Branding Your Business From the Inside Out

Most people think of branding as something that is exclusively for the marketing department of a business.

If you ask the average Joe, or Jane, how to brand a business they will probably tell you to come up with some kind of cute slogan or mascot and get the general public to associate your business with that.

Well, that may be part of the branding process, but it is only a very small part.  In order to develop a great brand, a lot of work needs to be done “under the hood” of the business first.

In other words, branding starts with YOU.

And branding is not just for the mega-corporations like McDonalds with Ronald McDonald and the Hamburglar, even if you are just operating a blog in your spare time as a way to make some extra cash you too need to consider personal branding.

So let’s get started... Shall we?

1. Mission

As a business, what is your mission?

What higher purpose are you trying to serve in the world?

Try thinking beyond what you provide in a mundane way and consider what you really provide.

For example, if you run a blog about personal finance, although you may be providing ‘great advice about personal finance,’ there is probably something that is more lofty than that that you share with your readers.

Perhaps you help them to live better lives. 

Perhaps ‘helping readers live a better life’ should be part of your brand's message.

2. Be Special

You are probably a unique business, or individual, who is able to provide people with a unique service or experience.

For instance, I heard about a certain home improvements company which is very neat and always cleans up after themselves, whereas most similar companies are known for being messy.

The company emphasized their cleanliness in their marketing message and were, rightfully, able to charge more for their tidy services.

3. The Customer  

Another aspect of your brand isn’t about you or your service per se, rather it is about whoever you provide it to, whether to customers, clients, or readers.

Consider what you have to offer them that is buzz-worthy.

Often an effective branding message is something that emphasizes how the brand is able to help their audience to either avoid pain or to increase pleasure.

That is what most people are seeking to pay money for.

Think about everything you have spent money on in the previous week, I’ll bet most of your items fit in to one of those two categories.

So how do you do that?

Going back to the example of the personal finance blogger, they conceivably help their readers to both avoid pain and to increase pleasure by helping them to avoid money trouble, while at the same time helping them to feel more competent and have money saved for the future.

4. Unique Marketing Message

The final step is to develop a unique marketing message by considering what we discussed above, namely your mission, what makes you special, and what you offer to your customer.

Once you have developed your unique marketing message, the path to coming up with slogan ideas and other branding essentials becomes much clearer.

Your Turn Now:

• What's your brand?
• What sets you apart?

Learn How to Build Your Business Brand