Archive for the ‘Branding for solopreneurs and small business’ Category
It ain’t “easy”: Beware of sweeping generalizations when crafting your tagline
A client and I are completely repositioning her brand. She’s a solopreneur and service provider. In a high-energy conversation, we thoroughly discussed:
- her target market and their needs (including their end goal)
- the value she offers (often referred to as the unique selling proposition)
- and the key benefit/result that her clients receive (often referred to as the promise statement)
With this foundation, I brainstormed multiple taglines and gave her a list of options to review, so she could choose her favorite. (I’ll provide all branding details later, in a full case study. This branding project will be a great example for other small business owners.)
Meanwhile, a colleague gave her some advice: “You need to add the word easy in your tagline, because everybody wants stuff to be easy.”
Whoa, Nelly!
So you’re saying all business owners need to include the word easy in their tagline, because all prospective clients want stuff to be easy? Is that really everyone’s end goal? Also, easy speaks to a process, not a destination.
In her gut, my client knew this advice was not on target. She told me, “With the service I provide, my clients aren’t looking for ‘easy.’ They’re business owners who are looking for results. They’re looking for return on investment. That’s what they really want. And that’s what I need to emphasize in my tagline.”
Bingo.
Whenever we think about clarifying our brand, promoting our business, and planning strategic marketing campaigns to connect with our prospects and clients, we must keep in mind what they really want. When they hire you, what do they hope to achieve — in the near term and long term? What’s their end goal?
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Shedding light on the fuzzy topic of branding: My Branding interview now live on SiteProNews
My interview with David Jackson, owner of Free Marketing Tips Blog, is now live on SiteProNews, “the Net’s most widely read webmaster news source.”
During our interview, David asked a series of excellent questions, all focused on shedding light on the fuzzy topic of branding for solopreneurs and small business owners. For example, David posed this question, “What are a few strategies someone can use to differentiate herself from others in the same field?”
Here’s my answer: “Many of my clients will ask about strategies to differentiate themselves from their competitors, and I tell them, ‘Don’t worry about it.’ If you’re a corporate media trainer, you have competitors. If you’re a sales trainer, you have competitors — LOTS of competitors. In my view, the best approach is to gain a crystal-clear picture of what you offer that’s unique to you. In my branding process, I like to look for that ‘gem,’ polish it, and make it central to my client’s brand, website, and marketing materials. Instead of worrying about competitive differentiators, we make sure the gem shines and that it’s extremely attractive to prospective clients.”
If you’re seeking clarity on the fuzzy topic of branding, I invite you to read my interview with David Jackson on SiteProNews.
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Jumping on the “soapbox”: My Branding interview on David Jackson’s Free Marketing Tips Blog
Recently, I had the honor and pleasure of being interviewed by David Jackson, a prominent marketing consultant based in New York. In his Free Marketing Tips Blog, David offers tips to teach small business owners how to promote their business. Plus, he features interviews with other experts on a wide range of strategic marketing and business topics.
In our interview, David encouraged me to jump on my branding soapbox! He asked a number of great questions about branding and, in particular, branding as it relates to solopreneurs, entrepreneurs, and small business owners. Because he consults with small business owners, his questions were insightful and pertinent to this group.
For example, he asked why branding is important for small businesses. My response: “I believe a clear, on-target brand helps you quickly tell your prospects what they get. … For example, when someone lands at your website they immediately see key messages that let them know they’re in the right place — that they’ll get the help they’re looking for. On the other hand, if your brand is confusing, if prospects can’t immediately see that they’re in the right place, then CLICK, they’re gone!”
Speaking of clicking, CLICK HERE to read my interview with David Jackson.
While you’re at David’s Free Marketing Tips Blog, take a few minutes to check out other articles written by David and his guests. Over the years, David’s blog has acquired a wealth of guidance, ideas, and advice for small business owners. I encourage you to tap into this wealth to promote and grow your business!
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Are you a business owner — or are you an Expert or Thought Leader?
I’m so impressed with my clients’ expertise. Every single business owner shines with an impressive depth of expertise. These experts have decades of experience … and an unbridled passion and commitment for their industry or niche.
Yet many don’t view themselves as the incredible experts they are!
Since these business owners are ready to step up to the next level in their business, we talk quite a bit about positioning them as an EXPERT. In fact, many of my clients are ready to position themselves as a THOUGHT LEADER in their industry or niche.
And that’s perfect! As solopreneurs and micro-business owners, chances are we don’t have expertise in a broad area … more likely, we have expertise in a narrow niche. So much expertise, in fact, we can legitimately state that we’re the thought leader in that niche.
Right now, I’m helping to position a client as an expert and a PERSONALITY. Some micro-business owners can go one step beyond that: CELEBRITY.
How do you want to be seen by your prospects, clients, and peers? As an expert? Thought leader? Personality? Celebrity? Whichever you choose, your brand, your website, your marketing materials, your elevator pitch — and your core beliefs — must be in synch.
I like the phrase “step into big shoes.” If you’re ready to step up to the next level, start thinking of yourself as the expert you are.
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7 Tips to Create a Terrific Tagline
I believe your Main Benefit Tagline is key to communicating your brand, because it distills your unique expertise – the gem that is unique to you – and makes it shine. Here are 7 tips to create a hardworking, benefit-oriented tagline.
