Too often I see people struggling to find the right words to describe who they are as a brand and it becomes a barrier – rather than a bridge. The problem is that we dive into the subject matter as the expert and very soon people’s eyes glaze over. You must find the connection between you and them. What is it they are looking for (the problem)? And what is it you are offering (the solution)?

Wally Ollins says in his book On Brand that we create our brands in our image (our identity) but it should also be in the image of the village (your brand community). It is the connection between you and the people who belong to your brand that makes the difference. So every now and then you need to step outside and look back in – to strengthen who you are.

Have you thought about how other people may see you? Are you communicating your brand solution with ease? I thought this month for some fun I could set you a little creative task to see if you come up with any new ideas, so grab a piece of paper and a pen.

QUICK TIP – FIND THE CONNECTION:

1 Imagine that you are one of your ideal customers. Describe them. Who are they? What do they look like? What do you know about them?

2 Imagine they are in contact with your brand. Where are they? Are they on your website? In your shop? Meeting you or your brand for the first time? What do they see? People make a lot of assumptions from first impressions.

3 What is it that they want? What are they looking for – and what are they really looking for? How can you give it to them?

4 What turns them off? And what turns them on?

Sometimes just looking at these questions from another direction can provide you with insight to your brand solution, it can be the very first step over the bridge.

The Bridge. 

Bridges are symbolic of the transition from one side to another. Bridges can be a journey or a passage, or a crossing over. Bridges can even represent an initiation or a joining – it could very well be an entry point to a new land.

Spread the word.

Need some help? Try a one off coaching session or my brand foundation pack to enhance your marketing.

FOR BUSINESS & PERSONAL BRANDING.

To find out more please contact me.

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One of the core components of brand theory is to build a community around your brand – and to do this you must stimulate the desire in people to belong. Some brands have a strong almost cult membership, like Harley Davidson, and some brands don’t, it depends on your business model. But to attract people to care about your brand it helps to have a creed, a set of values that represent a way of life.

In the wild, wolves run in packs and likewise, human beings are pack animals. We may be living in the Age of Individualism, but at our very core we desire to bond.

So get your howl on and call in your pack.

There is such a thing as Lone Wolf Syndrome, it is when we take our heroic story to heart so much we feel that we have to do it all on our own. That we have to be the one to save the day. However, a pack of wolves hunt better together than alone. The same can be said for creating brand community.

The marketing author Seth Godin, in his book ‘Tribes : We need you to lead us’, says that there are two things that create a tribe of followers:

1 A Shared Interest

If you look beneath the surface of your business, what is it that all people who are involved, share as an interest? What is it that everyone values as ‘a way of life’ that can be part of your creed?

2 A Way to Communicate

How could you communicate that shared interest with people in your community? Are there ways you can stimulate the conversation, and allow people to feel proud to belong to your brand?

It is within our nature to belong, and to bond, it is what underlies all relationships. Your brand creed is what you howl… so call in your pack.

The Wolf. 

There are many symbolic representations of wolves around the world. One to be careful of in sales is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Or be mindful of keeping that hungry wolf from your door.

Wolves however make a powerful pack.

Spread the word.

Need some help? Try a one off coaching session or my brand foundation pack to enhance your marketing.

FOR BUSINESS & PERSONAL BRANDING.

To find out more please contact me.

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Why I love symbolism.

SYMBOLISM TAPS INTO SYNCHRONICITY

When Jung coined the term synchronicity he was speaking of ‘meaningful co-incidence’, those moments when the ducks line up or our ideas converge into a breakthrough. The symbols we are attracted to pop up from our subconscious and connect us to the world allowing our business networking and marketing to just flow with synchronicity.

A friend of mine recently contacted me and asked me to help her create a business card. She had decided that 2013 was the year to take her writing career more seriously by mingling with published authors and to begin to learn more about the business of publishing. The first symbol that came in to my mind was a blue feather so I sent her a card design with her details and a blue feather on it. She wrote back and said “I was thinking a feather too! And if I would choose a colour it would be blue.” So the cards went to print.

