Great brands don't just happen by accident. Creating a brand people LOVE takes some thought about who you are and what your brand is all about.
Work On The Inside Layer Before The Outside Layer
What most people think of as "branding" is really just the outermost layer. Really impactful and inspirational brands have a clearer understanding of who they are and what makes them different. They also have clear vision of who are their best clients and their mission of how to help them.
"A brand is a set of values that sets the bar for all business decisions and shapes your brand into something concise, distinctive, legitimate."
Christine Day, former CEO of Lululemon and now CEO of Luvo explained it so well on the latest podcast episode of #Girlboss Radio by giving this three pronged prescriptive answer to Sophia Amoruso’s question:
Where did you start with the strategy for Lululemon and what does that process look like?
“We start by asking:
What is the core purpose of the brand?
Do you have a purpose people can belong to?
You can’t engage with your customers and you can’t engage with your employees if you don’t have a purpose that you’re asking them to resonate with. That’s what I call the creating the ‘emotional brand’ or a ‘shared experience brand’. Also ask; Do you have a purpose people belong to? If people believe in your purpose then they’ll want to share it and belong to it.
How do you differentiate yourself in the core market? By looking at the positioning, business model, details in the product and user experience etc.
Know your business. Do you know what every measure of success is? Get clear on the great knowledge of your business and set goals that your team can understand and believe in.
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Two Fundamental Questions To Ask Yourself:
Whether you are starting from scratch, updating your branding and messaging, or getting more clear about your brand values, here are two fundamental questions to ask yourself:
- Who am I talking to?
- What makes my brand different from my competitors?
Getting clear about these important issues will ensure you are:
a) more prepared at the design table to collaboratively create something that authentically reflects your business.
b) set up to communicate to your ideal audience in a meaningful way.
Otherwise you can be wasting time, resources and money on the wrong marketing approach.
This is the sole reason why we created The Brand Plan Program. Knowing who you are, knowing your why, and being able to seamlessly talk to your dream customers in a way that shares your vision and your passion isn't super easy to do and takes thought, time, and intention.
Doing it alone is extremely difficult.
So, don't struggle through it alone. You can start her by downloading our Brand Values Worksheet to get you started on thinking through the heart of your brand.
Download our Brand Values Worksheet
Sometimes finding the rights words and phrases to define who you are, what your vision is and who you are for, can be hard. So we have created a Define Your Brand Values worksheet as a simple exercise to help you get started.
Download it, and get started on defining the heart and soul of your business!
This can be something you can do on your own or in a group of like-minded business owners for your next mastermind group or co-working session. Getting unstuck can take a village, so getting an outside perspective from fellow business owners can be enlightening.
Sophie Davies
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