By Francis Chan

THE old maxim that you need to spend money to make money is starting to dawn on many small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) here when it comes to branding.

SMEs, which have often been averse to spending cash on brand-building, are now realising that a business boasting quality products and services is no guarantee of success.

Take Ms Yvette Chiang, 38, founder and chief executive of spa chain Rustic Nirvana, for instance. Three years ago, she realised that although her customer base was growing, many other potential customers did not recognise the brand name of her spa.

'Most of our new customers tend to find out about our treatments through word of mouth, but it was not at that point where once you say 'Rustic Nirvana', people know exactly what kind of spa we are,' she said.

'So when we were planning to expand, my partners - who are strong believers in branding - and I decided it was time we got a brand consultant to help us with the branding process.'

Many local firms at different stages of growth are now beginning to see that a strong brand strategy can be crucial. This will not only help start-ups establish themselves in the local market, but also propel growing firms into important new markets overseas.

Ms Chiang said a cash grant from Spring Singapore, through its BrandPact programme, helped defray the costs of the branding exercise.

The brand development took almost a year to complete, but Ms Chiang said it was relatively smooth, thanks to branding consultants she managed to hire with the support of BrandPact.

Spring supported Rustic Nirvana's brand-building exercise to the tune of almost $100,000 in a total project that eventually cost the firm about $180,000. 'We would have had to spend a huge sum of money to do the whole branding programme,' she said.

'But in the midst of our brand development, our consultant referred us to BrandPact, telling us we could qualify for a grant from Spring - so we tried and got it.'

Cost, it seemed, was also the main obstacle at BH Fresh Food, a local start-up distributing frozen meat.

'Money was the greatest problem - branding is an expensive project. Not only does it involve creating a logo, but also developing packaging, the product concepts and so on,' said executive director Lawrence Chia.

The firm was trying to diversify two years ago, in a bid to gain market share. 'We had been wholesaling for a while to hotels, restaurants and food manufacturers, but we wanted to venture into the retail business, so we approached Spring for help,' he said.

Moving from supplying businesses to selling direct to consumers meant the firm needed a new brand name to connect with its new clientele.

With funding support from BrandPact, Mr Chia hired brand consultants. They recommended a different branding proposition to position the firm as a speciality meat retail store.

Mr Chia said the consultants helped develop 'Mmmm!' or 'Meats Marinades and Much More!', which went on the labels of all BH Fresh Food's products sold at its two outlets here.

Rustic Nirvana's Ms Chiang believes a strong brand name can help SMEs leapfrog to new markets abroad.

'We recently entered the Malaysian market, working out of hospital wards providing wellness treatments to their patients. And we have been approached by some parties that were interested in franchising our business, and this is where it will be even more important to strengthen the brand name of Rustic Nirvana.'

The company has also received many branding awards over the last few years after it relaunched its brand.

Besides being a recipient of the Singapore Promising Brand Award in 2006 and 2007, Rustic Nirvana also launched Mother2Baby, a new brand in Kuala Lumpur last year.

'This year, we have been nominated in two categories at the Hapa awards,' said Ms Chiang, referring to the global accolade for top hospitality firms.

This article was first published in The Straits Times.