Your brand is everything.

@JessicaTenuta

What is a brand?

• Your only real, immutable competitive advantage!!

• Your connection to your customers: “your tribe”!!

• Your “true north” for all decision making!!

• Your insurance policy in tough times!!

• Your best team management tool!!

• Your roadmap for adapting to the future

“Branding is a profound manifestation of the human condition. It is about belonging: belonging to a tribe, to a religion, to a family. Branding demonstrates that sense of belonging. It has this function for both the people who are part of the same group and also for the people who don’t yet belong.” !!

- Wally Ollins!

Your brand is NOT a logo!!

(Or your website, flashy business cards, sexy office…or even your product.)

Your brand is your why.

Developing your Brand Purpose!

Via Jeff Cantalupo, Listen

Getting to your brand!!

What is the real problem you’re trying to solve?!!

This has nothing to do with your product. !!There are a million ways to solve a problem, and your product is just one way…so what IS the problem you’re trying to solve?

Getting to your brand!!

Who is your customer?!!!How are they currently solving this problem?!!How do they sound, what do they care about, etc?!!“There are no such things as groups, only collections of individual human beings. Who are you talking to?” - Brad Boyer!

Getting to your brand!!

What do you believe?!!!Why is this problem critical to solve?!!Why are you the best business to solve it?!!Why is now the right time to solve it?!!Why do you care?!

Getting to your brand!!

Why do you exist?!!!What is your purpose? !!This is not WHAT you DO, but WHY you do it. !!What changes in the world if you’re successful?

Getting over the “Curse of Knowledge”!

Via “Made to Stick”

Think about your website. !!!

Now imagine that you know !NOTHING about your business!

!!

Would you understand your “WHY”?

Your customers don’t know all the context, backstory and passion that’s locked in

your mind. The “why” might seem obvious to you, but it must be explicit.!

!You have to MAKE them care.

Make it simple.!!

Then make it simpler.

Can you tell me why your company !exists in 10 words or less?

WhatHowWhyPurpose Values

Beliefs Culture

Product Identity Services

Via Simon Sinek, TED

Making it mean something

Authenticity is everything.!!

The only thing worse than not giving thought to your brand, is creating a

brand that is inauthentic.!

Your internal values Your customer service

Your product Your improvement process

Your communication Your visual identity Your return policy

Your internal policies Your future product developments

Your blog and articles And on and on and on…

Your brand is what you are when you think no one is looking.

!You decide your purpose, but your customers determine your brand.

How to put your brand to work

Building an authentic identity!!

If you want a sticky, emotionally resonant brand…you need to be specific. You can’t

please everyone, so focus on talking directly to YOUR customer.!

Personality: Who is your brand? !!

Tone: How does your brand sound?!!

Identity: How does your brand look?!!!!