Why You Need Help With Brand Messaging for Your Business
Dr. D. Ivan Young, MCC, NBC-HWC, CPDC
ICF Master Certified Coach | Member - Forbes Coaches Council | National Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach |Fellow and Co-Lead for Race, Equity & Inclusion The Institute of Coaching at McLean/Harvard Medical School
While I was getting stretched the other day, I was listening to a highly respected and successful entrepreneur in the health and fitness industry talk about how he attained his position as one of the top gym owners in the United States. If you were listening, you might wonder how you could follow his steps and replicate his success.?
But from the way he talked, as if his accomplishments could be boiled down to simple, easily replicated steps, I could tell he had one major blindspot – “his success”.
While in the next room, the trainer stretching me said something like “If I did the same exact things this guy is telling these new hires to do, I wouldn’t be getting new clients”.
His cookie-cutter template approach might look good on paper and he seems like a good person to listen to, but one thing was obvious. Coaching and developing people is not his area of expertise.
Sometimes our greatest blessing is also a curse. This is especially true when it comes to bringing in others to help you with your messaging. Imagine how this also applies to other aspects of your business, especially those that don’t fit into your specialty.?
When you want to grow and expand as an individual and a brand, hiring experts and learning to let go of what’s outside your wheelhouse is crucial.?
Knowing when to outsource or delegate is essential. It’s the difference that will take you from struggling to thriving.?
Clients who go through my high net worth coaching or professional and c-suite coaching program are often high achievers who try to do it all. The problem is – it works until it doesn’t.?
What is lost between “works” and “doesn’t work” could prove disastrous.
We tend to overestimate how those closest to us hear and understand us. This occurs in both our personal and professional lives.?
Brand messaging can make or break your business. So why does it have so much power?
The Importance of Brand Messaging
Communication is not only what you say. How you say something is a crucial element as well.
Your brand messaging should be consistent and align with the goals of your business. Successful brand messaging should build trust with potential clients, keep your existing clients coming back for more, and position you as a trustworthy authority in your industry.?
What you say is important, but how you say it also heavily impacts how potential customers will feel about you and your brand1.
This is the same principle that applies to all relationships – personal and professional. We tend to read into what others say and vice versa. It’s no secret that tone, inflection, word choice, and other forms of communication impact the effectiveness of your messaging.?
So how do you establish your tone and messaging style?
Unless your business is a marketing agency, you’re probably not an expert at brand messaging.?
Hiring someone who specializes in communication and messaging is the first step in establishing brand messaging that accomplishes your goals and satisfies the end user.
Hire an Expert in Brand Messaging
It’s usually obvious when someone takes messaging for their business into their own hands.?
It’s difficult, especially when you’ve already had some success, to objectively judge yourself and your ability to communicate your message. You think you’re coming across one way, but potential clients are perceiving you and your business in a completely different way. Put another way, what worked yesterday could prove fatal today.
I’m not saying you can control how people perceive you. But when you’re too close to the situation – in this case in your own head – you’re more likely to miss the mark.?
An expert in brand messaging can help you fortify your brand with their knowledge of how to conduct market research, analyze data, and implement strategies that make up the customer journey2.?
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If you’re building a business, and by extension a brand, you don’t have the time to do all this by yourself. Even if you had the time, it isn’t your area of expertise.?
Even though it’s your business, you won’t get far alone. Bringing in new people who can offer knowledge and experience that you don’t have will help you reach your goals a lot quicker. It will also set you up for long-term success.
But before you’re set up for long-term success, you have to focus on establishing your brand’s value. You can’t get far without a value proposition.?
Your Value Proposition
One crucial aspect of brand messaging is the unique value proposition. It’s the reason your ideal client should buy from you instead of your competitors. It clearly describes the benefit of your offer and brand and how it’s different from similar offers3.
Hiring a brand messaging expert to help you craft and communicate your value proposition is a must if you want to become a successful brand.?
An effective value proposition will:
You shouldn’t leave any of these considerations out of your value proposition. And most of all, you probably shouldn’t attempt to do it yourself if you’re not a messaging expert.?
Allow those who are experts at communication to help you communicate. If you don’t, you’ll run the risk of your message falling flat or being misinterpreted.?
Find the Right People for Your Business
Learning to delegate and let others take over areas of your business that fall outside of your expertise is a must. But you shouldn’t take on just anyone.?
When you’re ready to bring other experts in to help you further your brand, be choosy.?
It can be highly beneficial to find someone who:
These are the minimum requirements you should be looking for when letting someone else take over your messaging.?
Building trust between your brand and your ideal customers takes time. Similarly, it’ll take time for you to trust another person to take over your marketing and messaging. But it’s a decision that’ll ultimately lead to success for you and your business.?
If you’re trying to build your business and establish your personal brand, follow my blog for more helpful articles like this one.?
Bio: Dr. D. Ivan Young, MCC, is a leading expert on human behavior and relationships and a highly regarded expert in the field of behavioral neuroscience. For more than two decades, Dr. Young has been dedicated to helping people create transformative, lasting change for themselves and their organizations.?
He is a three-time TEDx speaker with over 4 million views on the TEDx YouTube channel. His credentials include being an ICF Master Certified Coach, a National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach, a member of the renowned Forbes Coaches Council, and a Certified Professional Diversity Coach.
Dr. Young is the commensurate go-to for resolving complicated life issues using interdisciplinary and holistic methods derived from Positive and Developmental Psychology, the Myers Briggs Type Indicator, Dialectical and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and Evidence and Research-Based coaching methods. Confidence, capacity, and competence best describe his unique ability to effectively coach a wide range of complex perspectives and personalities individually and within organizations.
Dr. Young conducts Coaching Master Classes and lectures globally to top-tier universities, professional groups and prominent International Coach Federation Chapters.
Dr. Young is also a Master Neuro-Linguistic Practitioner and a Master MBTI Practitioner with a Ph.D. in Holistic Life Coaching. Dr. Young was the first Co-Chair of the Council on Race, Equity & Inclusion at the Institute of Coaching McLean and continues as a Distinguished Fellow at the renowned Institute of Coaching McLean, a Harvard Medical School affiliate.
Dr. Young specializes in coaching Ultra High Net Worth Individuals, Professional Athletes, Elected Officials, Public Figures, and Leading Licensed Health Care and Legal Professionals.
He is recognized as one of the top African American Life Coaches in the United States and globally.