Insights

EAT YOUR VEGETABLES BEFORE YOUR DESSERT—BRAND FIRST

As I discussed in Lesson 2, the hard truth is that 90% of startups fail. In Lesson 3, I'll give you the solution to success. Not even the advent of the internet age has changed this. Despite the plethora of new marketing tools and ways to reach your customers, the percentage of failures has not changed.

It’s common for businesses to try and focus on many things simultaneously once they have a business plan: things like sales, getting a website, keeping current customers happy, and enticing new ones to try them out. This can and does work and is, in fact, critical for growth, but to maximize the return on all that effort, you have to have a coherent brand for customers to connect with.

1. Branding can...

• tell your story succinctly
• save you time and money
• reduce stress when making business and marketing decisions
• keep you focused on your True North
• help you make informed decisions on whom to hire
• define the types of customers to pursue

2. That’s because developing your brand means asking certain questions, like:

• What makes your product or service different?
• What does that difference mean to your customer?
• What are your values?
• What is your position in your market space?
• Why is your widget or service better than your competitors?

3. I learned this the hard way.

Branding can cut a few years off your scheduled growth projection and will help you hit your growth goals sooner. I held off on creating a cohesive brand identity for my agency despite having already done it for many of my clients. I was the proverbial cobbler with no shoes for my children. When I rebranded from Trent Design to Trent Creative, Be Chosen, it helped move the needle quicker and more succinctly as to what our core services were and how it helped our clients be chosen over their competitors. Creating that brand did everything that I told my clients it would do. It defined my agency to my employees, customers, and prospects.

4. Many business owners ask me. What exactly is brand strategy? If done correctly, it sets you apart from your competitor and defines why they should buy from you only.

• Position in the marketplace (what makes you different—the reason to buy)
• Value proposition (How does your reason to buy affect your customer?)
• Unique selling points or key messages (all corporate communications have 3-4 key messages)
• Brand values (What values does your company have that without them, it would not exist)
• Brand personality (All big box stores base their advertising on brand personality)
• Brand promise
• And your claim of distinction within your market space (all of these things add up to one important thing — what is the key differentiator that sets you apart from your competition).

If you consider the brand strategy and experience first, you can align your mission, vision, and business plan in a way that builds off your brand image. It will be easier to make decisions regarding the look and feel of your identity and marketing materials and ensure your outreach efforts are always optimized for building a tribe of followers and faithful customers.

You can make that first step by defining your brand personality by emailing Trent Creative at [email protected]. Ask for the worksheet and instructions.

Once you eat those vegetables (develop your brand) you can move on to reaping the rewards and have the dessert of your choice.