Then I received an email from her reminding me of some creative work we had done six months earlier that I had forgotten about that had blue birds in it, both the little garden blue wren and also peacocks, so to me that was an indication that this symbol had some resonance.

The business card was for a writing conference. I then heard that when she arrived at the conference the main hall was called the Peacock Gallery. In the foyer she saw a book advertised that was about to be released that had a nest with two blue eggs on the cover. There were 350 people at this conference and the woman who sat next to my friend was the author of that book. The two women showed each other their business cards : one with a blue feather and the other, like the book, with two blue eggs. My friend is now attending the opening of that book.

At a session on marketing at the conference, on the topic of how to publish a book, the book that was used as a case study also had two blue eggs on the cover (different to the first). She was then invited by an editor/agent from a publishing house to join their group of professional writers who meet weekly. Then to top off the great day when she got home there was a parcel in the mail that she had ordered off the internet of some earrings with dangling brown feathers and the jeweller had sent an extra ‘gift’ as well – a set of blue ones. I love symbolism!

Grape vines are known for growing wildly and quickly, and just like grape vines, word-of-mouth grows organically. It is not controlled, but it still needs to be fed. You can influence, even tame word of mouth but you cannot control what other people say.

Canadian brand strategist Ted Matthews says “The Brand is not the logo – it’s what people think of you”. He is right. Brands are about reputation and the value people are perceiving. You cannot control what other people think, but you can influence their thoughts by your words and your actions.

One of the most powerful ways to make your mark is to imprint into the minds of other people one word. This is known as the brand essence.

What’s your word?

The most powerful brand essence doesn’t even need to be spoken. You can define what your word is, make a commitment to it, hardly ever say it out loud, and still hear other people reflect it back to you from the grape vine.

That is because the brand essence is felt. It is understood and received, from the way your brand behaves.

The first step is to come up with that one word that describes your core selling point. So I challenge you to narrow down your essence to just one word.

What’s it going to be?

The Grape Vine

The grape vine is symbolic of communication that passes from person to person in channels, such as gossip. A grapevine grows quickly and wildly and not in any controlled pattern.

Grapes symbolise wisdom.

Send a message through the grape vine.

Need some help defining your brand essence? Try a one off coaching session or my brand foundation pack to enhance your word-of-mouth marketing. To find out more please contact me. To find out more please contact me.

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So this month,  I thought I would leave you with some thoughts on how to be comfortable beating your own drum.

Look at me! Look at me!

3 REASONS WHY PEOPLE ARE UNCOMFORTABLE WITH SELF PROMOTION

1 Advertising has Attention Deficit Disorder

Ever been to a party with a bragger? It is so annoying. Have you heard those cheap and nasty adverts out there that yell at you from the TV screen? Yes you have… we all have, but just because a percentage of marketers are really in need of some ADD medication, it does not mean that all promotion is like that. So many people believe that marketing is all about bragging so they don’t want to do it, but you can promote yourself in a far more authentic way.

2 Familiarity Breeds Contempt

This is a biggie. If you have unique talents or a specialised skillset, it will come so easy to you that you may lose sight of its value. Or even become critical. The truth is though, that what is unique about you is your market differentiation. If you are so immersed in your work that you don’t see the value anymore, no-one else will, so you must mark that space yourself and bring it to the forefront.

3 Rejection and Losing

Ouch! Yep the Big R. No-one likes it, but let’s face it – no matter what heights your career leads to you will always need to face rejection or loss. The facts of losing are a reality. If ten people are running a race, only one is going to win. But don’t let it get in the way of putting yourself first.

Try the ‘shhhhh, no need to shout’ approach

The market place is chaotic, fast paced and everyone is fighting to be heard. You must master the confidence to stand still and speak with the consistency of a steady heart beat. Be a voice that is heard whilst everyone is trying to tune out the static.

