We had a lively group at our Ignite Your Marketing workshop last night. Whitney Keyes and I presented some brand and marketing basics, a 10-step formula for creating a brand strategy, and how to put that brand into action.
Feedback was wonderful!
“Well-crafted, simple, clear explanations”
“It made me want to brainstorm further!”
“Motivating, current, lively”
“Excellent resource for any small business owner or business owner re-thinking their brand”
“Loved it! All the stuff I should have done before I opened my business but didn’t!”
“I learned a lot about how to approach my own brand marketing as well as some valuable tools for promoting these values to clients. Useful for getting focused and taking the right steps.”Shout out to the great businesses who attended: Studio Evolve pilates studio, Champion Assistants online sales and marketing consultants, Ladies Who Launch Seattle community for women entrepreneurs, Andrea Rae bodywork, and Married with Luggage lifestyle and travel blog.
One of our discussions was around how much of your personality do you put into a small business brand, if you eventually want the business to be sold or “move on without you.”
Brand attributes and value should be authentic, but should really be grounded in what your customer base cares about. However, to be authentic, if the business is just you right now, then it should indeed reflect you, your traits, and your values. The brand can then be operationalized into the organization as it grows. We often forget many big companies are actually named for their founders, and the founders’ beliefs and values still live on in the brand – because they were consistent with what their customers wanted and needed. Think H&R Block, Disney, Nordstrom, Oprah. Some founders choose to name their business something else in plans to sell the business or move on, but the personality and values of the founder still come through in the brand (Virgin and Richard Branson come to mind)
So create a brand that is authentic to you, focuses on your values and beliefs – as long as those are of value to your customers. You can never go wrong if you do that, no matter what name you give your company.
