The basics of brand building for small businesses

We feel things about brands. We have a sense that a company represents one of our passions or acts in a way we dislike.

That comes from interactions with the different touchpoints that make up its brand.

The three basic building blocks of brands – values, visual identity and tone of voice – define those interactions.

Getting a simple structure in place for these elements will make sure potential customers understand what you're offering.

The good news is that small business branding becomes much easier with a tool like Adobe Express, the quick and easy app you can use to create all your marketing content. Read on for tips on how to make the most of it.

The basic building blocks of a great brand

Whether we're seeing a company at an event or looking at a social post, those elements define our experience.

Let's look at what they include in more detail:

• Brand values: What you stand for

• Visual identity: The design of your logo, images, colours and other elements

• Tone of voice: The way you communicate

Your brand needs to resonate with potential customers. They should be able to immediately understand what you do. Getting that right can be tricky, so let's start with some basic questions.

Five simple questions to ask when defining your brand

The concept of a "brand" might feel hard to pin down. Start by answering the following questions:

1. Unique selling points: Why do customers choose your company?

2. Core belief: What's your mission?

3. Tone: How do you talk to your customers?

4. Goals: What do you want potential customers to think about your business?

5. Challenges: What does your brand need to achieve?

Let's look at some simplified answers to see how they work. Here's what a PR agency, which supports local hospitality businesses, might say:

1. Unique selling points: Industry knowledge and relationships with local media and influencers

2. Core belief: Independent businesses are vital to local communities

3. Tone: Experts who talk in an accessible, fun way

4. Goals: Be seen as an authority on the local hospitality scene

5. Challenges: Developing relationships with the owners of larger businesses

Three steps to developing a powerful brand

1. Brand values

It makes sense to begin with your values. These set out your fundamental beliefs and underpin how you interact with customers.

Start by brainstorming with your team. Host meetings to get everyone inspired and collate their suggestions.

Talk to your customers too. You can ask people directly what the company represents to them and potentially use a survey.

Once you have a long list, you can group similar ideas together and look for patterns. Pick five to 10 values that encapsulate what you believe in and start developing the wording.

Looking at brands you respect is a great way to get inspired and can help when you get stuck. We've included some great examples from Enterprise Nation's community at the end of this blog post.

2. Visual identity

The brand archetype wheel categorises brands into common types. Search for "brand archetype wheel" on Google to see how it works and check out examples.

• Which archetype best fits your brand?

• What about your competitors and other companies you love?

You'll notice that the brands in each archetype choose similar fonts, shapes and colours for their logos. On that basis, you can start to think about what your logo should include.

It's possible to generate a logo using tools like Adobe Express's free Logo Maker too. Just tell it about your business, choose a style you like and then put the finishing touches to your design.

Alternatively, get inspired and kickstart your logo design with thousands of free, professionally-designed logo templates that you can customise with your brand name, fonts and colours in just a few clicks.

You could also combine with Adobe Express's AI-powered Generate Image tool to generate ready-to-use images to support your unique needs. All you have to do is enter a text prompt and you'll get four high-quality results in return, ready for you to use in your branding.

Creating a logo is normally an iterative process. It might require designing several versions and asking your team, customers and advisers for feedback.

When you've finalised your logo, you can start to think about which images and colours fit with the design, and what best represents your values.

3. Tone of voice

A consistent, compelling tone of voice is the foundation of good communication. It can delight customers and make buying things feel like a breeze.

Monzo's tone of voice states that "every word matters" and the brand goes out of its way to make complex things simple.

Here's an example of how that translates to a description of the bank's features:

"Get instant notifications the second you pay. Set budgets for things like groceries and going out, and get warnings if you're spending too fast (if you want them)."

You can see how much Monzo is able to pack into a short paragraph and how easy it is to read and understand.

Your own tone of voice guidelines should include the following sections:

1. An introduction to why they matter and how people should use them

2. A description of your brand voice's core characteristics

3. Examples of sentences that fit your brand's tone of voice

4. A list of things to avoid

5. Notes on how to apply the tone of voice in particular situations

Applying your brand to marketing assets

Consistency is critical to brand-building, and you must apply your brand to all your company documents and marketing materials. That includes:

• social media accounts

• company website

• promotional materials

• the physical locations you run

There are tools that can help too. For example, Adobe Express's Brands feature lets you create a brand kit with all your fonts, colours, logo, and graphics that you can apply to any template in just a click, so you can keep all of your marketing content consistent and on-brand.

Brands is an Adobe Express Premium feature, but as an Enterprise Nation member you can get three months' free access right now.

Examples of great small business brands

We wanted to celebrate Enterprise Nation members that have amazing brands. If you're looking for inspiration, this is a great place to start:

1. Shroot's brand is rooted in sustainability. Its personality is communicated through simple iconography, a natural colour scheme and fun product names.

2. Beame's name and font convey its playful personality – the team wants you to enjoy sunbathing without stressing about skin damage.

3. The Kebab Club uses patterns and colours to communicate its heritage, and its photos show that a new generation is now transforming this history.

Relevant resources

• Growing your social media channels for your small business

• Content strategy for small businesses: Top tips and expert insights

• Small business brand design: Cost-effective ways to get recognised

Adobe Express: The quick and easy app to bring your business goals to life

With thousands of easy-to-use templates and commercially safe generative AI tools, Adobe Express makes creating content easy.

Learn more about Adobe Express on our Brand Builder hub