When small business owners start their businesses, they have an incredible passion for their ideas. So, they also possess a burning desire to see them come to life. Every detail is monitored and managed by the person who holds the vision of your company—you. Brand management is an important and necessary next step.
But, as your company grows, it becomes more difficult to navigate alone. Things such as organizational challenges, identify potential partnerships, build a sales team, and form a cohesive marketing strategy become more complex. You’re only one person, and you have to focus on the bigger picture to move your company forward.
Of course, with their expertise in brand messaging and marketing strategy, a brand manager could be a perfect addition to help your company scale. A brand manager can help you keep your company’s values and brand consistent. They can also ensure that everyone working on your business is aligned with the same goals.
While you can certainly hire an in-house brand manager, most small businesses lack the bandwidth to commit to a full-time hire for this role. That’s where hiring a brand management company like iProv comes in.
Brand management services combine digital marketing tactics, like video marketing, SEO marketing, and social media, and traditional marketing approaches to form a cohesive brand with consistent messaging.
Read on to learn more about brand management and discover what a skilled brand manager can do to help you take your small business to the next level.
What is a Brand Manager?
A brand manager is a person or company that helps ensure a consistent brand voice across all your marketing efforts, products, and company communications. They also typically work with the marketing and/or sales teams to create a brand identity that represents your company.
In addition to managing the brand, brand management is also responsible for creating a cohesive communications plan for the company. They work with the marketing and sales teams to ensure that all the different marketing channels you use put out cohesive and consistent messaging.
What Does a Brand Manager Do?
Most business owners understand the importance of building and maintaining their brand. Indeed, the word “brand” is a buzzword that has been floating around for over a decade in every industry. But, when it comes to actually defining the word “brand,” the concept can begin to feel a little ambiguous.
Your brand is the way your company, services, and products are perceived by your customers and the wider industry. It is your reputation—it’s the words, feelings, and images that people associate with you when they think about your company.
Your branding should inform every decision your company makes. Your mission, your service or product offering, and how you interact with customers all fall under the purview of your brand.
This means brand management covers various responsibilities, including:
- Developing marketing strategies, tactics, and campaigns
- Crafting mission statements and other big-picture themes
- Designing or overseeing the design of your logo(s), taglines, and marketing assets
- Managing the marketing budget
- Overseeing promotional events and campaigns
- Analyzing the effectiveness of your branding efforts
- Brainstorming how to improve and reinvent your brand over time or as-needed
- Keeping all involved teams on the same page about messaging and branding
- Developing branding guidelines and style guides
You can see why hiring a whole team of people to deal with your brand management would be advantageous. There is more than enough work to keep multiple people busy.
How Does Brand Management Grow and Build Trust in Your Business?
Identify and Understand Your Audience
If you want your brand communications to resonate, you must understand who your target audience is and what they want.
With consistent analysis of the analytics and responses to your marketing efforts, a brand manager can help steer your company toward the most enthusiastic audiences. When you understand your audience, you can tailor your brand messaging to their specific needs and desires, which increases conversions and trust in your brand.
Create Cohesive Messaging
From social posts to email campaigns to brochures to billboards, people should recognize your branding when they see it. The colors, images, and tone of your messaging should be consistent and engaging.
Coca-Cola is a great example of consistent branding. The well-known shade of red, the curly font, and the tone of the commercials all form a cohesive brand immediately recognizable.
Your small business isn’t on the same scale as Coca-Cola, but you should aim to achieve the same effect within your current community and audience. When people develop this kind of recognition for your company, it builds trust. Your brand is a promise that you make to your customers—this is who we are and how we will treat you.
Above all else, brand management is about ensuring that your messaging, content, imagery, and products/services are aligned with your brand vision.
How to Find the Right Brand Management Service for Your Company
If you are looking for brand management services for your company, there are a few things you should keep in mind.
First, you want to hire a company with experience in growing companies and helping them grow. A brand management company that has never worked with a small business likely never had to deal with the issues that are unique to startups. You want someone with experience in your specific problem areas.
Finally, you want to make sure the brand management company you hire is a true partner, not just a vendor. Partners come with a higher price tag, but they bring substantially more value to your company. They come with experience, connections, and the ability to strategize and innovate, rather than simply churn out content.
Brand Management in Little Rock, Arkansas
If you are looking for brand management services for your small company in central Arkansas, contact iProv. We’d love to schedule a free brand consultation and help you create a plan to grow and brand your business.
Leave a Reply