How do I brand my business?

“How do I successfully brand my business?” This question was posed to me in a 121 mentoring session I had with a business mentee.

I immediately went to my go-to-answers, pulling on some well-known phrases and descriptions, and pointing them in the direction of some books and blogs to read.

Question answered I thought. Well done me.

Except, when I reflected on the session afterwards, I started thinking about how I could answer the question from a different perspective.

So, I started imagining 'Business' and 'Brand' as being sentient, introduced to one another and exchanging messages.

This is how I imagine their conversation to go following an introduction from me…

To: [email protected]

From: [email protected]

CC: [email protected]

Subject: Introductions

Business, meet Brand.

I am introducing you both because I think you have similar goals, and I’m sure you’ll get on well.

@Brand – Business is a self-starter with an amazing product range, and is definitely on the up.

@Business – Brand is super-smart, is all about feelings, and champions strategy all the way.

I’ll leave it with you. Let me know if you need anything else from me.

Sean

To: [email protected] 

From: [email protected]

Re: Introductions

Hi Business, great to meet you.

I’m pleased to hear things are going well. Maybe I can help accelerate that success.

I understand you have some challenges around disorientated and distracted humans and distinguishing yourself from your competitors. Is that correct?

I’d love to learn more. Shall we set up a meeting?

FYI – I am all about humans (fascinating creatures), whether they are Customer Humans, Employee Humans or Stakeholder Humans. My role is to connect, inspire and motivate them to do more of what they do, and to feel good about doing it.

Kind regards.

Brand

To: [email protected]

From: [email protected]

Re: Introductions

Hi Brand, thanks for the message. Sorry for the delay in getting back to you. My humans had a falling out and all hell broke loose. All is sorted now. I think.

Yes, I have a group of humans that work for me, who are all great. They work really hard and I want to reward them with the numbers they all seem to like so much. But they are not on the same page with one another in how they think, talk or behave, which has caused friction.

A good example is Guy. He’s really trying hard but is a lone ranger. He does his own thing and seems to make it up as he goes. It’s not his fault, he’s trying his best, he just needs……….? Anyway, that’s one example.

Other than my humans and some systems that need improving, the greatest difficulty right now is attracting Customer Humans, as you put it. I look and sound too similar to my competitors, and nobody seems to know what to do about it.

There’s too much to go into here. Let's meet. It would also be good to hear more about you too. Here’s my calendar link: [email protected]

Thanks.

Business

To: [email protected]

From: [email protected]

Subject: Great meeting

Hi Business. Great to meet you last week. I enjoyed learning more about what you are doing. Very interesting.

I have considered your challenges and believe I can help in 3 ways.

1. Your human alignment problem. We can work together to develop a ‘cultural framework’, namely a set of values and expected behaviours that will give your humans everything they need to work together more effectively. This should quickly address the ‘Guy’ problem too – either he is on board with it or he is not. And over time we can embed this deeper into the culture and their day-to-day interactions.
2. Alongside culture, our collaboration will help your humans identify a ‘vision’ they can work towards for you. It will help them focus on where to take you in the future and what they need to do to get you there.
3. Creating a distinction between you and your competitors. Again, we will need to be as one here, digging deep into what makes you different. We will look at your systems, products, and humans, focusing specifically on which Customer Humans you want to attract. Once we have identified your difference(s), we can link the culture and vision together for the full experience.

I will draw up a more detailed proposal and send it to you next week.

If you have any questions or concerns, let me know.

Thanks.

Brand

To: [email protected]

From: [email protected]

Re: Great meeting

Hi Brand, thanks for your proposal.

I like how you describe our partnership as symbiotic, like two strands of the same DNA. That speaks to me.  

However, I do have some questions. See below.

1. How will you ensure a successful change in behaviour from my humans?
2. How will we share my differences with the world??
3. How will this work increase my value?

Kind regards.