A strong personal brand requires:

• a simple and clear identity that draws out your uniqueness

• understanding and knowledge of what your market needs

• a well positioned and clear message

Maybe it is the time for you to walk your talk… and beat to the rhythm of your own drum.

Drummer Boy

The Drummer Boy is a Christmas song, based on a little boy who has no gift to bring but to play his drum. The symbolic meaning behind the drummer boy is that everyone has something to contribute, no matter how small. Drums represent rhythm and the pulse of life.

Define your personal brand

Have you lost touch with what makes you unique? Can you state easily to others what you do succinctly? Would it help you to define your market clearer? Try a one off coaching session or my brand foundation pack to enhance your
personal brand. To find out more please contact me.

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What is most important to brand success is your practice, not your preach. It is ~ what you are doing in your business ~ to be the type of business ~ that will attract the kind of market you want. It is not what you say you are, it is who you are.

This month I have been discussing the topic of sustainability with people and in particular: sustainability, branding and the small business. We have been examining why taking sustainable actions in your business will assist you in your path to success. So I thought I would give you three good reasons why you should roll up your sleeves and get busy with it.

Sustainable business has benefits.

Being sustainable in practice is like trying to keep a fire alive. If you pile up the flames too high it could get out of control and become destructively all consuming, but if you don’t tend to it, it could wither away and burn out. It is all about energy, and keeping that energy at a healthy balance.

Sustainability is not just about ‘doing good’ to save the planet, it is about how you treat yourself, your business, the environment and the people around you. It is about keeping things simple, and easy to manage, by being resourceful. Often people think, ‘Well, when I’ve made enough money or my business is successful enough, then I will think about changing my ways and then I will help other people and the planet.’ The problem is that the culture of ‘consumption’ does not ever seem to come to an end it just gets hungrier.  The thing is you don’t have to wait, there are so many simple things that you can do starting right now that will put your green marketing stamp into practice and you will reap the rewards on multiple levels.

Benefit #1 : Sustainable initiatives will keep you competitive

As more and more people, businesses, organisations and products themselves become greener in their approach, if you don’t, you will get left behind. In marketing we talk about ‘perceptions’ and the ‘perception of brands’, as this movement grows stronger, this perception will affect you too. And be wary, people see through ‘greenwashing’ – which is the attempt to look green when your actions say something else. So be mindful of transparency, and trust your own values on what being sustainable means to you.

Benefit #2 : Sustainable initiatives attract like-minded people

Sustainabilty is about being pro-active. It does not happen through wishful thinking. It is about changing your ways, and taking action. If you step up the resourcefulness in your own practice you will attract other pro-active resilient people – to become your staff, business partners and customers. A collaborative environment initiates big changes, which can ultimately set you up as a brand leader.

Benefit #3 : Sustainable initiatives will keep it simple

Running a business can be hard work. There is a lot of responsibility and constant demand to keep that fire burning. Collaboration and sustainability can engender a shared responsibility that will nourish the entire business. A sustainable practice asks the questions: How can we be more resourceful? With out time? Our systems? Our produce? Our people? How can we reduce the waste?

Most of all, and I know that many of you reading this right now will agree, practicing resourcefulness will make a difference, and that’s how to feed your soul. You really can’t top that.

So how are you keeping your home-fire burning? We are heading towards 2013 and it’s that time to start thinking about your goals for the coming year, what about choosing 3 new ways to make your brand more sustainable, and once those are in place you could tackle some bigger ones… that’s the sustainable way.

Differentiate your business by branding your ‘unique practice’.

Your business can stand out with a special trademark system, a unique business model or other branded concept that can set you apart from your competitors.

Often I see people operating off a unique system that they are not revealing to their customers clearly enough.

Let your practice stand out.

Try a one off coaching session or my brand foundation pack to enhance your uniqueness. Contact me to find out more.

Fire

Fire has had special meaning historically in culture, as it has kept us warm, cooked our food, given us light, protected us from harm and been actively used in ritual.

