Can branding help your business and how?
There’s a lot more to branding than small business owners realise. Time and time again I am saying that branding is more than just your logo; it’s SO much more.
So without further ado, let’s look at just HOW branding can help your business:
Clarity
Getting crystal clear on your branding not only gives you clarity, but also direction. Branding is almost a map, which shows you how you can reach your goals – where X marks the spot and it’s a step by step guide on just exactly how you are going to get there using different components. Everything within branding is intertwined which is why I speak a lot about alignment. For example, once you know WHO exactly your ideal client is, you can then tailor your marketing and messaging to that specific client. Or, once you gain clarity around your brand signature and story, you’ll again, be able to identify what makes you different to everyone who does the same as you. You’ll also be able to share your brand story, which will enable you to connect with your audience on a deeper level.
Branding can also help you identify a niche as well. So if I asked you who your ideal client is right now, would you be able to give me a very specific answer, ie. I work with serviced-based female entrepreneur coaches, consultants and wellness professionals. If not, branding can help you with this.
Working on your branding can also give you clarity around your brand values. What they are and how you can use them within your marketing, and how you can infuse them within your services to achieve the ultimate alignment.
Branding will also give you clarity around your business as a whole. Once of the main reasons why female entrepreneurs choose to be self employed is to create more freedom in their lives and if they have children, so they can spend more time with their family. Your brand can be created and moulded to support your life and business goals.
Confidence
Once you gain that all important clarity on all your brand areas it’s then time to take action and execute it all. Once you do, you will be operating your business with a lot more confidence, because it will be lined up with your business and life goals. Knowing exactly who your ideal client is, the messaging that is going to resonate with them, how you can market to them, and creating solution based services and products specifically for them is going to make such a big difference to you and your business. An all-singing, all-dancing brand as a whole, including your visuals is going to attract the right people to you and your brand.
Your branding is also about pricing your services correctly to support the lifestyle you desire to live and breathe on a daily basis and a lot of that is also linked to your self worth. If you know you want to have a brand which gives you the freedom to travel the world, then your brand needs to be structured in such a way so that it can support you in doing this. And, pricing does come into it. If you undervalue your worth, you won’t feel the benefits. Everything will feel out of alignment and you’ll be working all hours every day – not exactly the freedom lifestyle you were after… But if you value your worth and price your services accordingly, you will feel the benefits and you will start to live your dream life quicker. Branding can help you with this.
Market Position
Do you want to be seen as the go-to expert within your field and within your niche? Branding can help you with this. Do you want to become a household brand? Do you want to become a global superstar? Branding can help you with this.
Again, everything is linked. Part of the branding process I take my clients through is doing a competitor analysis, which I do for my clients. Now, we don’t want comparisonitis to happen, but we do want to be aware of how you can STAND OUT within your marketplace for all the RIGHT reasons. And looking at your market position can help you with this. It enables you to identify any gaps in the market, (this could be marketing, gaps, niche gaps, messaging gaps etc.), discover any threats and then help you re-position yourself within your market place.
Seeing where you are currently positioned within your marketplace too can also help you see what areas you need to improve upon and how branding can help your business move in the right direction to the position you want to be in.
Consistency
This just so happens to be my word for 2020 and I love it. Branding can help your business become more consistent. Consistent in your messaging, marketing, visibility and much more.
Your visuals will play a big part in achieving consistency. Using your brand toolkit the right way (logo, brand elements, colours, fonts, photos) combined with your core brand message will help create that consistency and recognition. Which leads us nicely onto that…
Recognition
With clarity, confidence, an improved market position and consistency comes recognition. The overall clarity gained from working on your brand in an in-depth way means you can start to create a recognisable brand. You will show up with more confidence, increasing your brand’s awareness and visibility. Having the ability to reposition yourself means you will become the recognisable go-to person within your niche and field and consistency is the key to it all.
Showing up consistently, with a clear and concise brand message, which you are sharing on a regular basis will create the desired recognition you are after. And when your brand becomes instantly recognisable for all the right reasons you will find everything will flow with total ease.
So there you can have it – how branding can help your business.
I would love to know from you:
Do you have real clarity within your brand?
On a scale of 1-10 how confident do you feel about your brand?
Do you want to be the go-to expert within your field?
Have you got consistency within your brand?
Are you standing out enough to have a recognisable brand?
