How to build a brand for a local business
By Arian Cruz3 min read
To build a brand for a local business, write your mission and vision first, then use one name, one look and one voice the same way on your sign, your truck, your Google profile and your social pages.
A family taquería in Freeport has a red logo on the food truck, a blurry Facebook photo and a Google listing under a slightly different name. A customer who loved the tacos on Friday searches on Monday, finds three versions of the same business and calls the place with the clean listing instead.
When customers can't recognize a business, they compare on price, because price is the only thing left to compare. With a clear brand, people call you before they compare prices.
You can build most of a local brand yourself, in this order:
- Write your mission and vision, one sentence each.
- Pick one business name and use it exactly the same everywhere.
- Keep keywords out of your business name on Google.
What is a brand for a small business?
A brand for a small business is what customers recognize and trust before they call. A local brand has three parts, and all three have to match everywhere the customer sees you:
- The promise: what you do, for whom and where.
- The look: name, logo, colors and photos.
- The voice: how you sound in a post, a review reply or a phone call.
If one of the three changes from place to place, the customer has to work to recognize you. Most customers won't.
Should you start with your mission and vision or your logo?
Start with your mission and vision, one sentence each, before you pick colors or a logo. Your photos, your truck and your ads all come from those two sentences.
Test both sentences: can your newest employee repeat them without reading? If not, cut words until your newest employee can.
Does your business name have to be the same everywhere?
Yes. Google's own guidelines for business profiles say your name "should reflect your business's real-world name, as used consistently on your storefront, website, stationery, and as known to customers."
Pick one name and use it the same way on the sign, the truck, Google, social media and invoices. "Your Taco Truck" on the truck and "Your Tacos TX" on Google look like two businesses, to your customer and to Google.
Not sure if your name, logo and details match everywhere today? The free visibility check tells you. We answer within one business day.
Can you add keywords to your business name on Google?
No. Google doesn't allow keywords in the business name, and as we explained in what decides whether you show up on the map, a stuffed name can get the profile suspended.
The common mistake: a name like "Your Taco Truck Best Mexican Food Freeport." Keep the Google name the same as the name on your truck, and put the words "Mexican food" and "Freeport" in your categories, your description and your website instead.
How does Egamroom build your brand with you?
Egamroom's Brand & Website design plan turns your mission and vision into your brand voice, your logo and a bilingual website built for the phone.
Every month your business looks different on the truck, on Google and on Facebook, customers who already liked you have to guess. Some guess wrong.
With Brand & Website design, customers recognize you the same way everywhere, in English and in Spanish. The site goes live about one week after you send us your text, photos and access. You answer a few questions. We do the rest.
Your domain, site, Google profile and brand files are in your name from day one. Hosting costs $0. You only renew the domain, about $12 a year. The price is published: $2,600 on its own, or $2,000 with any monthly plan.
"I already have a logo." Good. If your logo reads at thumbnail size and looks the same everywhere, the visibility check will tell you so, and you may not need this plan.
Start with the free visibility check: send us your business name and an email. We check whether your name, logo and details match on Google, your site and your social pages, and whether you show up in Spanish. We answer within one business day. No commitment to buy anything.
Next article: how much local SEO costs for a small business in Brazoria County.
P.S. Free check, answer within one business day. Just your business name and an email: see if my business shows up.