Fire is associated with lightening and the sun. In many cultures it is associated with purefication and rebirth. ‘Like the phoenix rises from the ashes’.

Fire is symbolic of: creativity, passion, willpower, light, energy and consumption.

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One of the topics that I have been discussing with people lately is how to foster a brand community. We have been discussing how encouraging collaboration and ‘kinship’ in your marketing is a powerful way to build your brand and encourage brand loyalty.

So as story is one of the most powerful ways to share ideas, I am sharing with you a very old European story which is archetypally rich in metaphor, and contains some key insights into the power of community. Marty Neumeier, a leading brand strategist, says “It takes a village to build a brand”, and he is right.

There are many versions of this story that have been told, and this is mine, so get your spoons and your napkins ready, it’s time for…

Stone Soup.

An old weary man came upon a small village in his travels, and was looking for a night’s rest. He asked some of the villager’s for a bed or some food, but people refused him, things in this town had not been going well. They too were hungry, their children were starving and nobody could afford to take in a lodger. They muttered to each other, “things could get worse, we can’t be giving things away.” So they shut up their doors and hid all their food.

The kindly gentleman had an idea and he pulled a pot from his bag and began to make a fire.

“I’m making Stone Soup,” he told them, “It’s delicious, have you eaten it before? We can all eat Stone Soup, there’ll be enough for everybody.”

And out of his pocket he pulled a simple stone which he dropped into the water.

Word about this magical soup that could feed everyone in the village spread around town and slowly people begun to gather around the fire.

Soon a shy young woman came, holding some turnips in her hands.

“I have some turnips we can put in your soup,” she said.

“A Stone Soup with turnips!” he replied, “that sounds wonderful, let’s try it.”

He dropped the vegetables into the broth.

Next came another person with some food to share, and then another, mushrooms, potatoes and beans, and one by one, people began to bring their food out of hiding and add it to the soup.

In the end the soup became a magical feast and everyone gathered to receive a bowl. It really was delicious! All the villager’s were talking of this magic stone that had created this nutritious meal, but as the old man left town, he told them, “it was not the stone that was the magic, it was you, the people.”

Cooking up some Brand Engagement

One of the first lessons in this story is about how to sell your business idea to strangers – begging or forcing people to buy, is never an answer. If the motivation behind your advertising or marketing message is “I’m hungry and I need more business now.” People will run from you, and hide what they have. They will not see your value and they will never treat you as if you have any. It is better, like the old man, who is actually impoverished himself, to clearly show people how what you offer will add value to their lives and allow them to find the desire for the soup, for themselves. If you are genuinely offering something of value to others, people will invest and you will not have to force or manipulate them with cheap sales tricks to do so.

It takes the co-operation of a community to make anything happen. It takes more than one person to be a village, more than one brand to build a category and more than one business to build a market. It takes the whole not the parts and when people work together as the saying goes “it makes light work”. This is not Oliver Twist’s gruel being served up but a bowl of nutritious soup. There are many examples of healthy competition out there. Such as finding all the bedding stores in the same part of town, does that weaken them or make them stronger? It makes them stronger, it makes them easier to find.

The magic in this story is really the trust everyone mixed into the soup. A brand community is about relationships. I encourage you this month to be creative in finding opportunities to initiate engagement from others. Your marketing is an invitation, not an intimidation, or a demand, or a manipulation… it’s an invitation to belong. People are free to choose you or not, they are fickle friends and they will choose to engage only if they want to.

A good bowl of soup is nutritious and delicious. I encourage you not to serve up some stone flavoured water in the hope it will make you rich, but to provide a valuable service to others, that will ultimately enrich.

Bowl of soup

Food is one of the oldest symbolic representations of wealth. When the hunt had been successful, the tribe would gather to share the food and they were considered wealthy.

Scarcity thinking leads to impoverished decisions, yet so much marketing advice encourages self serving ‘survival of the fittest’ behaviour. So many people advertise from this place, the place of not enough. Don’t feel bad if you have joined in on this, it surrounds us every day, pressuring us.

