How to Build an Irresistible Brand People Will Line Up For

Too many business owners think that Sales is their biggest problem. True yet not true. The question we dive deeper on is ‘why aren’t people buying?’. And almost fifty percent of the time it is easy to see: their branding is weak, is too generic, is inconsistent, or doesn’t appeal at all to the people they are trying to sell to.

Now this might make some CEOs angry because branding is mistakenly deemed “fluff’ to some serious business people who don’t see it as a priority for their customer. After all, it’s the product that counts, right?

Nope.

The customer is making decisions to check out a product further based on emotion, not logic. They have many options and all it takes is a 3-second google search for them to shop around.

What makes them click on one website over the other?

Yep, it’s all in the brand!

Good marketing has several components but first and foremost, it is the brand that matters.

What are you saying or showing that stops the scroll?

How are you standing out from the other options the customer can choose?

You can invest all your money in lead generation, sales centers, and advertising but if your brand is weak or not aligned with your audience, you will not sell.

So how do you build an irresistible brand? I have a few tips to help anyone improve:

1.    Get really crystal clear on the problems you solve and for whom and what outcome they can expect from purchasing your solution. Complete an avatar worksheet to guide you. People care about the before and after, speaking their language, and connecting emotionally. Describe the problems in THEIR words, not yours and talk more about those feelings of frustration and less about your solution. Think about which problems you are really solving for the customer, beyond the product itself. Get personal. If you suffered from the problem as well, tell your customer! Storytelling builds trust.

2.    Ask yourself how your brand should look, feel, smell, and taste. If your brand were a beverage, which one would it be? If your brand were a season of the year, which one would it be and why? Brainstorm all the feelings and emotions you want people to associate with your brand. Use descriptive words. Tell me about your style! This exercise will help you define your brand like you've never even thought of and this will make it stand apart from the millions of others and attract people.

3.    Ask your trusted customers or beta study group to describe your brand and see if it matches your vision for your brand. When your customer thinks of you, what do they think of? Are you surprised? Does it match what you want to communicate with your brand? It is also a good branding exercise to ask complete strangers to tell you their first impression, without reading about what you do previously.

4.    Ask your trusted customers or beta study group based of your ideal target audience what they want most out of a product or service like what you are selling and what appeals to them most. Note: studies are the best to discover what really matters to your target audience. As a seasoned Tech Product Manager, I can’t speak more highly about the importance of marketing research and study groups!

5.    Compile all the results from exercises 1 to 4 and hire a real branding expert to design your brand’s identity. This includes a name, logo, a tagline, brand fonts, brand colors, and a brand style guide to be consistent across all channels. Ask for up to 5 style versions and share with your trusted customer group to get feedback which one appeals to them the most. Trust me, you want a professional’s help here. Don’t try to save money by using mediocre resources. And don't skip steps 1 to 4 or else who've pay top dollar for a brand that you'll have to do quickly down the road.

6.    Get as many branded assets produced as possible to cover an array of future needs, including a Word template you can use for sales pitches, a marketing brochure, a powerpoint template for presentations, a video intro and outro, an email signature, an online course design, packaging if applicable and branded swag to make a strong impression! And don’t forget to apply the same new branding to all your social media profiles! Again, don't do this before steps 1-5.

7.    Don’t forget now to register all your brand names across all social media channels and internet urls as well as to file trademarks on your name, logo and tagline. You’d hate to have gone to all that work only for someone else to steal your brand.

8.    Now that you have defined and protected your brand identity, it’s time to work on SEO. Develop a personal hashtag that is unique for your brand and that you use like a signature on all your social media content. Compile a list of 30 well-researched keywords and hashtags you will use in your content. Use maximum 3-5 hashtags per post.

9.    Next comes good copywriting. Your brand may be visually beautiful but if you are not able to write authentic, compelling, SEO-rich content that causes your audience to take clear action, you have not succeeded. I have so much to say about copywriting that I’ll need to write a separate article. First and foremost, develop a clear voice of your brand and then be consistent to make sure all your content speaks to your client in the same voice across all channels.

10. Use video and live streaming to build trust and likability. People buy from those they know, like, and trust. Copy is great but studies have shown that people love watching video. Video sells! Make sure to brand your videos, use strong titles, create thumbnails, add subtitles, and have a clear call to action outro. Professionally looking videos convert much better than rookie videos! And make sure to speak in the same voice of your brand in your videos as well.

11. Master your digital marketing strategy like a pro. You’re going to need to be everywhere your audience is. Hire an agency or at least a social media professional to design a real strategy for your brand, complete with campaigns. Do you need a podcast or a youtube channel? How often and where and what time of the day are you going to post? Are you going to go live? You’ll need a lead magnet and email marketing automations too. Maybe you also want to use Messenger marketing to deliver your content. Should you set up a blog or submit articles to certain publications with a large following? Without a good marketing strategy, all those wonderful efforts you’ve just spent time and money on will be wasted.

12. Consider hiring a PR/Media agency and/or working with the right influencers. Brand positioning is so important. Getting guest appearances on the right podcasts, getting the right speaking opportunities, mentioned in the right publications or contracting with the right brand ambassadors can elevate a new brand to an overnight success.

13. Build out a networking strategy. This may include sending connection requests and InMails to key leads on Linkedin, sending direct messages to people on Instagram or Facebook, following and engaging with your leads on all platforms, posting often in groups, and live networking. Set goals how much you will network every week. Building relationships is key to success of your brand. Align yourself strategically with other businesses or influencers who can help you grow and position yourself the right way.

14. Define your sales funnels. Make it extremely easy to buy from you. The process should have no more than three steps. Set your system up to make it intuitive to your buyer and accessible from any access point. Tell the buyer exactly what to do and accept all major forms of payments. Make sure your customer service system or tech support service is ready before you launch to assist them along the checkout process.

15. Set up a great referral system. Ask for reviews. Reward loyalty. Create an affiliate program and partnerships. Collect testimonials. Show appreciation for repeat business. Make it your goal to turn your early customers into life-long fans.

If you found value in this article, I would truly love to share with you more similar wisdoms.

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