Branding and What it can do for YOUR business!
I have been through professional branding sessions a couple times now. The first time was for Wild WE and again for my personal coaching business - Ask Coach Kate!
Now it makes sense to everyone why a large company like Wild WE would go through a branding session – large companies are like living entities that have distinct personalities and a life of their own which is completely separate from the people running the company or who started the company.
You may not think that branding is for the small business owner, solopreneur, mamapreneur but let me share with you how branding affects YOUR business no matter what the size of your business.
I recently went through the branding process for Ask Coach Kate! as a result of growing. I realized my web content and ad copy was no longer effective. So I went through branding as a solo/mamapreneur to help me redefine my brand.
Here are some points from the facilitators:
Through the Branding process I learned to:
DEFINE the most motivational aspects of your business.
DISCOVER people’s behavior that guides decision making
DEVELOP a relevant connection between your brand and people.
“By embracing behavioral insights (human and gender specific) your group will be more successful in developing marketing initiatives communications, events and experiences that make a RELEVENT connection with people.
RELEVENT CONNECTION is crucial since if the connection you are making is not relevant you are missing your target market and the opportunity for success within that market.
To motivate people’s behavior to buy your product, listen to your radio show, visit your destination, it is necessary to understand people’s behavior.
With out this level of understanding with in your product or target market how can you expect to reach your ultimate success?
Tangible outcomes of branding
- positioning statement – clear statement of who your product is specifically for, what you will provide them and why you are different from your competition.
- tag line – direct statement that speaks to your target market.
- logo direction
- brand brief – clarifies what your next steps are with the branding info
Intangible outcomes of branding
- feel true ownership of your brand
- fully understand the brand “
Both times, I was stunned how the facilitators were able to extract from us/me (the business owners) information which later was used to create our true product, positioning statement, logo, and tagline and clearly define the target market.
One of the things I found interesting about the process was that if one piece of the branding puzzle changes there is a ripple effect and other pieces must also change. This is why the branding facilitators are so critical.
Each part is truly important and should be done completely – not rushed.
Branding your business is a journey into the inner being of your business especially for the solopreneur or small businesses owner where YOUR business is an extension of your self. This is especially true for service providers.
And it is so important to go through branding so you have clear and concise parameters for all your web and advertising copy.
I thought I knew what my brand was but it was not clear, I was confused and did not realize it so my copy was conflicted and I was not attracting my ideal client.
Really, I never imagined my coaching business had a smell or taste or feel but the companies that are hugely successful all do – they reach their customer on every level.
Don’t you want to know how to do that with your business?
Do you know what type of relationship your company should be having with your ideal customer or what personality traits your company has?
In order to reach your ideal customer you better figure it out and that is what branding is all about.
Branding is an amazing process that only takes a couple days but will save your business so much in time and money by attracting the right customer with the right web copy, marketing, and promotions.
I have to say I was surprised how confident I became about my coaching business and what I offer as a result of the branding process. It clarified exactly what is special and distinct about what I offer and who to offer that too.
IF your business is not having the results you would like from you web or ad copy and you feel a bit confused about what your true product (or you have no clue what your true product is) is and who is looking for it you should think seriously about a branding session.