All posts tagged branding

Four Tips to Build Your Personal Brand

Four Tips to Improve Your Personal Brand
Four Tips to Build Your Personal Brand

Four Tips to Build Your Personal BrandAs a direct seller, your company has its own ways of promoting its brand. However, you are responsible for making it your own and improving upon the individual qualities you bring to your brand. In today’s post, we give you four tips to help you do just that.

  1. Give your clients ways to promote your brand. Engage customers in creative ways that will allow them to get a conversation going about your products and services. For example, use your Facebook page or Twitter feed to start a top ten list. A consultant for a company that sells manicure quality nail wraps held a contest in which her clients posted pictures of themselves wearing outfits that coordinated with their nails. Anyone subscribed to the page could vote on the best photo. The winner got a free gift, and the clients got new ideas for how to use their wraps as well as inspiration to try new ones. This type of engagement was the consultant’s way of getting to know her clients and giving them a fun way to promote her brand.
  2.  Always keep your word but also exceed it. In a business where you likely have many competitors who can offer similar products and services, your word is one of your greatest assets. If you say you will do something, there is no option other than to do it. Take this idea a step further whenever possible. For example, a customer needs her order rushed to be delivered in time for a loved one’s birthday. As the consultant, you say that you’ll personally put the order in first as well as double checking with corporate to make sure it was received and will arrive on schedule. After doing so, you get the product from the hostess when she receives it and hand deliver it to the customer. Going above and beyond your responsibilities increases your credibility; your clients will also associate your reliability with your brand.
  3. Focus on being the best at one thing at a time. Although it is important to have lofty goals for your business, don’t try to take on too much at once or you’ll risk burning out. Choose one aspect of your business at a time to become the best at. For instance, you aspire to be the best on your team at getting guests at your parties to book their own parties and keep their dates so the party actually happens. Invest your time and effort into creating ways to get potential hostesses excited about having a party and following up effectively. While working toward this goal, focus exclusively on it until you’re ready to move on to the next one. You’ll be able to make yourself stand out, therefore improving your brand.
  4. Continue to improve and be better than your competitor. The best way to begin besting your competitor is to gather information about how the competitor does business. The nail wrap consultant researched similar companies, emailed some of their consultants, and attended some parties as a guest. She was able to take mental notes about what she did and didn’t like about the business as a whole. When she signed with her chosen company, she knew exactly how she wanted to improve upon the competition’s ways.

Use your strengths and unique qualities to improve your brand. Your clients and prospects will associate you with those attributes and pass along a good word to their friends and families. How can you use the tips from our list? Please share your ideas in the comments below!

Create a Unique Story to Promote Your Business

Create a Unique Story to Promote Your Business

A crucial element to a successful small business is the building of relationships with your customers.  As with any relationship, whether personal or professional, each party must bring something to the table to share with the other person.  Sharing details about yourself in even a small way can really go far in creating mutual trust and respect, both qualities that consumers find important when deciding where to take their business.  Here are some suggestions for how you can promote your business by creating a unique story.

  • Remember why you began.  No one takes lightly the decision to go into business for themselves.  Although many things probably factored into your decision, there is most likely one driving reason why you chose this endeavor.  Perhaps you wanted to find a way to stay home with your children during the day, or maybe a loved one inspired you to leave a job you didn’t enjoy to pursue a dream that would make you happy.  When sharing your business with others (friends, prospects, network contacts), make sure to include this personal story.  Tip: Write it out, including any details you remember, and then highlight the most important and personal elements.  What you’re left with will be a memorable story that you can use when building business relationships.
  • Know your strengths and share your inspirations.  What do you have to offer your customers that your competitors do not?  A higher quality product?  Personalized customer service that goes above and beyond?  Whatever it may be, share with others why you think it is so important.  For example, a wedding videographer finds much success by promoting her ability to shoot wonderful videos without being intrusive to the bride and groom.  This is important to her because not only had she been to several weddings where the videographer got in the way, but her own wedding was nearly ruined when the cameraperson nearly tripped her going down the aisle!  A humorous but personal story will make you seem more human, help your customers remember you, and demonstrate your commitment to making them happy.
  • Highlight your accomplishments and how you achieved them.  Accomplishments can be anything from receiving formal recognition within your community to simply landing enough sales every month to turn a nice profit.  Without being boastful, share your journey to the top with others you meet.  Back to the wedding videographer, she would do well with a story about how she perfected the art of taking great videos without being noticed.  People like to do business with others they know who work hard and take pride in that work.  Don’t be afraid to shine the spotlight on yourself once in a while.
  • Reflect on how you learned from past mistakes.  No one is perfect, so if you try to paint yourself as such, you will undoubtedly turn people off because you won’t sound sincere.  When telling your story, include a few downs of your journey as well as the ups.  That wedding videographer didn’t magically become so skilled overnight; she had some weddings in the beginning of her career where she was so focused on staying out of the way that she missed some important moments.  However, watching and studying her own footage as well as studying the methods of industry experts helped her perfect her craft and improve her skills.  After all of that hard work, she’s not afraid to share how she got to be where she is with others.  Customers will appreciate your honesty and be reassured that you do truly strive for their satisfaction.

Identifying and sharing the unique elements of yourself and your business is an effective way to promote it.  The key is in deciding which details to include and which to omit.  Think like your customer when you choose!

Finally, make sure you practice telling your stories. You want them to sound natural and comfortable when sharing them.  Remember that they’re your stories and yours alone, so don’t be afraid to a get a little personal while still staying appropriate.

Do you use unique stories in your business?  Share your ideas below!

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How to Build Your Brand

How to Build Your Brand

It seems like everyone is talking about branding these days. People are branding everything. For example, what’s the difference between tap water and bottled water? Are there real differences or is it all in the branding?

Branding is an important topic for your small business because it helps you stand out from your competition. Your brand identifies and defines your business for your target market.

Here are some simple steps to help you build your brand.

  • Identify your target market by connecting your uniqueness to the appropriate consumer. Your brand promotes your strengths and how you service your target market, and it establishes a clear difference from your competitors.
  • Be positive and a resource to others. These two elements will help attract people and build your brand.
  • Create and establish an online presence/brand that genuinely engages others on social media networks. Provide responsive customer service that builds loyal relationships within your target market.
  • Share, impress and promote your expertise. First identify problems in your target market that you can help solve. Then, starting locally, find outlets where you can share your uniqueness and business. Also create your own promotions like a radio show, online video show, become a community speaker, and present workshops.
  • Connect with influencers. Help and support others who have large followings and/or great reputations to add value to your brand. This is a quick way to develop positive buzz about you and/or your brand.
  • Be memorable. You must make an impression on your target market. Stand out by being friendlier, more helpful, having better products or services, more responsive customer service, personalized care and authentic communication to create long lasting relationships.
  • Be active in your community. Use community activities/events/causes to continually remind people about you and/or your brand.
  • Initiate projects. Start locally, sponsor, lead, or organize solution-oriented (that you can help solve) projects that generate positive conversations about your brand.

Your brand should quickly convey who you are and how you help your target market. As your business grows, ask your customers for their feedback to ensure brand recognition and that you’re meeting customer expectations.

How do you build your brand? Would love to read your thoughts and tips in the comments below.