Marketing for SMEs: Solveig Petch on What Founders Misunderstand About Branding

Branding often gets reduced to a logo, a colour palette and a polished website. In my conversation with Solveig Petch, better known as Petchy, we looked at what sits underneath those visible elements and why that foundation matters as a business grows.

Petchy is a strategic brandsmith with more than 20 years of experience across design management, brand strategy and identity. She explained when a business may have outgrown its original brand, why the work cannot simply be handed to an outside expert, and how clarity about the business makes design, copy and advertising easier to execute.

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Introduction

Jeremy: I specialise in online advertising, which sits near the end of the marketing process. Your work is closer to the beginning, on the foundational, strategy and branding side. How did you build your experience in this field?

Petchy: I was always a creative child. I drew, painted, sewed, read and made things, so I expected creativity to become part of my professional life. I went to art college and initially thought I would become a graphic designer.

Petchy: While researching universities, I found a degree in design management. I had always felt creativity had to be about more than making something look pretty. There had to be a practical and strategic reason for creating it, and the intersection between design and strategy drew me in.

Petchy: I completed a three-year degree in design management, although the market did not really understand that discipline at the time. I began in graphic design and, over the past 10 to 15 years, have moved back towards those strategic roots.

Brand strategy starts before the visuals

Jeremy: “Strategy” can mean almost anything in marketing. When you use the word, what do you mean?

Petchy: It includes the long-term plan, but it also means understanding who the business is, where it wants to go and the other foundational pieces. Founders often think about branding in terms of a logo, colours and visual elements because those things are tangible.

Petchy: My role is to translate business strategy into visual language. I have one foot in each world and act as a bridge between them.

Jeremy: You can also carry that thinking into the design itself. Otherwise, a strategy team can say one thing and a separate design team can interpret it in a different direction.

Petchy: That can produce a fragmented result. The people shaping the brand, designing the work and developing the marketing campaigns need to understand from the beginning what the business is trying to achieve. Once everyone knows what they are working towards, their jobs become easier.

Using design as a business tool

Jeremy: What does design management mean in practical terms? Does it still apply to a small or medium-sized business?

Petchy: Design management is about using and managing design so it becomes a business tool rather than decoration. It asks what the business needs design to accomplish and makes sure the work moves towards that goal.

Petchy: A design manager might work across the brand, marketing and management teams to keep the final output cohesive and relevant to the intended audience. Larger corporations are more likely to employ someone in that role, but the principles are still valuable for a smaller business that cannot afford a dedicated design manager.

Jeremy: That connection matters in advertising too. The platform settings do not mean much if the offer is weak or the business does not know who it wants to reach. The same principle carries into Google Ads campaign planning, where the audience, offer and business goal need to be clear before the account structure can do its job.

Recognising when the business has outgrown its brand

Jeremy: Most founders begin with whatever logo and website they can afford. At some point, they decide the business is established enough to rethink the brand. What usually triggers that decision?

Petchy: It often begins with a feeling that something is no longer right. The founder might hesitate to send someone to the website because it no longer represents who the business has become. What worked in the first year or two may not feel like the business anymore.

Petchy: That is often when people consider bringing in a brand strategist to look at the bigger picture. One misconception is that they can hand everything over and have the strategist do it for them.

Petchy: It is not my brand, so I can only do the work with them. I can guide the thinking, ask questions and help them work out what it means, but I do not want to put words in their mouths or take ownership of something that should still feel like theirs.

Jeremy: That sounds like a process of slowing down and repeatedly asking why, which can be difficult for busy owners who are rushing between decisions.

Petchy: It is difficult, which is why I try not to rush clients. I want to help them see their potential, sort through their thoughts and find a clearer path forward. The result should be something they are proud to put into the world and something their team understands.

Bring specialists into the process early

Jeremy: Your website copy is sharp. Do you handle copywriting as part of the design work?

