Most Businesses Don’t Have a Brand, Just a Business Name and a Logo

Local Business, MJ Plumbing upgraded their branding and their van wrap.

When I meet with small business owners, especially in local service industries, I often ask them to tell me about their brand. The answer I usually get is something like, “Well, we’re just a plumbing company,” or “I’m a mortgage broker.” In other words, they don’t have a brand, they have a job title and a logo.

But branding is so much more than that. A real brand means you’ve taken the time to identify your ideal customer (your “who”), the reason they should pick you over someone else (your “why”), and the personality or promise that defines the way you show up.

Take MJ Plumbing for example. When they came to us, they had the basics: a name, a logo, and a list of services. But they hadn’t defined who they were for or what made them different. They were getting calls, but not the kind they wanted.

Through our process, we discovered that their sweet spot wasn’t emergency plumbing calls or commercial contracts, it was in helping homeowners with repairs and upgrades, especially high-end work like tankless water heaters. They love solving problems and creating comfort, but on their terms, not dropping everything for late-night emergencies.

So, we built a brand around that. We created a friendly wolf mascot that matched their approachable, helpful vibe and designed a clean vehicle wrap to reflect their professionalism and warmth. Suddenly, they weren’t just “MJ Plumbing” anymore. They are the guys with the wolf truck who take great care of your home.

It worked. They’re getting more of the right calls from people who feel connected to who they are. They didn’t just look different. It was much more than that. They became easier to trust.

Start with the WHO and WHY

Before we touch a logo or build a website, we have to get clear on two things:

Who does your business serve? And why should they choose you?

Most business owners I meet haven’t really thought this through. They’re so busy running the day-to-day that they haven’t stopped to ask themselves why they do what they do, or who they’re best suited to serve. That lack of clarity leads to scattered marketing, unclear messaging, and missed opportunities.

We use a simple questionnaire to help draw it out. It’s not fancy, but it gets people thinking differently. It includes questions like:

• Who is your ideal customer?

• What frustrates them?

• What do they value most in someone who does what you do?

• What makes you different from the competition?

• What’s the promise you want to make to your customer?

It’s amazing what happens when someone takes the time to actually sit down and answer those questions. I’ve had business owners realize for the first time that they don’t want to be the cheapest, they want to be the best. Or that their ideal customer isn’t everyone with a roof or a toilet. It’s the homeowner who values quality and wants it done right the first time.

Who's up for a can of Liquid Death?

Don’t Be Generic. Be Specific.

When I ask business owners what makes them different, I often get the same answers:

“We’re honest.”

“We do quality work.”

“We care about our customers.”

That’s not branding. That’s the bare minimum.

If your answer sounds like something any of your competitors would say, then you haven’t gone deep enough.

I often tell clients this directly: “You’re not actually saying anything. You’re saying what everyone else says.”

To stand out, you need something unique, something real. What do you actually do differently? What part of your process is better, faster, smoother, or more thoughtful? What background, training, or experience gives you a unique edge?

For example, my background is in sales. That makes me a different kind of marketer. I don’t just care about clicks and impressions, I care about results. I think like a sales guy. So the websites I build aren’t just pretty, they’re built to close deals. I design marketing that has more sales at its core.

If you have a process unique to your business, you can add to your brand by giving it a name. We do this in several ways. One example is LaunchScape™—our branded website process that helps local businesses launch a sales-focused site that does more than just “look nice.” It’s a system, not just a service, and systems are easier to sell, remember, and trust.

When my clients start thinking this way, everything shifts. They stop blending in and start leaning into what sets them apart.

How to Name Your Services, Process, Products

One of the easiest ways to make your business stand out is to name your process.

It doesn’t have to be fancy. It just has to be yours.

When you give your customer experience a name, you do three powerful things:

1. You give people something to remember

2. You create trust by showing there’s a system

3. You elevate what you do beyond “just another contractor/service provider”

For example, I have several plumbing clients. Plumbers basically do the same thing. So how could you stand out? What if you were to name your process something like “The Mendez 5™”. It could be five steps you follow on every job to stay on time, on budget, and make sure you leave the property better than you found it.

It’s not complicated, but if you name it and lean into it, people will love it and remember it.

Now you can integrate that name into your sales conversations, write about it on your website, and refer to it in follow-ups. It will give the customer confidence that you’re not just winging it, you have a plan. That’s branding.

If you can’t name your process, it’s probably not consistent. And if it’s not consistent, it’s hard to grow.

Mountain Dew. What's your favorite flavor?

Real-World Brands Do This Too

You don’t have to be a big company to build a brand. But it’s worth looking at how some big brands do it well.

Mountain Dew could’ve stayed with its iconic non-cola, non-conforming citrus soda self, but instead, they leaned into bold, adventurous branding. More importantly, they created flavors that were unique and identifiable. This moved Mountain Dew into a soda brand with many flavors, not just one. Think “Code Red”, “Voltage”, and “Live Wire.” Take “Baja Blast,” for instance, a tropical flavor you could only get at Taco Bell for years. Baja Blast was released in the last year as a stand-alone product and sales soared. It is consistently one of their best selling flavors. In fact, this unique flavor is the number two seller, second only to the original flavor of Mountain Dew.

When I was a kid, Mountain Dew was one flavor. They already had a big brand, but by capitalizing on that brand and naming other flavors as versions of Mountain Dew, it has been a winner for the overall brand. Why? Because it wasn’t just soda, it was a brand experience.

Liquid Death is another great example. It’s just water in a can. But they knew who would be enjoying their product—people who love edgy branding, punk music, and counterculture. Their tagline is “Murder Your Thirst.” That’s not a message meant for everyone, but it’s perfect for their people. And guess what? Their people showed up in a big way. The brand exploded because it was crystal clear, emotionally charged, and completely different from what anyone else was doing in the bottled water space.

The same principles work for small, local businesses. When you know who you’re for, why you’re different, and what experience you deliver, you stop being an interchangeable commodity. You start being chosen specifically for what you offer and who you are. That is BRAND.