Branding for Small Business with Jennifer Holland.
Branding for small business owners with Jennifer Holland, a Certified Brand Strategist. Jennifer shares experiences from her entrepreneurial journey, from artist to successfully brand engagement agency owner, and her insights on developing and maintaining an effective brand for your small business.
Jennifer Holland is a Certified Brand Strategist, Business Growth Expert, Professional Speaker, Author and the owner of Holland People+Brands – an integrated brand engagement agency.
Jennifer is an esteemed thought-leader and trusted consultant in the brand development space, and she is one of only a handful of Certified Brand Strategists in the United States. For more than two decades, Jennifer has helped businesses and entrepreneurs clarify their unique offerings, communicate those offerings with innovative messaging and bring their brands to life with consistent brand promise delivery solutions.
She co-developed the Holland HELIX®—a proven methodology aligning business+brand+people strategies—and the highly sought-after Build Your Brand Workshop® curriculum, which is licensed in six markets across the United States and Canada. Jennifer is also an internationally published author, professional-level member of the National Speaker’s Association and Expert Resource Speaker for Vistage International.
Jennifer lives in Jacksonville, Florida.
Schedule a FREE Consultation with Jennifer Holland.
Questions and topics covered on this episode of The How of Business podcast include:
- You studied fine arts (drawing, sculpture, painting) in college, and then started your career as an art director and then moved into communications. Why did you decide to study art, and how has that experience, talent and education helped you in branding and operating your small business?
- You launched your business in 1997. Why did you decide to start your own business? Why did you decide to eventually focus on branding?
- Why are you a business owner? What does it provide you?
- Please briefly define what Branding is, and what’s the purpose, from a small business owner’s perspective.
- “Your brand is your customer promise.”
- Please share a couple of examples of how to deliver on our small business customer promise.
- Where do I start with developing a brand for my small business?
- What is a “Purpose Statement” and why do I need one?
- How do I determine and communicate my “Competitive Advantage”? Can’t it just be that we will do it better?
- How do I determine my “Customer Benefit Statement”? (Why should the customer care?)
- How do I develop my “Position Line” (can this be the same as my tag line)?
- Why do I need an “Elevator Pitch” for my small business and when should I create and use it?
- How do I avoid Brand Erosion?
- How to avoid or identify that your brand messaging has gotten murky.
- What are some things to look for that may indicate my brand has eroded?
- How important is consistency and congruency throughout the brand and business?
- How do I know if I may need a brand refresh?
- For a new small business, where should I start? For an existing small business, what should I review?
- For new small business owners – start with your WHY.
- For existing small business owners – manage your Brand like an asset.
Episode Host: Henry Lopez is a serial entrepreneur, small business coach, and the host of this episode of The How of Business podcast show – dedicated to helping you start, run and grow your small business.
More About Small Business Branding:
Holland Helix emphasizes a comprehensive and strategic approach to branding. Their proven approach to branding includes the following key elements:
- Beyond Logos and Websites: Jennifer Holland views branding as much more than just the visual elements like logos and small business websites. She considers these to be the tactical, surface-level aspects of branding.
- Integration of Business Strategy: Branding includes the alignment of a small business brand with the overall business strategy. This means that branding is not just a marketing effort but is deeply integrated with the company’s business goals and objectives.
- Involvement of People Strategy: Jennifer Holland emphasizes the importance of involving employees in the branding process. According to their Jennifer, employees are crucial brand ambassadors, and their alignment with the brand’s values and message is essential.
- Consistent and Authentic Communication: Branding is about creating consistent and authentic messages that resonate with the target audience and build trust.
- Holistic Process: Jennifer advocates for a holistic process in branding, which involves critical thinking, strategizing, and fact-finding to uncover the unique value a brand brings to its customers and employees.
Holland Helix defines branding as a strategic, holistic process that goes beyond visual identity to encompass business strategy, employee engagement, and the consistent, authentic communication of a brand’s unique value to its audience.
Resources:
Books mentioned in this episode:
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- Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action by Simon Sinek
- Building the Brand-Driven Business: Operationalize Your Brand to Drive Profitable Growth by Scott M. Davis, Michael Dunn, David A. Aaker
- What Great Brands Do: The Seven Brand-Building Principles that Separate the Best from the Rest by Denise Lee Yohn
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