Top 7 Ways To Brand Your Woodworking Business
If you are just starting to buckle down on advertising or you’re established but looking to grow and expand your woodworking business, there are multiple ways to advertise and market your business. Some branding methods are digital while others include tangible pieces. Here are my top 7 ways to brand your woodworking business.
Business Cards
Business cards are traditional and can be seen as “old school”, yet are still very practical to this day. Business cards do not get tossed in the trash as easily as you might think. Many times they do get placed in inconspicuous areas and forgotten about, but when a customer needs something and they remember they have a card for someone that can help, they will dig for the card. A good business card should have your contact information. The whole purpose of your business card is to quickly and clearing give customers a means of contacting you. Having a unique and catchy logo is a great way to stick in someone’s head when they see you. Make your logo the centerpiece of your business card if it makes sense with your card’s design. Keep some cards on you everywhere - in the car, at work, at home, at your shop, etc. Hand you card out to as many people as possible. This will allow you to get in front of as much of an audience as possible. This goes for clients as well. Once you finish a project and deliver it to the client or ship it to them, be sure to include a business card or two. They may want to reach out to you in the future to do more business with you, or may have a friend needing work done and they can pass your business card along to them.
Add-Ons
When referencing “add-on” here, I am not necessarily talking about an up-sell. Don’t over-sell yourself or your products to a customer in a pushy way. While this used to be a good sales tactic, people don’t like feeling pushed into purchases. What I do recommend however, is small goods add ons that can help you promote your brand. For example, a set of wooden coasters, a wood drink koozie, a keychain, or a wood cutting board that is engraved with your logo is a nice gesture that you can gift to your client for free when they purchase a large project from you. Maybe you make a client a $1,500 kitchen table made of Walnut and decide to use the same scrap pieces of Walnut to make them a set of drink coasters that have your logo engraved onto the face of the coasters. This is not something you are selling to the client, but rather a nice gift and show of appreciation for the business they did with you. The next time they set their drink down on one of your wooden coasters, they will see your logo and may be tempted to give you a call for more business, or simply spread your brand to their friends or family.
Social Media
Nowadays in our technology-advanced world, this one may be obvious. Social media is one of the best ways to market your business and begin to get eyes on your products and services. Pictures are key, and not just on Instagram. Posting pictures of your work can help advertise your business almost automatically. A picture really is worth a thousand words on social media. You can always boast your brand by talking to someone, but when they see for themselves that you re able to perform high quality work, they are more likely to be ready to purchase. Social media is great for woodworkers in that you are able to post finished shots (beauty shots) as well as behind the scenes pictures or progress pictures. Tell a story through photos by showcasing the process of how you built something as well as multiple angles, lighting, and environments of the finished product. You may even decide to post short videos of your building process, or even reuse old projects as current pictures to publish on social media. Stay engaged with your audience while finding a good blend of brand promotion.
Website
I do a deep dive into woodworking websites here, but overall, a website is a great way of not only showcasing your work, but also allowing that showcase to advertise for you. Having a website is a good way to generate leads and be searchable online. Being searchable online is, in part, advertisement for your brand. It can also act as part of your sales funnel and eventually turn into your target audience and paying customers. Be sure to include an About Us page for your website so that customers can virtually get to know you. If customers can get to know who they’re working with, they will feel a sense of personality and relationship and will be more inclined to buy from you. For a more in-depth discussion on starting a woodworking website, click out my article 5 Reasons To Start A Woodworking Website.
Hot Brand / Laser Engrave
When clients pay a large amount money for a custom project, the last thing they want to see on their project is your logo. However, if their is an inconspicuous location on the project that makes sense, why not hot brand your logo. Do not ruin a custom project by laser engraving or branding your logo, but if it is, for example, on the bottom of a project, a brand could make sense. Your laser engraved logo or hot brand stamp may not been seen for a long time or even ever, but it can be useful. If and/or when your logo is ever seen, it may refresh the customer’s memory of a great experience they had in working with you, and may push them to come back to you to do more business.
Packaging
Packaging can be a unique way of marketing your woodworking brand. This is especially helpful if you are in the market of selling small goods. When you pack up an item to ship to your customer, consider packing the item in a unique or customized box that includes your logo and/or contact information. You can include a custom-designed box for the entire item to be shipped in, or a box that includes components needed for your item. For example, you may ship a bookcase to a client that include some screws, feet, or hardware. Maybe you decide to include the hardware components in a smaller box that features your brand. If you sell large projects that cannot be shipped, consider including a “thank you” tag on the project that features your brand. Again, the key to marketing your brand is getting your logo and company name in front of as many eyes as possible. For help on packaging designs, check out Fiverr.
Merchandise
Merchandise is another way to advertise your woodworking business through visual methods. Shirts, hats, and stickers are my top 3 recommendations. These products can be given to your friends and family to wear proudly in front of others. These are also items that you can wear when in public, at trade shows, conferences, and more. If you do video marketing or photography, consider including your apparel in the video or photo to be able to get your brand at the forefront of your audience’s mind.
While I do not claim to be a marketing expert, these are a few ways I have found to assist in marketing you woodworking company. If you have other suggestions, feel free to leave a comment below or contact me!