Branding for Economic Odds, Part 2: Commitment to the Brand
So here’s the thing about branding: the guts and the glory are in the differences.
There may be 1001 people in the same town with the same title on their business card: stylist, designer, financial planner, coach, producer, sales person, baker, chef, performer. But the foundations of your business are different. You started your business for a different reason than the human next to you. You have different values. You bring a different set of skills to the table.
Here comes something that sounds like a platitude…but it’s the cold, hard truth. You are unique, and your business is too.
When you’re aiming to survive the hard times, it’s absolutely critical that you celebrate your differences. Understand what it is about the other guys that makes them the same. And know what makes you stand out.
So how do we do that?
Let’s talk about brand strategy for a second. There’s a lot to know about how a great brand is built. Like, a really lot. But you don’t need to know ALLLLLL of it to do a little self reflection about your own brand.
Here’s what you need to know.
Every brand has four main pieces. They stack on top of one another like a pyramid to build your brand. And you can’t know the stuff at the top until you’ve solidified the stuff at the bottom. Here goes:
First: why you’re in the biz. Everyone starts a company for a reason. There was a gap in the world that was begging to be filled by you and your business.
Second: how you do it differently. Each business and business-owner swaggers in a unique way. Knowing what sets you apart is key to communicating your offerings.
Third: how you talk about it. The copy and visuals that define a brand are flagship features. They send a message beyond words to consumers, and evoke trust and understanding.
Fourth: how you gather interest. The marketing materials used in business are the tools used to fill pipelines and launch sales meetings.
The blue pieces (the top of the pyramid) is the stuff customers and potential clients see. It’s the copywriting on your website, the logo you use, and the social media you build. We’ll talk about that in the next post.
The green stuff (the bottom of the pyramid) is all the things YOU know about your business, but that you don’t spend a lot of time talking to consumers about. It’s your truth and your foundation, and drives the way you discuss your brand and the way you show up.
These building block are our focus for today.
Ask yourself: how are YOU doing the work differently than anyone else?
There’s only one thing you don’t want to hang your hat on as a business-owner aiming for differentiation, especially in the face of a scary economy: price.
There will always be someone who can beat you on cost. If consumers are price shopping, they’ll look at a less-spendy competitor to do similar work. Every time.
Please understand: this isn’t to say that competitive pricing, coupons and even freebies aren’t good strategies. They totally are. But when you think about what makes you different…it’s not your cost.
The trick is to flip the script and offer a value that transcends the price tag. It could look something like this:
If you sell couches, you’re not selling cushions and fabric—you’re selling comfort, or style, or a haven for when the quarantine has kept us all in front of Netflix a little too long.
If you’re creating a tech product, you’re not selling the infrastructure or the data. You’re selling the experience that the tech offers you. Someone please reinvent a virtual meeting software that integrates seamlessly with project management software!
If you’re offering hairstyle service, you’re not selling a cut and a color. You’re selling self-confidence, self-expression and—in the world of COVID—a safe salon experience.
So how, you ask, do you uncover your own point of difference? Here are three exercises that will get your wheels turning, and get you crowing about how awesome you are.
Action item 1: do some research.
Look around at your competition. There are wonderful resources out there who can do competitive reviews for you, or you can simply look around. Take a stroll through others websites and social media feeds. Do some google searching, and look for some reviews. Write down how those businesses are the same as one another, and how they are unique. Are your competitors doing meaningful work? What is missing?
Action item 2: find your biz niche.
So you’ve done your competitive review. Look at it again. How can you add to this company of businesses? What do people in this world need, that you can offer? What problem can you solve for them, that’s not already being solved by the competition? Can you do it with higher quality? Can you innovate a totally new solution? Dig in, and brainstorm either what IS DIFFERENT about your business, or what COULD BE DIFFERENT, if you changed your model just a little bit.
Action item 3: look at your personality.
There are some softwares out there that do personality tests, and they can be useful. And there are a bunch of tests if you google “what’s your superpower”. But the thing you need to know about yourself is somewhere in the middle. Do some self reflection, so you can know, in your heart, what sets you apart from other business owners. It could be approach or mindset, and it could be skill set. What is it about YOU that makes you perfect for the job you’re doing? Own it.
Knowing what separates both you and your business from others is the foundation to a differentiated brand.
When you know what makes you special, you’ll talk about yourself differently. You’ll be perceived differently. And clients will chose you because they can’t get YOU anywhere else.
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This series is excerpted from the interactive speech I gave at The Quorum 2020 National Coming Out Day Conference titled “Overcoming Economic Odds: The Importance of Branding, Diversity and Showing Up”. If you’re interested in hosting a talk like this, shoot over a note!
