Six things SME leaders can do to build a brand people remember

Experts share advice on how small business owners can create a memorable brand

If you want your business to stand out, it’s not about having the loudest voice but having a clear identity.  

We spoke to four branding experts for their tips on how to build a brand that sticks in people’s minds.  

Understand your customers 

Laura Chamberlain, founder of Think Talk Thrive and Professor of Marketing at Warwick Business School, says business owners who want to build a memorable brand should start with their customer, not with what they want to sell. 

‘Customers do not buy products’, Laura explains. ‘They buy solutions to problems they have, often problems they have not even fully articulated to themselves. The brands that stick are the ones that make people feel understood, not impressed. 

‘Most business owners assume they know what their customers think. The assumption exists because they are doing the right thing and paying attention, but crucially they are only paying attention through their own lens.  

‘Talk to your best customers properly. Not a quick exchange at the end of a transaction, but a real conversation about what frustrates them, what they were hoping for, and what surprised them.  

‘Read your reviews for the language people use, not the score they gave you. That language tells you exactly how to talk about your business in a way that will resonate.’ 

Have a personality  

If you want to be remembered, you need to stand out so build a strong personality around your brand that customers resonate with. Large businesses are often wary of doing this, but small businesses can use it to their advantage.  

‘In a world flooded with options, your personality is your greatest human differentiator’, says Jojo Smith, founder of CreativSAS. 

‘Your sense of humour, your directness, your warmth, your lived experience; these are not unprofessional extras. They are your competitive advantage. Your USP. Small businesses have a superpower that big corporations spend millions trying to replicate: the ability to be real. Use it unapologetically.’ 

Rosie Wilkins, director of Brand by Design Studio adds: ‘Your quirks, your perspectives, your opinions, and even your hobbies are all routes to connection – and when you connect – you’re remembered. You can bring in personality through language, photography, colours, themes, aesthetics, or even consistent use of things like emojis or props in your content.’ 

Tell a story 

‘People connect with people’ may be a cliché, but it’s a very true one and something that small business owners can use to their advantage. 

As a business grows, the start-up story behind a business can often be lost but when your venture is smaller you can use it to build a memorable brand. Many customers love to know the humans behind a business, and if they buy in to your story from the start, they could be customers for life.  

Brand strategist Lydia Rumley says: ‘Founder-led brands have a human origin story at the centre of the business – a set of experiences, opinions, and decisions that shaped how it exists today. When you float that up to the surface, you present something people can actually relate to. 

‘And it’s not just the founder. There’s often a team story there too, focused around how people think, how they approach their work, and what they care about. That’s where the depth comes from to maintain a relationship with your customers even when they’re between products.’ 

Use your story in your social media posts, the ‘About us’ page on your website, your media relations, and your advertising.  

Be consistent 

A consistent approach to how you communicate your brand will help to make it memorable.  

Lydia says: ‘Your brand is how the business operates day to day and it only works when it’s applied properly, across every touchpoint both internally and externally.  

‘That means how it shows up on your website, in your sales conversations, in meetings, in hiring, in emails – everywhere the business touches people have to look, sound, and feel the same.  

‘When that alignment is there, things work as they should and the customer’s experience matches the expectation you’ve created. That’s what keeps people. Not one big moment, but a series of small ones that all line up and make it easy to stay loyal.’ 

Laura Chamberlain says brand associations can take years of repeated exposure to properly form in people’s minds.  

‘Consistency does not equate to rigidity or repetition, she advises. ‘Define your core brand pillars: what you stand for, the problems you solve, the values that shape how you work. Then express those pillars creatively across different channels and contexts.  

‘That is what consistency actually means. An Instagram post can be warm and informal. A proposal can be precise and authoritative. An event can be energetic. As long as the same pillars are underneath all of it, pointing in the same direction, you are building something.’  

Build brand advocates 

To build a strong and memorable brand, you should ensure customers are active participants in the growth of your business.  

‘Build advocacy into the journey deliberately’, Laura explains. ‘Follow up after a purchase or project, not with an automated email but with a real conversation. A growing number of founders are picking up the phone personally to ask how things went, and the effect on loyalty and referrals is striking.  

‘Talk to customers on social media as people, not as an audience. Create a small customer panel. Make it easy for people to share their experience. A warm introduction from a trusted peer is worth more than almost any other form of marketing. 

‘Customers who feel genuinely involved do not just advocate for you. They tell you things. They surface problems you had not spotted. They use language that sharpens your message. That is not a nice bonus. It is a competitive advantage, and most small businesses never fully use it.’ 

Don’t speak to everyone 

You want to have as many customers as possible, but a brand that speaks to everyone speaks to no one. If you try to appeal to a very broad audience, your message can be diluted and forgettable. You’ll get more success by appealing to a specific audience.  

‘The most remembered brands in the world are polarising’, says Jojo Smith. ‘People either love them or loath them, and that’s completely intentional.  

‘Get specific about who your people are, what they love, and what they genuinely need from you. When your ideal customer feels truly seen, they don’t just buy from you. They become loyally obsessed and they bring others with them.’

Latest articles