Why D2C Small Businesses Should Have a Brand Strategy

Lately, there’s been a growth in number of people running their small business from a social channel or a platform like Etsy. That is, their main form of marketing is through social media, such as Instagram or TikTok, and for purchases, they either use a platform like Etsy or sell directly to their customers through a direct contact (hence, D2C – Direct-to-Customer). 

Many of these small business owners know what they’re doing. Their social media accounts have beautiful layouts, helpful content, and consistent schedules, which has led to numerous followers. We’re sure sales also follows that success in social marketing! So, why are we even proposing that these small businesses should have a solid brand strategy? Here are four reasons.

#1. Brand Identity Refresh

There’s no doubt that every one of the small business owners out there are talented and hard-working. Generally, logos are beautiful and the Instagram/TikTok content reflects that focus on the visual aesthetics. However, that’s not all that’s included in a brand identity.

What kind of tone of voice are you using in your communications? How would you define your brand personality? Is it consistent throughout not only your social media but other direct communications to your customers as well? Do those other communications reflect the visual brand identification elements of your social media channels? 

There may be pieces of your brand strategy and even your social media strategy that’s been overlooked, which is common in small businesses that have limited resources and lots of sales to make. That’s why we recommend a brand identity refresh periodically to make sure we catch those gaps and make sure your business’s public identity is flawless.

#2. Strategic Use of Time & Resources

We’re also small business owners, so we know this more than anyone: time is the biggest resource, and resources are rare and valuable. Therefore, optimizing those resources available to us – especially time – is a huge value-add to any small business owner.

Making sure you have a complete and comprehensive brand strategy and social media strategy is actually key in the strategic use of resources for small business owners, especially D2C businesses. That’s because so much of their business operations are actually run on social media channels, and many sales come from customers who are attracted to specific brand identity elements. 

Plus, with a fully thought-out brand and social media strategy, related operations and processes are preset and take up less of your daily time. Less time making decisions and running repetitive processes equals more time making sales and money!

#3. Targeted Marketing & Sales

While many small business owners already know this, finding your niche market and target audience is key to a successful marketing and sales strategy. Because small businesses cannot compete with large businesses that have the resources to target everybody with many skews of products/services, finding a niche target that needs a specific problem solved is key to success.

Having a brand and social media strategy again helps set up these key approaches and processes. It not only streamlines marketing and sales but also makes sure it’s all targeted to the right potential customers. 

#4. Scaling Your Business in the Future

Finally, small business owners! We all want to grow, right? We don’t start a small business to stay small; we want our businesses to serve as many customers as possible. As our successful businesses prosper and have the opportunity to grow bigger, a strong brand strategy to hold the foundations of our businesses will be important to a successful scale-up. Most business owners want to stick to our core beliefs and identities even as we grow larger!

Plus, as we grow, our team is likely to grow, and other people other than ourselves will be handling social media, communications, marketing, and PR for the business. A brand strategy can give these new team members a quick overview of what the business and brand is all about – not only how to portray the brand, but what we as members of the brand believe in and stand for.

Whether you’re just starting out with a new business and need professionals to help with your brand identity, or you’ve been in business for quite some time and feel like it’s time for a refresh with a new set of eyes, that’s what external consultants are for! We’re offering a special one-off package for small D2C businesses: $999 for a brand strategy + social media strategy over 2 months. Contact us to learn more about this package, or any other customizable package we can offer!