Your Brand. What is it?

Can you sum it up in one or two sentences?? Not what you do.? Not what services you supply.? Not what products you sell.? Not what your company logo looks like.? But, your brand.? Again, what is it?

I have noticed over the past decade, meeting with thousands of local businesses, that the greatest weakness they all have, is not knowing their brand.? What do I mean by that?

Most every business owner and employee, believes that their brand is what they do or sell.? I’m a plumbing company, my brand should be “Providing the best plumbing services.”? I’m a restaurant owner, my brand should be “Giving the people the best _____ food in the city.”? I’m a hospital, my brand should be “Serving the community by giving the best patient care.”? None if this is correct, and exactly none of it has anything to do with one’s brand.

I believe that one’s brand, can be summed up as a client's or prospective client’s emotional connection to the business.? What kind of connection and experience are they having with the company that they are choosing to give their money and trust to?? That is the brand.

So, thus…McDonalds is not a “fast food company”, but rather a company that provide places where families and loved ones can connect, where children can play, where people on the move can feed themselves with food that can be trusted and is safe.? All these ideas that I listed, are emotional.? The food, “the product” therefore, is simply the medium to the experience. ?

One of the best examples of a company using their product to create a deep human connection and experience, is Coke.? Remember when they started printing people’s names on the sides of their products?? The public went crazy for that!? People were purchasing them with their names, their friend’s names, family member’s names, grandchildren’s names…etc.? Whether or not someone even drank the product or wanted to simply give them as gifts, it was the only product that was printing names on their cans, and one had to purchase Coke products to enjoy the experience.? But what was Coke selling here?? Again, the can isn’t the end game here.? It was rather, the memory of that person(s).? It was even the experience of feeling special and important, when you saw your own name on it.? Their product, was the conduit to helping their clients and prospective clients have a deeper and more personal emotional reaction with others.? It helped to build community, touch points, and strengthen interpersonal social connections.? Wow.? Good job Coke!!

So, what about you?? What is your business doing to help people feel safe?? Feel wanted?? Feel seen and appreciated?? What steps can you take to understand these needs?? I would encourage you to, because they are deepest needs in every human, regardless of age, race, gender, religion and political perspective. ?

Here’s the coolest thing about branding yourself well.? When people have a deep and felt connection with someone, they tend to not only like that someone, but they can’t help but also tell others how much they like that certain someone too.? And the same is true about a business.? When someone has a great experience and connect with the business, they will tell others all about it.? Your rate of exposure in the market will naturally increase.

So, again I’ll ask you…What is your brand?? If you don’t know, I’d like to help you figure that out.? Lets chat today!

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