Branding during downturn can be tough, but worth it

Branding in a downturn can be difficult.

With limited resources, it's not always easy to get your brand the kind of visibility it needs.

To grow your brand in this type of economy requires not only a lot of creativity and determination, but a commitment of time and resources to elevate your brand beyond just a name and logo, experts say.

"Your name and logo unlock your brand image," notes Barbara Findlay Schenck, co-author of "Branding for Dummies" (Wiley; $21.99) and president of Portland, Ore.-based BizStrong .com, a small-business resource center. "Your brand lives in your customers' minds. It's what they believe about you."

While it's tempting to cut back on your company's branding efforts in this downturn, you may want to reconsider, experts say.

"Other people are cutting back and hesitant to spend their money on building and marketing their brand," says Mark Preiser, a partner at Walter F. Cameron Advertising in Hauppauge. "It's an opportunity to have a greater share of voice."

Stay visibleYou don't want to fall off your customers' radar, he notes.

"Brands are built with consistency over a long period of time," explains Karl Barnhart, president of CoreBrand, a consulting firm in Manhattan. "It's OK to cut back to what's really important, but resist the urge to disappear."

Reassess your marketing efforts and see where your corporate branding dollars would best be spent, he advises. You might have to allocate marketing dollars differently.

Make sure you have a good online presence, including being registered with the bigger search engines, and take advantage of the social networks.

Also, be visible in the community, Barnhart says. Join your local community boards and increase your personal visibility to increase the visibility of your business, he advises.

Empathize with your customers and align yourself with community needs. For example, if you're a restaurant, donate to local food banks, if you're a hardware store, conduct do-it-yourself workshops, Barnhart says.

Know your goal from the outset so you can best direct your branding efforts, Schenck says. And define and hone your brand promise: the relevant benefit only your business provides, she says. Don't try to be all things to everyone, which is often what businesses start to do in a downturn, she explains.

"If you make high-end outerwear for hikers, that's exactly what you should build your brand around," says Preiser. "Don't just try to sell nice warm coats to the rest of the world."

Mean something to your target audience and stick to your brand promise, he says.

"Don't change your brand message to make it so large that you're cutting out the people that would appreciate what your brand stands for," Preiser says.

Maintain consistency"The smart brands are the ones that maintain some kind of consistency through these cycles," Barnhart says.

Andy Whitehead, vice president of sales and marketing for Crosstex International Inc., a manufacturer of infection prevention and control products, understands this.

In fact, the Hauppauge-based company, which sells directly to distributors, has increased its branding efforts in excess of 20 percent for fiscal year 2010, which he believes has had a positive impact on sales.

"We've grown our business significantly year over year," says Whitehead, who works with Walter F. Cameron Advertising.

The company has not stopped its community outreach and has stepped up cooperative advertising efforts with distributors and advertising within trade publications.

"You need to set yourself apart," Whitehead says. "If you're not branding, then you're losing visibility and taking yourself out of the market."

Keys to a strong brand

A strong brand is:

Consistent

Sticks to its brand promise or message

Localized

Understands local needs

Different

Has a defining quality or characteristic that sets it apart

Source: Karl Barnhart