How to Keep Your Brand Focused, Think Like an ATM
Congratulations, you’ve made it to the latter half of this fluster-cluck of a year! Maybe it’s too soon to start celebrating, after all you’re probably pivoting your business to accommodate the growing need to be virtual. This is where it pays to be a small business; you’re able to adapt to changes quickly and effectively. In this post, I’ll be sharing a simple guideline you can follow to ensure that you keep your brand focused as you communicate to new and existing customers through these transitions.
What is a Brand?
Let’s quickly establish the basics. Marty Neumeier, Author and Director of CEO Branding at Liquid Agency, defines a brand as “a person’s gut feeling about a product, service, or organization.” Also, Alina Wheeler, Author and Brand Identity Designer, defines brand as “the promise, the big idea, and the expectations that reside in each customer’s mind about a product, service, or company.” Your business’ brand is defined by the people you serve, and it is something that can be influenced and measured as opposed to directly acted upon. The bottom line is that your brand is less what you say it is, and more so what your customers, employees, and culture says it is.
Beautiful sculptures are not made, they are revealed
3 Keys to Effective Branding
You know what a brand is and why it’s significant, and you’ve gotten this far because you’re smart, aware, and have a savage work ethic. Moving forward, I’ll be sharing with you a few keys to systematically communicating to your customers in a way that draws them deeper. Beautiful sculptures are not made, they are revealed. Every chisel and scrape is a form of communication meant to bring your customer closer to actualizing the promise they have within.
1. Know Yourself
Ask yourself why you’re doing what you’re doing. Why does it matter to you, and why should it matter to anyone else? This is as true for business as it is for life; knowing why you’re occupying space is the beginning and end of the lifecycle of value that you bring to the world. Write down your journey, and don’t spare any details.
I always start my Discovery sessions by allowing my clients to share their story with me, because there’s almost always something significant in there that they didn’t realize was extraordinarily valuable. I love listening to the journey people had to get to where they are, because their perspective is what makes them different. What makes you different, and what impact do you hope to have on others?
2. Know Your Customer
We all know it’s important to get your customer demographics in order, and, if you’re really on it, you might have dug into customer psychographics too. Even so, the importance of knowing your customer cannot be over-emphasized. A systematic approach to knowing your customers can reveal needs and opportunities that extend further than intuition can reach. Create customer profiles, and spend time going into detail.
Imagine you were creating a person, putting together their history, placing them into a set of existing circumstances, and providing guidance on how to navigate the challenges therein. I know it’s a bit Westworld, but you know what I’m saying. When you do this, you’re able to find parallels between your experiences and theirs. That’s your opportunity to influence and impact them.
3. Know Your Voice
This is all about personality. Nobody expects you to be one thing, but you certainly cannot be everything. What are you like when you’re with your closest friends having brunch? What are you like when you’re explaining season 2 of You to your coworker who still hasn’t started watching? Even though you’re a little different depending on the context, you’re still uniquely you. You can dress up for a night out, wear boxers for a night in, or button down for a business meeting without changing the essence of who you are. Establishing the voice of your brand is all about being consistent and relatable.
Think like an ATM and You’ll Never Veer Off Course
Think about it, what does an ATM machine promise to do for you? It promises to dispense cash from your account. You don’t expect a sandwich or a lump of coal. Your expectation never changes, and the promise is always kept. When you get very clear about what you do and why you do it, then you’re able to communicate that to your customer.
When you have a clear understanding of who your customer is and where to find them, then you’re able to communicate that promise in a manner consistent with your customer’s expectations. When you deliver consistently, you create trust, and that trust can be leveraged for mutual gain.
Next time you visit an ATM, take a moment and think about what you would have to do if it weren’t there at all. What would your customer do if you weren’t there at all? The better you understand that, the more focused your branding will be.
Bonus!
Here’s something you can do immediately. Find your 3 most loyal customers and ask them these two questions:
How has my business affected your life?
What are 2 or 3 things that would make your daily life better or easier right now?
Try it and comment below with their responses!
Thank you for reading, and I hope to talk to you in the comments!