In the minds of their customers (where the brand has to stick), until they’ve had enough experience/relationship with the small business the big brands generally rule.

Small businesses can grab market share (particularly in economic downturns), but big businesses often set the market. If a SB sells computers, for example they are competing with the likes of Dell or HP, not the local computer shop down the road.

It’s not that small businesses shouldn’t brand themselves better. It’s that if the focus is on logos, bylines or branding as the end rather than the means they can get unnecessarily caught up in it when they don’t have to.
Having said that, extending the relationships they’ve already established into their story which becomes part of their brand can only be in their favour. The difference is they begin with the relationship and hopefully continue to do so with the brand as an enabler.

Large companies have to focus on their brands, (once built they have no choice) however small businesses can focus on relationships and let the brand develop out of the relationships.

When times are tough small business needs to focus on building relationships first. The brand will follow as a byproduct.

The strongest brands in the world – Nike, Coke, McDonalds, Microsoft – lack the relationship element.

Small business should focus on relationships because they know what that means. Branding is wrapped up in too much mystique and farce.

George Torok
Co-author of Secrets of Power Marketing

Now for small businesses, I would almost say the brand can evolve out of the relationship. So when, for example a customer thinks of great service they think of a particular company they enjoy dealing with who gives them great service (to your point about experiences).
My point (and the point of the article) isn’t that small businesses shouldn’t be concerned about their brand per se, but that when it comes to competition, competing with the big brands with “branding” is like fighting a losing battle. They don’t have the same resources. So, where should they focus the resources they do have? Rather than sinking millions of dollars into brand building as their main concern (the way branding is currently done) the suggestion is they play to their strengths – which is that they can build much closer relationships with their customers. If a small business knows their customers by name and goes that much further to put their customers first it means more than recognizing a brand logo or similar. When I get great service from a small business I don’t tend to think of their brand, but I do think of the great service and it’ s that which makes me trust them, use them and refer them. I suppose you could say their brand is developing out of that relationship… but perhaps it’s by default?

Going by what I see and experience of many big and well recognized brands, I don’t feel they are yet at the point where the customer experience has a lot of impact on them – with a few exceptions. If they were, customer service would vastly improve.

Great post – BUT- it reveals one of the misconceptions about branding.

Brands exist in the minds of customers (they are the same as reputation) – and really in the final analysis can only be built by positive experiences with the product or service.

The brand is built by your customers experience of you.

So every business needs to be concerned about their brand just as anyone is concerned about their reputation

Building personal relationships is part of building the brand and not a separate activity.

Hence my concept of customer intimacy branding – engaged customers, empowered employees.

Thank you