The thought of creating or redesigning your company brand can be a daunting one. As a small business owner, you may feel like you don’t know where to start. Let’s break this process down into smaller parts that you can accomplish, one at a time.


  1. Define your company – your vision, mission, products and services, short and long-term goals, ideal customers, competitors and their similarities and differences to your company. What do you and your company stand for?
  2. Define your target audience – demographics such as age, income, occupation, sex, likes, dislikes, and geographic location. And then answer these questions about that audience – what problems do they need you to solve for them; and why, when, where, and how do they buy?
  3. More audience questions will help you focus on the target for your products or services – Are they strapped for time, do they have responsibilities for children and aging parents; how can you make life easier for them?


  1. Your logo is part of branding and most people find it to be the most exciting part. The logo is the visual representation of your brand and represents your company whenever and wherever someone sees it. Share with your logo designer the valuable information that you gathered in defining your company or organization.
  2. Think of adjectives that describe you and your business and share them with the designer. That list of adjectives will be valuable for creating the look and feel of your logo and brand. 
  3. What are your most favorite and least favorite colors? Give this information to your designer before logo design begins so you don’t end up with logo design concepts that you can’t live with. Keep in mind that the color not only represents your company and brand, it has to appeal to your target audience as well.
  4. Expect the designer to provide three or more design concepts of your logo to choose from. You may have a few rounds of revisions to the concept that you chose. The finalized logo will be ready soon after.


  1. Use the information that you collected for the logo design process to also help you create the messaging that will sell your service or product, including the adjectives that will help create the tone of your messaging.
  2. Think about the customer benefits of using the product or service and write them down.
  3. Now write the messages that you need to share. The more clear and simple they are, the more likely your customer will read the information. If you think you need outside help, get it. A copywriter is a good investment.


  1. Branding requires you to deliver on the customers’ expectations; expectations that you help create with your service or product messaging and promises. For example, if you say your cupcakes are best in the area, you need to make sure that they are.
  2. Over time, your product or service will gain its own reputation based on customers’ expectations and their experiences with your company.
  3. Your excellent reputation will help you succeed in your business.


This is a topic that is a blog article of its own. The logo, expectations and messaging are all part of it. Work with your designer to determine whether you need brochures, flyers, advertising, postcards, giveaway items, business cards, etc. And we haven’t touched on the world of digital marketing yet or how to deliver those marketing collaterals. Stay tuned, more information to follow!