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Branding is a crucial factor in the success of a business. It is the process of forming a long-lasting, unique perception of your organization in the minds of your customers. And it's not just for huge companies with huge advertising budgets. Even the smallest business can use branding to great effect.

Association of your company with logos, color schemes, slogans, music, mascots and packaging are all time-tested methods of cementing your brand, and the payoffs are legion:

Familiarity. Psychologists have proven that familiarity breeds partiality, meaning if an individual has seen your logo or heard your name enough times, he or she is more likely to use your product or service, and recommend it to others, even without prior experience with your business or knowledge of your reputation.

Memorability. A brand is an easy way to imprint your company in the minds of your customers. A patron's good experience with you will matter little if he or she can't remember your name. Improve memorability with tangible reminders: magnets, pens and key chains are the most common, but distinctive promotional items, like Jack-in-the-Box's antennae balls, will make your company all the more memorable.

Loyalty. Memorability and familiarity with a company with which a customer has had positive experiences will create loyalty. Loyalty will keep customers coming back to you not only for the product or service they initially enjoyed, but for other products and services provided by your company. It can cause a customer to ignore the lower prices of your competitors, and it will spread your brand through recommendations and referrals.

Higher Price. Branding can free your company from price wars with competitors and allow your profits to skyrocket. If a customer associates your brand with excellence in a particular field, he or she will gladly pay more for it. Consider Nike or Addidas. Their basketball shoes and soccer cleats are often astronomically priced compared to lesser-known brands, but customers line up to buy them, because the swoosh and the three stripes signify excellence in sports apparel and equipment.

Lower Expenses. Building your brand does require investment, but once you've created a distinctive image in the minds of consumers you'll be able to accomplish much more in your marketing with much less. Marlboro doesn't have to describe the blend of its tobacco or recount its prestigious history to customers any more. They need only a picture of a cowboy to advertise successfully.

Now that you know the benefits of branding, here are some tips for doing it easily and effectively:

Be Original. Be different and you'll be remembered. You'll get the most for your money if you contrast your image with those of your competitors as much as possible. And the legal costs of copping another company's image can be devastating besides.

Be persistent. Brands gain power with time. You may be tempted to give your company a fresh look by altering your brand image, but if the new image is unrecognizably different than the old, you lose all the equity you've attached to your company over the previous years.

Be consistent. Use the same brand imagery on all your promotional items and company materials for maximum psychological effect.

Repeat Unremittingly. Get your logo, slogan, mascot, company name, etc. out there as many times as possible in as many places as possible. A commercial jingle sticks in your head not because it's so damned catchy, but because you hear it 20 times a day.

Guard your brand. Trademark your image to make sure it isn't used in a way that's inconsistent with your goals, and to make sure your competitors don't capitalize on your brand-building efforts.

Hand it out. Giving away useful or interesting merchandise imprinted with your brand imagery is a relatively cheap way to keep your name fresh in the minds of your customer base. If customers are reminded of your brand every time they take a sip of coffee, sign their name, reach for a baseball cap or open a letter, then chances are they'll patronize your business when they need the service or product you offer.