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Quickstart - Your Brand, Your Message, You
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Quickstart
Grow a Profitable Consultancy and Still Have Time for a Life
In this issue
Note from Beverley - In the Stars
One Step Further - Your Brand, Your Message and You
Personal Reflections - Proud to Question and Listen
Note from Beverley
In one of the Sunday Magazines this week, the last line of my horoscope said "Have faith in your self and prove that even a Libra can be decisive."
Well... me indecisive? surely not but then again I'll have to go and think about that because I'm not sure!
Are the stars right? Do the planets at the time of our birth matter? Who knows, but the people that believe so often come out with generalisations that are a little too close for comfort - perhaps!
Have a decisive week.
Beverley
bev@onestepfurther.co.uk
www.onestepfurther.co.uk
+44 (0)1258 817647
One Step Further
A search on Google under "what is a brand?" brings up definitions focusing on a symbol, a sign or a logo. Brand specialists would perhaps tell you that a brand is your identity; it is your window through which prospective clients see you, your business and your products/services.
To me a brand is like DNA and it is a story. As an independent consultant or solo professional because you are your brand you need to be congruous and authentic at all times. When people see you they see your brand. Your DNA and your story are your brand.
So when you think about your brand what do you need to consider? As a sole consultant or a small consultancy have you given any thought to your brand apart from your business card and logo? If not here are some thoughts
A Brand has 4 main elements, which make up the total Brand DNA
1. Attributes - these are the characteristics of your brand. Is it artistic, challenging, polite, fair or outrageous? If you were to humanise your brand what type of person would it be?
2. Experience - what is the experience that your customers will have when they associate with your brand? What specific outcomes physical, emotional, cultural or spiritual will your clients achieve?
3. Personality - how does your brand behave? Again if your brand were a person what behaviour, skills, and talents would it demonstrate? Perhaps pioneering, highly articulate, risk taker or methodical planner.
4. Unique promise of value - this is a phrase I first heard from William Arruda of Reach Communications and I now use it too. It means, what is unique about your brand that the customer sees? What is it that you are promising that anyone coming into contact with your brand will get? What value are you promising to deliver?
When communicating your brand directly or indirectly you are communicating a story. You are connecting people to a world that they haven't yet been a part of and letting them know what to expect. You are creating intrigue. It is very easy to be bland with your brand. Many so called brands are what I call "me too" brands because they are too lazy with their language and messages. But if you can't articulate clearly what your brand is about and how it differs from any other brand in your field then how will prospective clients know to choose you?
Now you may say, all that brand stuff is a load of fluffy nonsense; customers buy products or services they don't buy that brand stuff - well I beg to differ. Just look at how many pairs of trainers are on the market. And then look at how the youth of today choose which pair to buy. They buy because of who makes the trainers not what the trainers do. After all, a trainer is a trainer is a trainer - generally speaking. People buy Nike or Puma or Adidas and each has a distinct brand, which individuals associate with.
Just look at brands such as You Tube, Google, Amazon and Starbucks and consider what they are about. What do they represent and how do they connect emotionally with their target audience? To these organisations or communities, it isn't just about a snazzy logo or a cliched strap line. It is about so much more.
With services it is almost more important to be clear about your brand because services involve a human interaction and as the cliche goes people buy from people; and as I have written about before, people buy on emotion.
So in effect your brand creates an emotion that triggers a buying need.
I recently read The Brand Innovation Manifesto: How to Build Brands, Redefine Markets and Defy Conventions by John Grant and it opened my eyes to how brands are developing and how the concept of a brand is evolving. It's a fascinating read and one I highly recommend.
So if you haven't considered in depth what your brand is or if you currently believe that the sum of your brand is a business card and a logo, perhaps now is the time to reconsider?
Call me if you want some support working through that process. 01258 817647
Personal Reflections
Even though a little overused at conferences and so called motivational seminars I do have a soft spot for the song Proud by Heather Small, for no other reason than this one part
Still so many answers I don't know
Realise that to question is how we grow
So I step out of the ordinary
I can feel my soul ascending
I am on my way
Can't stop me now
And you can do the same
Realise to question is how to grow I think is a great line. To me it sums up very well that questions are what help us know more and become more. They help give us insights we might not have and each new question asked in the right way, at the right time, to the right person can offer perspective and knowledge.
Asking great questions is a skill. Hearing the answers is also a skill. When you really listen to an answer you can "hear" at many levels. At a superficial level you hear the words. At a slightly deeper level you hear the words and translate those words into your own meaning, based on your view of the world. At an even deeper level still, you understand the meaning as the person saying the words intended it and finally at a much deeper level you create a connection with what is being said that takes you One Step Further than you were before you truly listened.
In business the art of listening is a skill sorely missing much of the time and many people are too busy talking that they don't truly hear a whole conversation, a whole answer or create any connection with the person they are speaking with.
I have saying which I often use which is "Listen and then shut up!"
So step out of the ordinary and really work on asking great questions and listening at a much deeper level and just see what results you get.
Best Regards
Bev
bev@onestepfurther.co.uk
www.onestepfurther.co.uk
+44 (0)1258 817647 |
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