Branding Yourself

I want to talk about a marketing effort that is incredibly important, yet, few of you ever put a lot of time, energy, or effort into it. It's called “branding”.

In fact, very few of you ever think of yourself, your practice or your business as a brand that you want to make famous in the community. With the absence of a brand initiative, you actually fail to position yourself and your business/practice (make an impression) in the minds of the people who live and work in your community.

The goal is to have people think of you, your business, your brand, and your logo in a split second. This is actually the dream!

If I mention Coca-Cola to you, you can quickly recall their red logo. And, I bet you still remember "Coke is the real thing". If you think about FedEx, you can quickly recall their logo and that they will absolutely, positively get your package there overnight.

Nike, you can think of their swoosh logo and their "Just do it".

Even though slogans may change, you can see the kind of impact that a consistent branding campaign can have on the mind of a consumer. You want the people who live and/or work in your community to think of you when they need you…in 3 seconds or less…and this is accomplished with consistent marketing that includes branding so you maintain that “top of mind awareness”.

My advice is to make sure that your logo and your slogan, or your USP (Unique Selling Proposition) absolutely penetrates the mind of the people who live and/or work in your community so that when they think of your product or service - they think of you.

Depending on what you do (product and/or service you sell), this process can take months or years. BUT, the great news is that 99% of your competitiors do not focus much on their brand.

You will start to see the effects of your branding campaigns/initiatives when people call you/come in to see you and say, "You know, I thought of a dry cleaner and I immediately thought of you because of your ads, or because of your logo". Pay attention to this.

Ask your customers how they found you. Track you marketing efforts to evaluate their success. And, watch what happens when you become the most recognized, most utilized business of your kind in town simply because you made everyone aware of you.

Action Steps:

1.Think of yourself as a brand
2.Get a logo, slogan, etc.
3.Become memorable
4.Penetrate the community with your marketing efforts.