5 Signals Your Branding Sucks & Needs An Overhaul

Hey, you there. You the business owner.
You probably think I’m gonna start talking about how you need a new logo and meaningless stuff like that (because that’s my profession).
Nope.
There are parts of your branding that AREN’T visual but are 10x more important than the visuals.
Until you get these down, no cool logo’s going to help you.
Sign #1. You’re DREADING the clients you work with.
The problem isn’t in them. It’s in you. Your positioning is wrong.
Are you working with Trump supporters yet you’re a hardcore liberal?
Or to give a less extreme example, you offer high-end packages but you’re appealing to people with low income.
That means you’re not attracting the clients you’d like to work with.
Somehow, you positioned yourself as someone who would be a good problem-solver for a type of person who clashes with your ideals.
I know that sometimes, you’d take any client you can as long as they’re paying your bills (I’ve done it too).
But that’s now a successful long-term strategy.
What you need to do is create an ideal client.
Give them a name, a portrait (Google Images will help), and a list of traits that they’d possess in order to be the client of your dreams.
Then go search for such people. (FB Ads can help if you’ve got the budget)
They’re probably somewhere out there, minding their own business.
Slowly get yourself in front of them, and they’ll start responding.
Sign #2. You DON’T KNOW how to answer the question “So what do you do?”
Okay, I have trouble with this as well, so it’s kinda ironic of me to say this, but I’m aware of its truthfulness.
If you don’t even know what you have to offer, then why are you in the business?
Sit down with a pen and a paper, and sketch out all the stuff that you’re skillful at.
Then circle down the stuff that you’re REALLY skillful at.
Now create a sentence where you can mention all of the circled stuff in a concise and understandable fashion.
The “I’m an X and I work with people who are Y” formula is the best starting point.
Sign #3. You’re actually GETTING ASKED the question “What do you do?”
The only time it’s expected to be asked such a question is in networking events or in real-life conversations.
Never online.
Your social media (and website) should speak for itself.
There’s SO MUCH SPACE for you to promote yourself visually and verbally nowadays.
Look at all the bios that Facebook, Twitter, Instagram have.
Look at cover photos, profile pictures, featured albums…
Anyone should be able to tell what business you’re doing just by taking a glance at your Facebook profile.
Visual branding can help there, but you need the substance, which is in the next point.
Sign #4. You don’t even know WHY you’re doing what you’re doing.
Okay, you’ve probably heard this one before.
Start With Why by Simon Sinek is what started all this “why” hype.
But I wouldn’t have gotten on the bandwagon if this weren’t true.
Once I got my “whys” in order (creativity, knowledge, exploration) my life crystallized.
A quick way to do this is to first envision your ideal life.
Just sit there, close your eyes for 3 minutes, and envision it all.
The landscape, the people around you, the sounds you hear, the smells you feel.
Then ask yourself, what traits do I need in order to make this ideal life come true?
Then naturally, see what a person with those traits would have as their life purpose, and model those.
More on this you can find in Richard Brooke’s Mach II with Your Hair on Fire (not a plug, I just really enjoyed the book)
Sign #5. You’re NOT HAPPY with your biz.
Look, everyone can have some “droughts”.
Clients not coming in, unexpected emergencies.
But that’s not what I’m talking about.
Are you happy with the actual purpose of your business venture?
What? You don’t even know its purpose?
Okay. Then go over some brand guidelines bigger companies have put in place for their brand. (for example Barnes & Noble)
On the very first pages, they will ALWAYS put their core message, purpose, vision.
Not the logo.
The logo is just a graphic that makes you recognizable.
But the brand purpose is what makes you MEMORABLE.
Now, once you solve these , shoot me a message on Facebook and we can go over how to make the visual part of your brand irresistible and intertwine it with your brand’s philosophy (that’s how the message, purpose, and vision are called collectively).
Peace out.
