But appearing on the Painting & Decorating Show, with host Joel Bardall, Jon Mears, published author, and marketing expert, argued that branding has the power to transform your business.

“Branding is massive – anybody complaining about getting the wrong customer, it’s because your branding isn’t right,” said Mears. 

“What decorators or sole traders need to do when they think about their brand, is build it on their own personal values,” he added.

With retail brands, for example, it is easy to gauge what type of shop it is – luxury, mid-range or cheap and cheerful – and their target audience by the décor of the store, the signage and packaging, the appearance of the staff, and even the music they play inside. 

All those elements reflect their brand values. 

The same applies to a trade business.

“If you want to be the brand, ‘Mr expensive decorator, that only works in million-pound homes’ then every decision you make about your business needs to reflect those values and build your brand,” explained Mears.

Branded workwear, sign writing on the van, printed marketing collateral, websites, social media accounts, your appearance, even company paperwork need to reflect the values of the company brand. “All these touches come together,” said Mears.

Building a brand isn’t just having a nice logo, but consistently delivering on these small elements of the business. Mears recommends “looking for those marginal 1% improvements. Everyday go ‘is there a way I can do that slightly better?’ And before you know it, your business is so much better”. 

For the full discussion, including how to deal with cowboys under-cutting you in the market please click below.