Maria Ross is a brand strategist that has been entertaining and educating audiences from the moment she could walk. And talk. And write. Prior to creating her blog Red Slice, She crafted branding and marketing strategies for Silicon Valley start-ups, global software firms, Internet companies, entertainment powerhouses and consumer businesses. One of her most popular books is, Branding Basics For Small Business, was a huge success and popular with companies trying to make sense of their brand image.

I caught up with her briefly and did a quick interview on how exactly Why marketing for local small businesses must first begin with branding. In the interview I also asked very practical questions I believed could help small business brand marketing.

In your own words how would you define branding?

Brand is your core, your essence. It’s the value you provide, your reason for being and your promise to customers. You can think of brand as the reputation or the soul of your business. And it’s represented visually (logo, colors, fonts, imagery) verbally (copy tone, elevator pitch, sales script, tagline) and most importantly, experientially (do you deliver what your brand promises visually and verbally? What is it like to do business with you?)

Does branding only apply to huge corporations? Or are there benefits for local small businesses? If yes can you describe some of the benefit of brand marketing?

If you have a reputation, that is brand. Period. Doesn’t matter if you are one person or 10,000 people strong. Any business that has to convey value in a customer’s mind, has to compete with other options they may have  – including small businesses – needs to intentionally think about brand strategy and how it informs everything they do and promise.

Can you describe the relationship between marketing and branding?

Brand is at the core. It’s who you are, your differentiation, personality, voice, benefits, value. Marketing is but one function of the business: getting goods and services to market. There are 4 important aspects to marketing: what you sell, how much you charge for it,  where you sell it, and how you will let people know about it. Or Product, Price, Place and Promotion as they teach in business school. Brand informs those decisions so you can then create a marketing plan. But it also should inform everything in the organization, such as new hires, company policies and how you run the business day to day.

Can one (Marketing or Branding) exist without the other?

No, one informs the other.

Does brand marketing and  branding your business actually attract more customers and increase your bottom line? If so, how?

It’s not about “branding” your business. It’s about creating a strong brand strategy that you then convey through what people traditionally think of as “branding” – logo, colors, design. If you want to differentiate yourself and stand out in this crowded market, if you want to create loyal legions of fans who brag about you, tweet about you and continually buy from you, you need to create that brand reputation – and it needs to be based in authenticity. Customers will then buy from you not merely based on price (which you want to avoid, as those are the least loyal customers) but based on what your brand promises, how they feel about doing business with you. If brand were not important, Neiman Marcus would not be able to sell white T-shirts for 5x the price as you can get them at Target!

What advice do you have for local small businesses out their who want to develop a brand?

First think about your ideal customer in great details. Get to know them intimately. Be creative if you’re just starting out. Think about them beyond the demographics. What do they desire, need, fear? Next, think about your own authentic company personality. What can you really deliver in the market? It’s all well and good to want to BE Apple, but if you can’t be innovative and well-designed like Apple, don’t do it. There are markets for everything – you just need to decided where you want to play: do you want to be the leader in cheap and disposable for people that have that need, or can you be the leader in luxury craftsmanship? It’s when businesses try to be all things to all people that they get into trouble and watch their sales disappear.

Any final tips or inside secrets you can share on how to develop a successful brand?

Good brand strategy is not about how much money you spend but about how clearly and consistently you communicate the right message to the right people at the right time. Don’t try to be all things to all people. If you do, you’ll end up being nothing to no one!

For more info about Maria Ross you can visit her website. I strongly recommend her book: Branding Basics For Small Business for ANY small business owner looking to strengthen their brand marketing.