wake Up, Small Business Owners!
If you are still thinking that the rules of branding don’t apply to you because you are just a small business, snap out of it. The survival of your business may very well depend on it.

Wake up, and see beyond what those big brands are today. Wake up, and look deep into their past. And I can guarantee that you will discover a simple truth: Every big, successful brand today started life as a small, struggling start-up. Not that much different from your company and maybe a lot worse off than you are right now.

Coca-Cola was once a struggling start-up.
General Electric was once a struggling start-up.
Microsoft was once a struggling start-up.
Apple was once a struggling start-up.
Google was once a struggling start-up.
Dell was once a struggling start-up.
Sony was once a struggling start-up.

I can go on and on and on.

But these companies didn’t go around asking brand gurus if there are any rules of branding that small, struggling businesses like theirs can follow. They looked for rules and strategies that can help to transform their small, struggling businesses into big, powerful global brands. And they applied those rules of branding to their businesses consistently and they became successful.

If they had followed some rules of branding for small businesses, then they would have remained a small business today. That is the lesson that you need to learn and learn fast. Not all of you will become a big global brand. The truth of the matter is that most of you will remain relatively small. The truth of the matter is that many small businesses will even fail.

But if you know the rules of branding, and you use them, you give your business a fighting chance of surviving the passage of time and brutal competition. You give your small business the hope of becoming a medium-sized business tomorrow. And once you become a medium-sized business, who knows what might happen the day after.

What Are The Rules Of Branding?
I will mention those rules here very briefly due to space constraints:

Rule No. 1 – The winner of the branding war is the one that creates a better perception.
Rule No. 2 – The best way to create a great perception is to get into the mind first and the best way into the mind is to get into the market first.
Rule No. 3 – If you are not first, create a new category that you can be first in and promote that category, NOT your brand.
Rule No. 4 – Focus.
Rule No. 5 – Differentiate your brand unless you are prepared to sell really cheap.
Rule No. 6 – Use PR for brand building, advertising for maintenance.
Rule No. 7 – Find a great name.
Rule No. 8 – Be consistent.
Rule No. 9 – Make sure your brand has an enemy to fight, be it another brand or a problem.
Rule No. 10 – When the core brand is big and strong, don’t line extend the brand but launch a new one to cater to a new market/category. 

Jacky Tai, Principal Consultant, StrategiCom