Business

To: [email protected]

From: [email protected]

Re: Great meeting

Hi Business. Good thought-provoking questions, thanks. I have responded to them below.

1. How will you ensure a successful change in behaviour from my humans?

ANSWER: Firstly, we need to involve your human leaders and some of the other ‘leading-light’ humans – you know, the ones who have an opinion and who are listened to by the others. That way, we can include them from the beginning, capture their ideas and design a way forward with them engaged throughout. With everyone in agreement, they will also be vital for introducing and embedding the cultural changes. We will monitor it via a set of metrics to determine success.

2. How will we share my differences with the world??

ANSWER: Once a language (visual and verbal) and go-to-market strategy is nailed-down, I will introduce you to my trusted associate, Marketing, who is a genius when it comes to influencing customer humans with magnetic, irresistible ‘content’. It will be their job to bring our collaborative strategy to life and help evolve it over time.

3. How will this work increase my value??

ANSWER: This is tricky to answer because it will depend upon our agreed objectives and how we choose to measure them. However, one way of answering your question is as follows:

• To create Value, you need Growth.
• For sustained Growth, you need Innovation.
• ?To inspire Innovation, you need a Culture that embraces it.
• To build a Culture like that, you need Clarity.
• To gain Clarity, you need Me (Brand).

I hope the above sufficiently answers your questions.

Thanks.

Brand

To: [email protected]

From: [email protected]

Re: Great meeting

Thanks for answering my questions, Brand.

There’s a lot to consider here, what with the time investment from my humans and the long-term commitment.

However, I am excited about the prospect of a mutually beneficial, symbiotic relationship with you.

Let’s arrange another meeting to scope out what this can look like in more detail. Here’s my calendar link again: [email protected]

Kind regards.

Business

To: [email protected]

From: [email protected]

Re: Great meeting

Hi Business,

Glad to hear you are excited about the prospect of partnering.

I always look at partnerships like this:

• Your role is to focus on your organisational (human) goals.
• My role is to focus on customer and employee (human) goals.
• Both rely upon each other to deliver long-term success.

For example, I will not succeed without your strong organisational approach. And you will not build human loyalty without a strong, believable narrative.

Thanks for sharing your calendar.

Speak soon.

Brand

To: [email protected]

From: [email protected]

Subject: Next steps

Hi Brand, thanks for meeting with me again. I can confirm I am happy to proceed.

I have a good feeling about partnering with you and look forward to moving forward together.

Please advise on the next steps.

Kind regards.

Business

To: [email protected]

From: [email protected]

Re: Next steps

Fantastic news! I am looking forward to kicking things off with you.

I will be in touch with some proposed dates.

All the best.

Brand

Back to reality

Thanks for sticking with this imagined exchange between Business and Brand. My intention here is to demystify the crucial relationship and broadly explain how branding is used to galvanise a business and make it easier for its customers to choose them.

The important takeaway here is that Brand and Business are interlinked. One cannot succeed in the long term without the other. The strength of organisation and narrative are a winning combination.

In reality, very few business leaders set out to build a brand. They want to solve a problem and build a business. Brand, comes into its own later when the foundations are down and momentum is established.

If you have arrived at that point, here are 5 areas to focus on to help build a lasting brand that will complement and strengthen your business. 

1. Measurable Ambition (What's your 'vision & mission' in the medium to long-term and how will you measure them?)
2. Defensible Differences (How are you distinctively different and why should anyone take notice?)
3. Cultural Harmony (How are your business's values applied each day and what is the magnetic pull that's keeping everyone together?)
4. Customer Experience (What promise are you delivering and are you consistently delivering it?)
5. Go-To-Market Strategy (How does your marketing successfully and consistently reflect your business's ambition, difference, culture and promise?)

Reach out

If you would like a practical perspective on where to start in any of the 5 areas, please reach out. Likewise, if you want to share an alternative view or a success story.

#businessstrategy #brandstrategy #businessbranding #clarityanddirection