A crisp new dress shirt is not going to make you stand out on a busy intersection in Manhattan — you’re just another face in the crowd. The same can be said for a growing business as competition stiffens and consumers’ belts tighten in these turbulent economic times. An image enhancement alone won’t make an impact; you need to truly engage people in a meaningful way. Here are some tips for building brand equity with customers and prospects:

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1. Design for your target audience. When developing marketing materials or even a new logo as part of your brand building efforts, keep your customers’ preferences top of mind. “Picking appropriate layouts, fonts, and photos for any marketing piece can make it connect with your target audience much more quickly and lead to increased sales,” says Erin Ferree, principal and lead designer at elf design, a consulting firm based in Belmont, Calif.

2. Differentiate. When networking, Ted Lanzaro, who runs a CPA firm in Shelton, Conn., never tells people he’s an accountant because it’s too limiting in scope. “My answer is that I help business owners develop business and tax strategies that help them make more money and keep more of the money they make,” he says.

3. Provide unequaled customer service. Loveland, Colo.–based business consultant Bill Corbett, who owns a hard-asset loan company, promises completion of paperwork and delivery of the proceeds from a loan in 20 minutes or less.

4. Give them the VIP treatment. As part of its community-building efforts, New Jersey–based Rockn’ Joe Coffeehouse and Bistro distributes free VIP cards to local business owners, which gets them a discount on a cup of coffee. “When their customers see them drinking out of a Rockn’ Joe cup, that gives us more exposure,” says owner Kevin Brennan. “It is a nice thing to do for the community, and it’s good business.”

5. Launch a lunch-and-learn series. These events, typically 30 minutes long, enable a small business to promote its products or services to the local community in a more focused environment, says Drew Stevens, PhD, president of Stevens Consulting Group in Eureka, Mo. “Individuals bring their own lunch, and they listen to the expertise of the proprietor,” he explains. “The sole objective is to build relationships with attendees in the hope of future sales.”

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