3 Keys to a Solid Brand for Your Business

Are you like many online business owners who are confused or stuck when it comes to creating a unique, memorable, and authentic brand? If so, you're not alone. I've been there myself, so I understand the frustration of feeling stuck on this whole branding thing.

But once I discovered that if I looked at it from a completely different perspective, that my brand wasn't just about my business, but about ME, everything shifted.

Creating your brand from the inside out allows you to fully step into your business identity in a truly authentic way. It's also the easiest way to stand out in the sea of others who do what you do.

So, if you're stuck, let me give you three things you must be clear on in order to create a truly compelling and unique business brand.

Strategy 1: What results do your clients experience from your service?

One of the exercises I do with my Platinum clients is have them generate a long list of the results their clients get from working with them.

You can easily do this right now. Just complete this sentence 30 times:

“The results my clients get from working with me are ___________________________.”

If you get stuck, here's my secret: Send this question to your clients so they can tell you the kind of results you're helping them create!

For example, when I asked my own clients this question, here's some of what they shared:

"The results I get from working with Alicia are...

- clear, easy to follow instructions on strategic Internet marketing techniques

- insightful advice from a trusted mentor who understands my business

- generous knowledge and expertise, honest feedback and support, focus and direction

- more clarity on which steps to take to experience more alignment with my business/life purpose

- I now see the bigger picture and base my decisions on the ‘whole’ of my business, rather than just the next thing.

- stretching me in ways and areas that I could/would not do on my own.

- more clients, more money and more fun in working with my business.

- getting me out of my comfort zone so that I discover what is possible when I play a bigger game.

- more clarity and awareness around time sucking activities that I am engaging in so that I can STOP doing them.

Strategy 2: What are you an expert at?
 
Once you have a solid and in-depth grasp of the value you bring to you clients and the results you help create with them, you should easily be able to define what it is you're an expert at.

Complete this sentence: "I'm an expert at________________________."

Strategy 3: What does your brand promise?

Let's take it one step further...

Your brand promise is a statement that is pretty specific. It's true regardless of the program, product or service you may offer. No matter what the program, product or service, it always fulfills your brand promise.

And just to be clear, I'm not talking about your marketing tagline. What I'm talking about goes much deeper than that, to the very core of what it is that you are so passionate about providing to others.

My brand promise is, "I passionately inspire women entrepreneurs to breakthroughs in their business so they create the life they ache for."

So, my Platinum programs, Online Business Breakthrough Brainery, 21 Easy & Essential Steps to Online Success System and Take Action Group, Coaching Cafe, and the rest of my offerings all fulfill this brand promise.

Here's one from one of my Online Business Breakthrough clients, Dale Carter at TransitionAgingParents.com:

"I provide trusted information and personal insight to inspire adult children to passionately pursue, for their aging parents, the quality of life their parents hunger for."

So everything that Dale offers to her specific market fulfills this overarching promise. Dale knows what she is an expert at and that shows up in her brand promise very clearly.

So, what does your brand promise? What is it that your clients can count on you for?

The formula for an effective, compelling, memorable, authentic, fun and fabulous brand is really very simple:

"I get X results for my clients, which makes me an expert at Y, which means they can count on me to provide Z."

Voila!

(c) 2009 Alicia Forest

About the author:  Alicia M Forest, MBA, 6-Figure Business Breakthrough Mentor, teaches self-employed professionals how to attract more clients, create profit-making products and services, make more sales, and ultimately live the life they desire and deserve. For FREE tips on how to create wild abundance in your business, visit http://www.ClientAbundance.com

Comments

[Bonnie Richter]

Alicia, I like the "X, Y, Z" formula. It really simplifies the process!

[Dawn Menard]

I like the examples in this post Alicia - for the first part, you used feedback from your clients, and then in the last part you added another example. But how about an example for the "expert" section for both yourself and your other "example". I'd like to be able to follow the 3 steps all the way through. thanks!