Can brand strategy work for small businesses?  Of course it can. Are small businesses interested in brand strategy? No, not really. 

Small business owners are concerned with business strategy. To paraphrase Sergio Zyman, they want to “Sell more, to more, more times, at higher process.”  The flaw in the approach is these goals are internal or “me” focused.  Brand strategy introduces external factors or a “you” focus to the equation. Small business owners often don’t have time to delve into why customers buy — their thoughts are more binary, e.g., sale/no sale. Let alone all the other things they have to worry about. 

Brand strategy is best done when balancing customer care-abouts and brand good-ats. Part me (seller), part you (customer).  Ironically, business owners are best equipped to understand their customers and prospects.  They’re feet on the ground. Ears in the room. Fingers on the credit card reader. Yet they’re so busy with the day-to-day they don’t have times to plumb customer experience and preference – the things that contribute to brand strategy. And the things that make everyday decision making easy.

It’s a conundrum.

Peace.