Running a local rural business presents a series of its own challenges and opportunities. On the one hand, you have access to a more limited customer base and a smaller local market. On the other, you have stronger community to focus on and can create more loyal repeat customers. Dealing with the challenges or harnessing the opportunities depend on two things: trust and recognition. How do you build trust and recognition? Develop a brand.
Brand and Business
To potential customers, your brand is your business. When you see that purple Cadbury’s wrapper, you as a customer already know a hundred things about that chocolate and the company that made it. You know its history, it’s ties to British identity, what it means to buy it for a family member. Their logo and visual identity is tied to the story that Cadbury’s wants to tell. You have to decide what narrative your business should be tied to. Do you want to be seen as luxury or value for money, elegant or rough-and-ready, durable or beautiful? Rural businesses often have compelling stories and are run by real characters.
Differentiate Your Business to Build Your Brand
Work out what makes you different. Do you offer something you can’t get elsewhere? Is your customer service next level? Are your founders/staff a bit eccentric? What sort of person buys your product? It can be difficult to work out your brand identity yourself, as you are viewing the business from the inside and you may not have much to compare to. It is useful to talk to a someone on the outside to flesh out the story you are trying to tell. Either a marketing professional or a friend.
Consistent Branding Builds Trust
After deciding on your brand identity, this needs to be translated into the aesthetics of your content. Your visual brand should be memorable and reflect the values you have already worked out. It should be present throughout your content. From your logo to your Instagram tiles, to your uniform in videos, you need a consistent visual language that people will begin to associate with your business. If you are regularly posting content with a consistent brand, your customers with develop first familiarity, then trust. At Rural Clicks, we offer a range of packages which will help you develop your visual brand and produce a consistent story across your advertising content.
Continue Your Brand’s Story
Cadbury’s is Britain’s chocolate (even though it’s now owned by an American company). British people’s memories and identities are tied up with this brand, so they’ll always return to it. So, follow this model and make your brand an integral part of your local community’s identity. Get involved with your local community, and become a face. See if you can sponsor a team or get involved with charity work. We describe the importance of local community in this post, Community Over Followers. If you can become the local go-to for your product, not only have you built a loyal customer base, but you’ve built a strong story for when your business grows, and you decide to take your business further afield. The nation loves a small-town success!