This week give thanks for what you do have, and grow your business from there.

Find your community

If you want to become clearer on who your market is and how you can engage them more then make an appointment with me for a brand consultation.

We can discuss who the people are in your community, what problems they are facing and how you can serve them better.
You actually won’t need to market so much if you respond to a genuine market need.

Let me help you with marketing insight. Contact me to find out more…

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This month amongst branding conversations I have discussed with people how they are hiding the best bits of their brand under layers of uninteresting and boring information.

So I thought for fun we could ask the Wizard of Oz (who knows everything) for an answer, and check out some archetypes along the yellow brick road to see what they have to say about hiding our greatness.

There’s no place like home.

So you know the drill. Dorathy gets caught in a hurricane and a good witch comes along and tells her to follow the yellow brick road and it will take her home and yadda yadda yadda.

So here you are in your business, you have a vision, and you are on a path to your very own Emerald City.

How could our fellow travelling companions in Oz teach us something about the layers of false marketing we hide behind (remembering that conversations are also marketing)?

Are you :

Scarecrow covering up your smarts :

If you provide an information or knowledge based service you may get stuck with scarecrow’s problem, thinking that because you are not yet in the Guinness Book of Records you are not expert enough to open up your mouth about what you think. This results in marketing messages that cover your intellect with broad general statements about not much at all, causing people to tune out. Instead take your leadership share with customers about your topic and guide them.

The rigid Tin Man unable to relate :

Are you a techy specialist or an introvert, who has to deal with “customers”, those REAL people – but you don’t know how to relate. Does contact with the same species make you feel a bit of arthritis coming on? “Quick someone get the oil.” They are not target audiences, you don’t shoot them with a gun. Or put them on a conveyor belt and press start so they will pop out the other end. Ease up on confusing diagrams and jargon when you tell prospects about what you do – get to the heart of what they are looking for.

The Timid Lion sitting on a lonely throne :

Maybe you are a born leader chewing on your tail because deep down you feel it’s just not safe out there. You may just get eaten alive! Not that you ever have to worry because you probably just tried to eat someone else to compensate for your terror. Chill out. Take a deep breath. Put on your crown, take leadership and invite people through your marketing to join in with what you are up to, show them how to feel included in the community of your brand. 

Dorathy who got lost along the way :

Do you always feel you are not in Kansas anymore? As if the market just keeps changing and changing and you are not sure how to succeed or who you are exactly. Do you search for wizards and witches and guru’s to tell you how it’s done? This is the ultimate mistake in marketing looking outside of yourself for what it is that makes you uniquely stand out in the market – which is why you need a powerful brand. The main reason people don’t see what is so unique about their own business or work is because it come’s so easily to them, it seems boring!

So we all know that the Wizard is just some creepy old croney hanging out behind a curtain creating mirages of greatness, probably smoking on a fag at the same time, with a few flashing disco lights and a smoke machine (the real truth about branding – and that at the end of the yellow brick road the greatness was inside them all along – they only had to see it.

Home is found in the innate uniqueness that resides in your brand foundation – and that’s where you will find your greatness. Pull back the curtain, show off your wares. Tell your own story.

In the end, I will leave you with those magic words… there’s no place like home, there’s no place like home, there’s no place like…

Ruby Slippers

Archetypes in branding connect us to life experiences that connects us all, and are recognisable at a subconscious level.

The ruby slippers were magical and held the secret of how to find home all along. The red shoes of Oz represent power, the power that the Wicked Witch of the West wants. Watch Dorathy find home here >>

Find Home

Become clear on the direction of your business, brand or market communications, make an appointment with me for a brand consultation. Define your brand foundation – the key to your market positioning in a brand foundation coaching program.

For business, brand identity & personal branding.

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It reminded me of the old saying in business ‘line up your ducks’, which means when things are well organised or fall easily into place. So this month I thought I would write about brand alignment – what does it actually mean to ‘be aligned’?

Brand alignment.

