Building Your Brand

Building your brand is an exercise in conveying the “Who, What, Where, Why and How,” of your business to prospective customers. Success here means leveraging your efforts to draw these prospects closer to acquisition and a long term relationship with you. 

Marketing tools like your Web site can be educational and built to drive sales. Above all, you want to project the individuality of your company’s unique selling proposition and differentiate yourself from your competition.

The plan to accomplish this is outlined here in this quick summary of the five most important marketing tools for concisely communicating your know-how:

• A clear written statement of who your clients are (basic demographics), their values and motivations (psychographics), what problems, issues, and challenges they are facing, their aspirations and goals, and where and how these clients can be located and connected with.


• A crystal-clear marketing message that you can deliver verbally that tells a) who your clients are and why they need you, b) what actual results you can produce for them and c) what makes your services, approach and results especially relevant to your clients' specific needs.


• A one or two-page written "Executive Summary" that sums up all of the above and also includes a concise success story, a brief snapshot of your services and a call-to-action to find out more. This multi-purpose document can serve as a handout at networking functions, a follow-up to an in-person meeting, or even as the homepage of your website.


• A complete set of marketing materials, usually on a website. This is certainly more work than the first two, but is an absolute must if you are to effectively communicate that you know your stuff. Information should include, but not be limited to, pages on: who you work with, how you work, your services, case studies, background on you and your company, free information (articles, eZine) and how you start working with clients.


• A "Core Issue Article" that makes a solid case for the need for your services. This article is not a sales pitch but an information piece that demonstrates that you know your stuff and that you are competent to help your clients. One of the best formats is "The Ten Biggest Mistakes..." that makes your reader aware of what they may be doing wrong and what they need to do right.

I promise you that if you invest the time to develop these five marketing tools at the highest level you possibly can, the fact that you know your stuff will never be in question and everyone who steps into your website or hears you speak about what you do will be drawn to you like a magnet.