This week’s Brand How-To video focuses on a common issue with entrepreneurs — a very common way that creating your brand can actually get in the way of a successful business. Check out the video below, or keep reading for a transcript.
Brand How-To: Put MISSION ahead of MESSAGE
I was really inspired this week by a woman entrepreneur I know who is going through a huge transition within her business. She’s got a new focus on what her mission in this world is, and she is really excited about how she’s going to live that mission every day.
So, the first thing she did was to reach out to her network to share. And even though she wasn’t 100% certain exactly what this whole thing was going to look like, she thought it was important to take action now.
It reminded me of a problem that a lot people have when it comes to branding. They get tied up in what they should or shouldn’t be saying about their business, or what their logo looks like. They spend hours on a tagline. While these things are important, and they can help your business, they are not the most important thing.
The most important thing for your business is to get out there and promote yourself in a way that is going to make people engage with you and show what it is your business does and what is the value that you bring to the world — in other words, your mission. You could call it your unique value proposition, or it could mean the results that you give to your client. Your mission is as you define it, but it boils down to your reason for being.
What is it that you want to achieve in this world?
Don’t spend too much time on “how do I display that on a logo?”, or “what is the tag line?”, or “what is the copy that I am going to put on the front page of the website?” You might miss opportunities to really start building a momentum behind your business. One of the advantages of digital marketing for small businesses or start ups is that it’s always malleable. You can change things at any time.
Some entrepreneurs fear that if they choose a logo it is going to be with them forever and ever, amen. It’s just not true. Many successful businesses have changed their names, their taglines, their products and services, their target market and verticals… It goes on and on.
All these different changes came from learning more about their vision for the business, their competitive advantage, and how they could best make a difference in the business world.
So don’t feel like the choices you make will pin you down. This is an example of when good enough is good enough, or when the perfect is the enemy of the good.
If you can come up with something that is professional, pretty compelling and reflects what it is that you want your prospects to know about you, run with it.
Start taking action; don’t let the message get in the way of the mission. It is the consistent ongoing promotion of yourself in your business that is going to really get results for you.