Small businesses can’t afford to be small-minded

316 million.

According to a 2023 World Bank report that is the number of small businesses currently registered, accounting for 95% of all businesses in the global economy.  

Not an insignificant number.

Unfortunately, growth in small business numbers has created a corresponding sea of sameness, escalated further by society’s current obsession with haste, to get a business idea up and in market at speed in order to ‘capitalise on a moment’.

This is an outcome small businesses simply can’t afford.

As a small business owner, you can’t afford to have your mind solely in the product and expect that the product alone will drive substantial business success. A great product is only great if people know it, see it, experience it, and clearly understand why it is of value above all others.

Small business owners can’t afford to view brand as a risky investment upfront, yet too many do. The financial investment in brand upfront will pay significant dividends back over time if the right brand is created from the get-go.

The key to clearing space is to unlock genuine value, for you and your customers; to create true differentiation. Step one is to acknowledge that building a strong brand is a crucial investment to make - an essential element that drives sustainable business growth; a brand compelling enough to elevate you up and out of sameness.

Step two is to create a value proposition absolutely unique to you, one that is both true and meaningful. Third, is to create your distinct brand through a potent North Star – your reason for being that guides every single business and brand decision. Your North Star is backed by a potent brand archetype and characteristics that determine how your business, people and product consistently behave, internally and in market. Repetition builds familiarity builds trust, which in turn builds advocacy. A North Star provides the framework for everything from pinpoint customer connections, CRM systems, highly relevant experiences, advertising, packaging, spatial design – sometimes even new products.

Small businesses can’t afford to be wedded to short-term, performance tactics. While these short, sharp spikes of activity can provide sugar hits to your business, it is the combination of both short-term and long-term activity that provides the most effective form of sustainable growth. Based on our experience working with brands globally, we believe Mark Ritson’s investment ratio of 40% short-term, 60% long-term brand building is on the money.

Small businesses can’t afford to be small-minded. In today’s world of 316 million small businesses you have to have the ambition to create something world class, innovative or positive for the world beyond profit. And for your business to succeed you need a brand to match the quality and ambition of your offering.  A globally-minded brand.

Never in our history have there been so many businesses trying to elbow their way to the front of this attention economy, which means there’s never been a greater need for businesses to invest in building a unique, differentiating and valuable brand.