Why Small Businesses Should Care About Brand Touchpoints

In today’s world, there are dozens of ways potential customers connect with a brand. Think about it - we all interact with companies we’re interested in multiple ways. In fact, we may have anywhere from 20 to 500 touchpoints throughout a single buying process with a company.

From emails to website visits, social media profiles to Pay-Per-Click ads, storefront signage to Google reviews; there are numerous ways your potential customers will get to know who your business is and from those touchpoints, form their opinions about what your business has to offer.

Why Are Brand Touchpoints Important?

• They Influence Perceptions. Every brand touchpoint can contribute to how consumers view your business. By cultivating a cohesive brand, it can lead to better understanding and a stronger reputation. 

• Positive Experiences Drive Sales Well-optimized touchpoints (like a smooth checkout or engaging product page) help push customers toward making a purchase. Positive experiences before, during, and after a purchase all contribute to building trust and loyalty; negative ones can lead to churn.

• They Encourage Loyalty and Retention Consistent, positive touchpoints such as excellent customer support or brand loyalty perks keep customers coming back. By demonstrating your commitment to customer relationships, you can also build a strong word-of-mouth referral network for future customers.

• Improve the Customer Experience Understanding where customers interact with your brand can help you to remove friction, personalize experiences, and better meet expectations. Seeing the value of each touchpoint, and how they serve to build the overall experience of your brand, can go a long way to building customer relationships.

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The Many Faces of Branding

The path customers take to making a purchase can include many touchpoints, or interactions, with your small business brand. From: pre-purchase (the brand awareness and consideration stage) to making the purchase (the act of buying a product or service), to what happens post-purchase (the loyalty-building stage), customers experience your brand in numerous ways.

Pre-purchase Touchpoints

In the pre-purchase phase, a consumer begins to get to know your business and what your brand represents. For a small business, it can be particularly important to leverage this phase in order to build trust and credibility within your market. 

Some examples of these pre-purchase brand touchpoints include:

• Social media ads

• Online reviews

• Word of mouth

• Website visits

• In-store displays

• Product packaging

Purchase Touchpoints

Once the customer has actually decided to buy from you, they move to a different phase of touchpoints. How your business communicates and interacts with them during the sale can serve to reinforce your brand promise and values. The customer experience, including branding, is vital to developing brand loyalty.

Some touchpoints to consider as part of the purchase phase include:

• Online checkout process

• In-person sales representatives

• In-store experience

• Mobile apps

• Chat/messaging technology

Post-purchase Touchpoints

The final phase to consider when creating a brand is the post-purchase phase. While this can seem counterintuitive - after all, the purchase is complete - there are more opportunities to engage with a customer, from encouraging future purchases to gathering helpful feedback on their experience with your business.

Common post-purchase touchpoints include:

• Follow-up emails

• Customer support

• Loyalty programs

• Returns or exchange processes

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Why Brand Touchpoints Should Matter to Small Businesses

Developing a brand is crucial for any new business, especially a small one. While a larger company typically has the scale and resources to develop a strong brand, investing in a cohesive brand strategy can be a make-or-break endeavor for a small business. 

Your brand is a key to building strong customer relationships and gaining a competitive advantage, which are both critical to a small business just starting out.

Here are a few other reasons to prioritize branding early on:

#1 Customers have different expectations of a small brand

Unlike large corporations, small businesses are often seen as more human, personal, and connected to their communities. Customers don’t just expect products or services from small brands—they expect authenticity, personality, and consistency.

This makes every touchpoint even more important. Cohesive brand touchpoints help reinforce the perception that your business is thoughtful, dependable, and truly aligned with the values you communicate.

#2 Small companies risk more when branding is inconsistent  

Unlike large businesses that have millions to spend on awareness campaigns or reputation recovery, a small company often gets just one shot to earn trust. Inconsistent branding—whether in voice, visuals, or customer experience—can quickly erode credibility.

#3 Small businesses are built on brand experience

Customers often feel more connection to a small business. Whether you’re a family restaurant or a massage therapist, you are directly involved in creating the experience, and touchpoints, of your brand.

Small businesses also rely more heavily than big companies do on word-of-mouth and developing strong customer relationships to earn repeat business. The more consistent the brand experience is, the more likely your buyers will be effective advocates for recommending you to others.

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Where to Start with Building Your Brand Touchpoints

It all starts well before your open the doors to your business or launch your first product. A small business brand identity is crucial for setting the stage for an effective brand experience.

Developing a strong brand begins with your brand identity - your visuals and messaging that explains who you are and what you’re about. From logos to colors and font styles, to imagery and graphics, to the key positioning statements about your business, it’s important to craft a thoughtful and impactful package of brand assets that will then be leveraged consistently wherever customers see your brand.

At Bootstrap, we are passionate about helping small businesses launch strong brands. If you’re ready to start building a new business or offering, let us help. Get in touch for a 30-minute consultation today.