1. Your unique expertise is your brand. Your tagline must make your unique expertise shine.
The question “What is a brand?” is overly complicated. I believe that for entrepreneurs and small businesses your brand is your unique expertise. Therefore, to communicate your brand, we must simply make your unique expertise shine.
As an entrepreneur or small business owner, your expertise is absolutely unique. For example, if you are a sales consultant, career coach, or motivational keynote speaker, other experts in your field offer similar services. However, no one on Earth offers the same combination of experience, advice, philosophies, methods, or education and training as you do. Again, your expertise is absolutely unique.
This means the value you provide and (flip side of the same coin) the benefit or result your clients or audience members receive is absolutely unique.
Let’s look at an example. My imaginary customer service training company, Peak Training Services, needs to present a compelling brand that resonates throughout their website and marketing materials. We’ll begin by identifying their unique expertise and creating a tagline that makes their expertise shine.
Unfortunately, many companies don’t take time to identify their unique expertise before creating a tagline. For example, here’s a typical tagline that Peak Training Services might have used in the past. Notice that it’s generic, could suit any training company, and does not highlight Peak’s unique expertise:
We are the experts in customer service training™
My imaginary company has a proven, underlying philosophy: Help teams learn how to “put the customer back in customer service.” This approach to customer service increases customer satisfaction and loyalty, which directly improves the team’s processes and the company’s bottom line. Therefore, Peak’s tagline should reflect this unique expertise.
2. A hardworking tagline is about THEM, not about YOU.
Once we identify your unique expertise, we must “translate” this into a benefit statement for your clients and audience members, instead of making a statement about you or your company. In other words, a benefit-oriented tagline is about THEM (your clients), not about YOU.
When a tagline places the focus on you or your company, the benefit to prospective clients is indirect and vague. This forces the prospect to connect the dots and ask: “How does this help me? What, exactly, does this do for me?” That’s why Peak Training Services would not want to use this tagline:
We are the experts in customer service training™
Here is a stronger tagline, which focuses on the benefits (results) clients receive. This tagline reflects my imaginary company’s philosophy of helping teams learn how to “put the customer back in customer service.” Admittedly, this tagline is a bit long, but it presents clear benefits and results, is 100% specific to this company, and puts the focus on clients (“THEM”) not the company:
Put the customer back in Customer Service …
Improve process and profit™
Note that this type of tagline can be read in two ways:
- Presenting the benefit to the customer: You can put the customer back in Customer Service …
- Reflecting on the value the company offers: We help you put the customer back in Customer Service …
3. Your tagline speaks to your target audience’s needs.
Unlike catchy taglines used in widespread consumer marketing (“Coke, it’s the real thing”), taglines for entrepreneurs and small businesses should not be vague or sexy – and they don’t have to be memorable to throngs of people.
Instead, our goal is to identify your expertise and present this in terms of a benefit, so prospective clients in your target audience immediately “get” that you’re the right person to solve their problem.
4. Your tagline is not a “promise statement” … it’s better than a promise statement.
Some marketing consultants encourage clients to prominently present a promise statement on their marketing materials, including websites. A promise statement for our fictional company might be: “We understand world-class customer service, and we’ll show you how to provide this.”
The problem with promise statements is that they put the emphasis on YOU (your company), not THEM (your clients). Instead, when you present a benefit-oriented tagline, your prospective client doesn’t have to connect the dots and ask, “How does this help me? What, exactly, does this do for me?”
5. Your tagline does present a “competitive differentiator” – but let’s not worry about your competitors.
In my 25 years of corporate, high-tech marketing, I learned not to worry too much about what our competitors were up to. Of course, we kept our fingers on the pulse – we regularly reviewed their websites, marketing materials, and so forth to learn what they were saying to customers and whether they rolled out new products or technologies. However, I learned that our best efforts were spent on clearly communicating the right benefit messages about our products and services to the right target audience.
As I noted earlier, as an entrepreneur or small business owner, other experts in your field offer similar services. In some cases, you may have a handful of competitors. In some cases, hundreds or even thousands. While it’s helpful to keep your finger on the pulse –learning how these companies offer value to their customers – don’t get caught up in comparing your business to your competition. Again, your expertise is absolutely unique. Let’s make sure your expertise shines with the right message to the right target audience.
6. Ideally, the tagline communicates the end goal of what you deliver, not the promise of learning a process or making a change.
Remember, no one undertakes change for the sake of making a change. Your clients and audience members have an end goal in mind – a world in which their problem has been solved. Whenever possible, a hardworking tagline presents that end goal.
Our imaginary company, Peak Training Services, addressed their clients’ end goals in their new tagline:
Put the customer back in Customer Service …
Improve process and profit™
7. Your tagline influences your logo, and it’s the key theme that must resonate throughout your one-sheet copy and your website copy.
Many people incorrectly think a logo is a brand. A logo is like a visual signature of your brand, helping prospects and clients identify your company. Plus, the design underscores basic ideas about your company. For example, the logo for our imaginary customer service training company might incorporate flowing lines illustrating people versus angular lines illustrating computers.
