Whenever you try to make a decision on the brand new car you’re planning on buying, most likely you won’t just show up at the dealership, and buy that red convertible you saw in a magazine ad. You probably first saw the ad on T.V, then went to the manufactures website, maybe even requested a free catalog, and every time you drove on the highway, you saw that sexy car on the billboard telling you “buy me”. What you have just experience is synchronized branding.

There are many branding channels, and to make them more effective you have to synchronize them (put them to work together) to get the best results. When you start to recognize a brand, it sticks in your mind forever, and every time you see a different ad, you will relate it to the ones you have previously seen.

Here are just some basic, easy to follow branding channels that you should use to generate more sales.

• Referrals from clients: probably one of the easiest and most underused branding channels. It is as easy as asking a simple question to every client “do you know anybody that will benefit from my services?”

Create a premium offer, or incentive program for referrals, and you’ll ensure you will have business coming in all the time.

• Referrals from other Business: There are many other businesses like yours that can relate and complement not compete, with you and will be willing to send you referrals in an exchange for anything. Again a nice place to create a rewards/incentive program for your referrals.

• Direct Mail Marketing: From sales letters, to postcards and media kits, direct mail marketing is a powerful tool that is cheap and effective. A small business owner can create custom sales letters to the many businesses that he/she believes would benefit from its services. How would you like if you get a personal letter from a small business offering a service you have been looking for at very affordable rates right in your area? You will take it with great empathy, and most likely give them a call, so would they.

• Networking: Sometimes the most powerful marketing tool you have is your business card. You can be at your friend’s pool on a Sunday, and while you are having a cold beer, relaxing, you meet someone that has lots of connections. The small pool side chat takes off and you two end up talking on how your company could help the many small company business owners he works with. You simple hand your business card to your new friend, finish enjoying your Sunday, and by Monday you probably have a new salesman, working for you without even knowing.

• Seminars: If you have a small business, most likely you will be very knowledgeable in some area of expertise, whether is legal, accounting, bakery, or design; there are a lot of people out there dying to learn what you know. You can host a simple small seminar about your subject, and introduce your services to other small business owners, who most likely will be interested on buying from you.

• Web Marketing: Oh! The lovely power of the internet. I can’t stop mentioning of how much businesses you can gain from online advertising. From having a great looking friendly website, to creating a simple e-newsletter to send to your customers. Every small business has to have an online presence that will help them look more trustworthy to their new prospects. There are many ways of online marketing that small businesses can take advantage of, some of which won’t cost them much, and will bring new exciting customers to their door.

After you apply some of these branding channels, and create a business image that is consistent throughout your marketing, customers will start to recognize your name, and the next time they are looking for your service, most likely they will remember your name.