Most business owners spend very little time on building their brand. Yet, it’s one of the most important “factors” in maintaining top-of-mind-awareness, brand recognition and reputation in your community (or with your buying public).
In other words, brand recognition with the people who live and/or work in your community, your city or town can help make you a household name!
Most professionals/business owners don’t think of themselves as a brand. This is a COLOSSAL MISTAKE. For example, if I were to ask you to think of a Cola company in the U.S., I am fairly certain that you would think of Coke or Pepsi rather quickly. And, when you think of Coke’s logo, I’m sure that you immediately recall their red logo with the white swoosh. Can you think of one of their famous slogans? I like, “Coke it’s the real thing”.
You might think of Coca-Cola classic, new Coke, diet Coke, etc. They have paid billions of dollars to get you and the rest of the world to recognize their brand.
Another example – When you think of Federal Express, you almost can’t help but think of their slogan – “When it absolutely positively has to be there overnight” – which also doubles as their USP (Unique Selling Proposition).
If every “big” company / corporation does everything possible to ensure that the public recognizes and/or remembers their brand, you should too! You want to become the person or business of choice that people instantly think of when they need you. That is your goal – to maintain top of mind awareness/consciousness.
The biggest companies in the world have logos, sayings, or taglines that they want the public to know and embrace. You should too!
What to do first?
You’ve got to start thinking about yourself, your business, or your practice, like a brand. Do you have an attractive, appropriate logo in place that truly reflects or represents your business or practice? Do you have a tagline that effectively identifies your business and/or what you “do”?
How are you better than everyone else? What makes you or your business, product or service different/better? These are things that will help you create slogans, taglines, and/or a USP.
Let’s revisit Federal Express and their tagline/USP that says “When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight.” You know exactly what you get when you deal with FedEx. You should make sure that your logo and tagline accurately represent your business or practice, so the viewing public understands exactly what they get when they think of (or use) you.
Now, step 2:
The eventual goal of your branding initiatives – is for everybody in your community, city, town, state, nation or the world to think of you when they need you. You want to be the person/business they think of when they need whatever you do.
Start to think of yourself and your business like a brand. Get your logo, tagline, and USP together and do whatever you can to penetrate your market with ALL of it. Use your logo, slogan/tagline/USP on all of your envelopes, letterhead, signs, website, etc.
Need a little help creating your mission statement? go here:
http://www.nightingale.com/mission_select.aspx
Enjoy and remember, if you have any questions or need help with your USP leave them in the comments below and I will reply!
To Your Success,
Dr. Len Schwartz