GEORGE TOWN: Small and medium enterprise (SME) owners and entrepreneurs have been urged to focus on building their brand identity in order to boost capital efficiency and add value to their business as well as their customers.
Xavier Mah, founder of luxury bespoke footwear label XALF, said that building a powerful brand identity for SMEs would increase their visibility in a competitive market and more easily build networks with potential investors.
Mah, who is also the founder of Xavier Mah Consultancy, said that one branding strategy for SMEs to compete against heavyweight conglomerates is injecting
emotional elements in human interest stories in order to gain exposure and appeal to potential stakeholders.
“It is important to understand what makes your company stand out from the rest, and using emotional stories would help build a good profile for your own company,” he said at a seminar yesterday at the Penang Chinese Chamber of Commerce here.
He explained that while most SMEs have a tight budget compared to larger corporations, executing human interest stories effectively would gain traction from the media and promote their business at a lower cost.
He said that business successors have also been selling themselves to build personal reputations with their own background stories that inspire others, using examples such as AirAsia founder Tan Sri Tony Fernandes and Alibaba Group co-founder Jack Ma.
“The product and its price do not sell (your company’s brand, but) human stories do sell,” he added.
Meanwhile, CK Chang, founder of luxury lifestyle brand Oxwhite, said that entrepreneurs and business owners should also put full commitment in their own brand and be daring enough to think outside of the box.
“As long as you are willing to do what others have not done, even if it may seem impossible and crazy, you will stand out from others and make a reputation for
yourself,” he said.
Chang has made bold and creative promotional stunts to promote his company including selling premium collar shirts at 99 sen for
the first 1,000 costumers, making handcraft flower bouquets and sending invitation letters to media outlets to gain exposure, as well as posting a video on social media aimed at getting Tony Fernandes’ attention.
“If I do dare myself in making bold actions, at least I know that there may be a chance I would succeed, but if I fail, at least I failed trying,” he said. – Bernama