It’s a balancing act.

Imagine if all the ducklings were running out on the road in random disorder, when disaster struck, a car appeared from nowhere, was about to run them all down and mum turns to shuffle back the flock but each duck was doing its own random thing all over the place. The ending to that little story might have been different to what happened.

Alignment in your brand is when you remain in integrity with your business foundation : your vision, values and purpose. This blueprint gives you the direction of where you are going and the aim. This is brand alignment.

If you align your business with a strong foundation that authentically represents who you are, the way you operate and communicate in the marketplace will come naturally easy for you, just like a duck takes to water.

But let’s get something straight. Yes the ducks are in a line. Alignment has a line in it. But that doesn’t mean its just a linear plan, it’s more than that. Even the best laid plans can go astray. Even though the road looked safe for the ducks to cross, a car came unexpectedly from around the corner.

Alignment is a balancing act between two things: Active planning with direct linear goal setting and receptive flexibility that is passive, cyclic and goes with the flow.

If the way you are operating heads too far in either direction, for example:

- Trying to control every element down to the finer details or
- Flying by the seat of your pants so much you are lucky to even have pants

You are out of balance.

It’s when chaos reigns that you need alignment the most. In chaos theory, there is pattern, there is underlying organisation. The first thing people do when things go wrong, is react to the plan. “This line of events is not going according to the plan!”

You must stay anchored in the alignment of who you are, what your brand represents and trust the wisdom found at the homefires of your own business. You will find it far easier to ‘reorganise’ when chaos reigns. And lets face it, chaos likes to reign.

Ok, don’t be a sitting duck, line ‘em up!

Ducks Lined Up

This saying dates back to a game in the late 1800′s where balls would end up in a line allowing an easy shot at them. It is also associated with the organisation of ducks flying in a line in the sky. A lot of sayings with ducks in them, in the West, come from the hunting of ducks.
“Don’t be a woody!” , “You’re a sitting duck” , “You’ll be a dead duck if you do that!”

Align your brand

If you want to become clear on the direction of your business, your brand or your market communications, contact me to find out more about my brand foundation pack. To clearly articulate the core of what your business is about.

For business & brand identity.

Position yourself in the market and communicate with powerful integrity.

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Most people consider marketing not very believable. As if you’re wading through a swamp just to get to what you really want to know.

Authenticity is a breath of fresh air. It makes you feel good and it is very attractive. That is because authenticity breeds trust – the cornerstone of any relationship and what motivates people to buy. Authenticity relates to leadership and stimulates perceived premium quality.

It’s more than just telling the truth though, authenticity comes from the core of who you really are.

The 3 drivers of authenticity:

1 Values.

Being clear on what you value will help you to live with integrity. All relationships grow stronger together through shared values. You will attract like minded people and turn away the ones you most likely won’t want to deal with anyway.

2 Speaking the truth.

The truth isn’t always what people want to hear, but bulldust is second to none when it comes to losing trust. So keep it real.

3 Knowing your purpose.

The word purpose actually comes from two words : “pure position”. So what is your pure position in the market? What’s your purpose? What drives you to do what you do anyway? (if you can’t answer these questions go back to number 1 – your values)

To be authentic takes bravery. To get up, stand up, and say “this is who I am” you face the threat of being shot down. Everyone is afraid of this. No matter if you are a sole trader, a business owner or a CEO of a company. Standing up feels like a risk, but if you’re not being authentic… you’re living a lie.

Check to see if your pants are on fire.

Do you know the story of Pinocchio? The puppet who dreams to be a boy?

His nose would grow longer the more he told lies trying to bring his dream to life. And the only way he could shorten it was to tell the truth.

The story ends with Pinocchio’s dream coming true, but only when he listens to both his head and his heart, and is true to who he really is.

Is your brand authentic? Integrity is the unique value of your brand.

Communicate your authentic brand as a benefit to your market.

For career or business.

Try a one off brand coaching session or a branding program.

To find out how brand coaching can help you please contact me.

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