Petchy: I can help up to a point, but I usually bring in a trusted copywriter to refine the words. The best approach is to involve that person early enough that they understand the brand from the inside before they receive the writing brief.

Jeremy: That also applies when the business later turns its message into campaigns and web pages. A landing page built for paid traffic still needs the brand, message, offer and design to pull in the same direction.

Jeremy: For a smaller business, though, bringing in a brand strategist, designer and copywriter can be a significant investment. What can founders do before they can afford that level of help?

Petchy: In a perfect world, I would be involved from the moment someone begins thinking about putting a business into the world. Realistically, that is not always feasible. In the early years, a founder can still invest time in asking the difficult questions.

Petchy: By the time the business reaches its third, fourth or fifth year and can afford outside help, it will at least have a foundation to build on. Even if you cannot pay someone external yet, invest your own time in thinking through these issues.

Brand clarity becomes more important as the team grows

Jeremy: I assumed personal brands, consultants and coaches would be the best fit for this kind of work because their businesses are closely tied to them.

Petchy: Not necessarily. I work across industries, from small craft cider makers to larger defence technology companies. Some of the clients who receive the most value are those who did not think they needed brand work.

Petchy: A solo founder often already has an emotional connection to the business and can express it. In a larger company, the founder may still hold a strong vision, but the team has grown and that vision needs to work at an organisational level.

Petchy: The business needs to decide which parts of the founder’s original vision should be carried forward and which parts need refining. Brand clarity helps turn something held in one person’s head into a direction the wider team can use.

Legacy does not have to mean building an empire

Jeremy: You use the word “legacy”, which can sound too large for an ordinary small business owner. In our earlier conversation, I said I would like to be remembered as someone who took care of his team, and you told me that was a legacy.

Petchy: People often hear “legacy” and assume it is too big for them. In reality, it is built through the small things you do every day. If people remember that you created good team morale and treated everyone fairly, that is part of your legacy.

Jeremy: That changed my perspective. I had associated legacy with empires, moguls and people taking enormous risks. Looking after the people around me feels far more relevant to the business I actually want to build.

Petchy: There is room for businesses built to make money quickly and businesses that want to stay around and leave a mark. I am personally drawn to founders whose vision extends beyond their own bank account, although making money is still necessary. Otherwise, the business is an expensive hobby.

What human judgement contributes in the age of AI

Jeremy: Artificial intelligence is raising the baseline quality that almost anyone can produce. How do you think it changes design and brand work?

Petchy: I use Claude every day, and I see artificial intelligence as a tool. You still need to know how to use it and have enough experience to judge what is good and what is bad.

Petchy: Without expertise, there is nobody keeping a hand on the steering wheel or a foot near the brake when the tool produces poor work. A lot of artificial intelligence output currently looks the same, particularly when it is produced by people who would not have hired a designer in the first place.

Petchy: The answer is to lean further into our humanity and stop assuming everything must look perfectly polished. People want to connect with other people, so businesses should allow more of that genuine character to come through.

Jeremy: That is also relevant when developing creative for Facebook and Instagram advertising. Tools can help produce and test more material, but someone still has to judge whether it sounds like the business and gives the intended audience a reason to care.

Key takeaways for SME owners

• Branding begins with the business, audience and direction, not the logo or colour palette.
• A business may be ready to revisit its brand when its website and outward presentation no longer represent what it has become.
• A strategist can guide the process, but the founder and team must participate because the brand cannot simply be outsourced.
• Smaller businesses that cannot yet afford specialist help can still build a useful foundation by making time for difficult questions.
• Artificial intelligence can assist with production, but experience and human judgement are still needed to recognise generic or unsuitable work.

Learn more at Petchy, explore her brand strategy work, connect with Solveig Petch on LinkedIn, or follow Petchy on Instagram.

This conversation was recorded for Marketing for SMEs with Jeremy Yang. You can watch the full episode on YouTube or listen on your preferred podcast app.