Building a business takes a lot of work. To be sustainable, new businesses need a solid business plan, they need to be organized by having the right tools available for things like invoicing, and they need a strategy to build their customer base. The latter can be the hardest thing to do and also the one thing you need to keep doing to maintain cash flow over the long term.
Those who’ve been in business for a while have different challenges, but they can still learn some lessons from when they established.
Here are five ways to build your brand so you can be sustainable.
Build a presence on social media
This one probably goes without saying.
The big guns of social media–Facebook, Twitter (now X), LinkedIn, Instagram–have been around for over a decade.
The new kid, TikTok, has developed a strong presence in its short time as a social media channel. There are over one billion users worldwide, and it is wildly popular among young demographics particularly those in Gen Z (generally anyone born between 1997 and 2012).
All businesses need to have a social media strategy. This is how several people connect with corporations both big and small. It’s important to be where your customers exist.
For example, if you’re in food and beverage, it would be strange not to have a presence on Instagram. Potential customers visit to check out the latest menus and offerings. Even professional services like lawyers or accountants have built successful Instagram pages to invite prospects and existing clients into their company culture.
If you’re just starting up your business, consider creating a Facebook and/or Instagram page for that business. You should also have at least a personal LinkedIn profile.
Then, create a strategy to develop regular content. You could achieve regular customer engagement just by posting up to three times a week. If that’s too ambitious for you, consider one post a week while engaging with other accounts you follow. Engagements include likes, comments, reposts and direct messages (DMs).
But if you’re not on social media in some form, you could lose customers.
Be active in your community
Bricks and mortar business or online only. It doesn’t matter. If you’re not visible in the community in which you maintain your business, you’re not doing enough to build your brand.
Some ways of doing this include sponsoring local or kids’ sports teams. You can even go the extra mile by volunteering your time through coaching or running the treasury.
Other ways to be involved in your community include being part of a neighbourhood association, joining a fitness club or sports league, sponsoring a food drive, or creating a scholarship for individuals.
You could also be creative and host an event of some kind that relates to your other passions and hobbies. Promote within your network and watch word of mouth spread about your commitment to the community.
Put your brand out there in the community, city or region where you do business. Align your values towards a cause that will make a difference for you and the people in your area.
Stand up for what you believe in – demonstrate your values
Once you’ve mastered the first two ways above, you should also learn to stand up for your beliefs.
A social media presence will give you a platform to demonstrate your values. Being part of the community in a tangible way will introduce you to many different people who are all potential customers.
We live in interesting times where people aren’t afraid to share their beliefs. This can be both positive and negative.
Major sports teams and leagues have been rolling out anti-hate campaigns for several years. They understand both from a revenue generation standpoint and PR standpoint, it does no one any favours to stay neutral in these instances.
Small businesses can adorn their shops with decals that indicate they welcome anyone into their establishment.
Look to large companies with strong vision and values. Follow their lead by showcasing this information on your website, and don’t hesitate to speak it into existence when you’re doing business.
Interact with like-minded professionals regularly
Building your network takes time and effort, and can be one of the hardest things to do on this list.
No one gets anywhere in their career, or life, without a little help from their friends.
Start with the people you know and ask them out for coffee. Ask them questions that will give you informative, open-ended answers.
For example, you could ask your friend or colleague something like, “What is your biggest worry?” This might solicit the kind of answer where you can offer to fill in the gap through your services or those of someone you know. Your colleague will appreciate the connection, and in turn, may do the same for you one day. Build that network.
Once you finish your coffee meeting, ask them outright if there is anyone you should connect with next. Your friend can make an introduction to a new contact, where you then start the process again.
Try to schedule at least one meeting per week until you get comfortable with the practice. Then you’ll have lunch meetings all the time until it becomes a natural extension of your business development strategy.
Join a tennis club to interact with even more people in a fun, relaxed environment.
Your objective in all these efforts is to build trust with like-minded people. Put them in a position where they think of you first when referring others to seek support.
Do this regularly and you will have a flood of people reaching out to you.
Learn the art of storytelling
There’s a reason Netflix, HBO and the movie industry are worth billions.
Telling a good story often turns into good listeners, and ultimately good customers. You need storytelling to separate yourself from the competition.
We tell stories when we meet new people or converse with old friends at parties. Similar to our networking strategy, you want to earn trust while being interesting at the same time. There’s no better way to do that than to engage with people more often.
You can use humour, joy, sadness or excitement in your storytelling. This doesn’t mean telling a tale or regaling someone over an epic adventure you once had. In fact, that would just make you look pretentious.
It is about coming up with interesting anecdotes that connect you with people. The goal is to discover some kind of commonality you have with the listener.
Now take this principle and apply it to your website content or your monthly newsletter.
Step one, draw people in with a direct subject line. Something like, “How to plan a family vacation on a budget.”
Step two, develop an interesting hook. Think of a short anecdote no more than a paragraph long to lead off your email.
That’s it. Do this for every email or piece of content you produce. Customers will recognize your voice and begin associating it with your brand.
Follow these five steps, practice them in your everyday business life, and you should see more customers.