Is It Time for a Branding Makeover?
“The quality of a person’s life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor.” Vince Lombardi
Do you remember the real Colonel Sanders? Not the fake characters that have been popping up on all the KFC TV ads lately. Having had the opportunity of meeting the original Colonel Sanders, it really frustrates me to see these imitators. The Colonel was focused, dedicated to the quality of his products and determined that all the franchises show up “giving the best”.
Having spent the last few weeks discussing the aspects of marketing and branding in our businesses, Mind Masters members reviewed how values that support how they are showing up to their target market conveys whether the businesses “brand” is growing in a consistent and repeatable pattern.
Developing a Brand starts here and ensures that your brand is built in alignment with who you are, just like the Colonel who wanted to give the best that was in him.
Few products or services are unique, you make them unique by looking at your strengths to create your competitive edge. What strengths do you have that you can effectively capitalize on? Who you are needs to shine through in anything that you offer up to the marketplace. They need to be a representation of who you are in the world. With that, comes congruence and authenticity.
Maybe the Colonel added the white suit and tie to stand out, but that simply conveyed the consistency he wanted to show up in his stores, fresh, neat and what people kept coming back for. You must be able to deliver what you want to share with the world. Your Brand has so much to do with who you really are, and you must be able to deliver that information to stand out in the marketplace.
Take some time to: 1. Identify the qualities or characteristics that make you distinctive from your competitors
- Analyze what you have done lately to make yourself stand out
- Examine what your colleagues or your customers say is your greatest and clearest strength? Your most noteworthy (as in, worthy of note) personal trait?
- Ask what do I do that adds remarkable, measurable, distinguished, distinctive value?
Effectively recognizing your own unique brand identity is critical for growing your business sustainably and profitably. Further, as your business expands, having a defined brand will allow you to build on your strengths and more easily leverage your unique value in new markets.
Challenge: Do you know how you stand out? Start asking yourself the right questions.
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