Small Business By Design

Heinz Ketchup by Caitlinator on Flickr

I have a younger brother who insists that Hunt’s Ketchup is better than Heinz. He would go on and on when he was forced to eat Heinz Ketchup on his hot dog or hamburger. Many years ago, my mom and I decided to test out whether he REALLY knew the difference. So one night at the dinner table, we performed a little taste-test. I squeezed out a dollop of Heinz and a dollop of Hunt’s Ketchup onto a paper plate, and wrote their respective names on the underside of the plate. We had him give both brands a try, and I’m sure you know what is coming next—he chose the wrong one. That’s right, he thought the Heinz tasted better than the Hunt’s brand. He insisted we cheated, we insisted he never knew what he was talking about.

The fact is, the kid had an unshakable partiality to the Hunt’s brand. Such a partiality that he couldn’t even fess up to actually liking the other brand better.

Consumers minds work this way too. They acquire a strong affinity (or conversely, a disgust) towards a specific brand of product or service. And once that opinion is formed, it is pretty tough to change their minds. No matter how many facts or features you offer them.

This is why it is important to market your brand strong from the start. Even the smallest of companies can do this. It starts with solidly defining what you stand for and sticking to it. From there, you build the look of the brand (designers will call this your “brand identity”) so that it reinforces your mission.

As the ketchup story demonstrates, a poor impression of your company may never be able to be reversed. This is why it’s absolutely vital to make a long-term investment in your new company and seek professional marketing help at the very beginning of your business.