People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it. And what you do simply proves what you believe.  -Simon Sinek

 

Here is the audio version of this post. Thank you so much for listening. Enjoy!

According to one of my go-to awesomeness creators on all things marketing and business, Seth Godin, he states “A brand is the set of expectations, memories, stories and relationships that, taken together, account for a consumer’s decision to choose one product or service over another.”

So, when we think of creating, building and growing a brand, such as a salon, Pilates studio, or education business, we must begin with defining our WHY and our promise, which are the foundation of our brand story. Without a story, and I am not talking about an old school mission statement, we are not a brand; we are just another business that can be easily replaced with another.

Your brand is not your name, logo or the colors you choose for your business card, the words you use or wall paint. That is your brand identity and ultimately become your brand image. And while those choices you make are very important and critical, having an awesome logo or name and no clarity around your WHY or promise, will not matter in the end. You see, its your WHY and promise that once defined, help guide you into the best name, logo, colors and words, not the other way around.

Here is a series of questions for you to ponder to begin to define your brand.

1. What is your WHY?
Why are you in business? Why should I choose you over someone else? What problem are you trying to solve? Passion Squared WHY is to help empower the people I love through providing proven ideas, systems and processes to help create awesome in biz + life. The problem I want to solve is small business failure for beauty and wellness professionals.

2.What business are you in?
Hint: Its not haircuts or exercise classes.  Passion Squared is in the empowerment business.

3. What is your promise to your team, clients and community?
After engaging with your business, what will the outcome be? Passion Squared promise is to share honest ideas, insights and inspiration that will empower the community to take action on those ideas and create awesome in their business, with love.

4. What three words best describe your experience?
If you can get it to one word, even better. Passion Squared one word is empowerment. My three words are awesome, create and empowerment.

5. If a client were writing a 5 star YELP review about your business, what would it say?
If it matches or comes close to your why and promise, you are awesome. A client of Passion Squared would say after engaging with my business, my client had more clarity around what steps they needed to take to grow and felt empowered to create awesome in their business.

Begin here. Take the time. Get the team involved. Listen to what your clients say about your business today. Read your YELP reviews and Facebook page comments. Rome was not built in a day and neither are real, sustainable brands.

PS: Your brand is not the product lines you choose to carry or use. It’s actually the other way around. Based on your brand why, promise, story, identity and image, you choose the product line that fits your brand.

(shared with LOVE from Nina)