business plan bullet points

Why should I care about branding?People often think of a brand as just a logo but it’s so much more than this. Branding relates to everything you do and say as a company. Your brand tells the story of who you are. But most importantly, your brand reflects how a person feels about you. This feeling is made up of thousands of interactions which all get stored away in a person’s mind.Each of us has subconscious ‘dossiers’ stored in our brains on thousands of companies. Every time they see your logo, website, signage, brochure etc, this gets put into their ‘folder’ on you. But also every time they speak to you on the phone, meet with you, receive an email, use your product or service, this also gets added to this subconscious dossier on your brand.So when thinking about your brand, don’t just think of the visual representation of it, you need to think about how your whole company presents itself to the outside world. From how you answer the phone, to how your website is designed, this all adds up to how a person feels about you, ie., your brand.Isn’t branding just for big business?Absolutely not. I would argue branding is equally important for small companies. Large companies have big marketing budgets which they can use to manipulate how people feel about their company. SMEs have far less to spend on influencing their public persona.SMEs must rely on a much more personal interaction with their customers. This is how they can determine their brand as opposed to multi-million pound TV campaigns, for example.So how do I change our brand?Firstly, you need to decide who you are and how you want people to feel about you. This is harder than it sounds. You need to get to the real core of who you are as a company and what exactly you do. Take a good hard look in the mirror and decide what is your real point of difference from your competitors.Once you’ve determined your core brand values, you then need to instil these into ALL of your staff. Everyone must believe in your brand and convey a consistent message to the outside world.Next, you need to visually represent this message with a strong, clear, and consistent brand identity, ie., your logo, stationery, website, brochures, etc.Internally, you need to ensure that everyone adheres to your brand identity with a strict set of brand guidelines.Finally, when thinking about branding remember that a potential customer knows absolutely nothing about you when they first land on your website or pick up the phone. Every single interaction thereafter with you, your marketing, and your services, ultimately determines your brand in their eyes.

Many of us are wanting to have their own business but there are aspiring entrepreneurs who are still in doubt whether taking a franchise business over a traditional business. Many are dreaming to have a successful business but only few of them have their success story to share. There are two options in starting a business, you can start having your own business name or you can choose having a franchise business. Let us try to differentiate the two to help you decide what suites you well.

In a franchising business there will be luxury getting support from the franchising company, you are sure that their name and reputation is already established, you already have your customers. Franchising companies already earned the trust from their customers, so it would not be hard for you to get their trust. You will also be supplied of everything your need starting from seminars for you (this will equip you in managing your business), training for your staffs, uniforms, stalls, business name and logo, food products down to the very small details like the utensils, tissue etc. You already have a back bone for your business, due to franchising companies being supported by big and dependable companies this will make sure your business will stay. Compared to a traditional business 80 percent of them close with in their first year and only 20 percent survive. Though a franchising business also have rules and regulations, it will be hard to use your own business strategies because they already formulated a strategy that is already tried and tested. Franchising companies are strict with their regulations, you need to sign an agreement in order for your to have the right to use their business name and logo. This will also show your partnership with them and you are also agreed to their terms and conditions.

Taking the risk of establishing your own business name will take lot of guts and confidence (and a little luck). Staring your business from scratch will not give you the convenience that a franchising business can give. Here you need formulate your own strategy that will really work, there will be a lot of trials and errors, it will take time for you to get your customer’s trust due to most of customers trust a brand or a trademark which is known or familiar to them. This will not give you assurance that your business will be successful, this will depend on your strategies in managing your business. Starting your own business brand would be risky but if you have the guts to go on with your battle go ahead and do it.

Whether you chose to have a franchising or starting your own business brand, it is all up to you. Check your capabilities of handling a business and you also have to consider your resources and capital. It is all up to you if starting your own business brand or getting a franchising business will be a success.