As entrepreneurs or solopreneurs, we all want a solid customer experience. We want to engage people. We want people to pay attention. We want to make an impact on the daily lives of people, and, in order to do that, we need people to see our value.
We know that we create a great customer experience through our brand and marketing.
I recently had the privilege of interviewing Tiffany Hoeckelman on my podcast, Marketing Matchmaker.
As a virtual assistant and freelance graphic designer, Tiffany found that businesses were undermining their success with poor graphic design. She set out to help people with the visual communication aspect of their brand. However, she soon realized that many small business owners needed to delve deeper to discover their brand identity.
These visual communication pieces of your brand are important. Your logo, the colors and fonts that you use, all tell a story. But, they only tell part of your story.
She noticed that clients didn’t know how to breathe life into their brand. So, even with great graphic design–visual communication–business owners were falling short in creating a brand that connected with their audience.
What Tiffany recognized is that people needed a better understanding of their brand identity and essence to ensure that they were effectively communicating with the right people to build and grow their business.
They needed to live out their brand and give their clients an experience that reveals who they say they are.
Business owners need to create a brand that really reflects who they are and transcends every part of their business. However, Tiffany acknowledges that business owners “didn’t know how to make it tangible or real and use it to grow their business.” With this discovery, Tiffany built the virtual branding agency, Lone Orange, offering branding and systems development consulting and coaching.
In Tiffany’s business, she acknowledges that there are four pillars that are the basis for everything.
- Brand Identity
- Message
- Client Experience
- Systems
When these four pillars are aligned, business owners can create an amazing experience for their clients.
As a business owner, you want your clients to experience your brand the way you intend it to be. Tiffany calls this, “Living your brand.”
To live your brand, you create a powerful Brand Identity that encompasses the essence and culture of your company.
What is your ESSENCE?
- Think about what is driving you to do what you’re doing. Why do you want to make this impact in the world for you personally and for your business?
- What’s your brand story? What has led you to where you are?
- Your company’s Core Values
- Your Company Personality
- Who is your ideal client? Who is the person you enjoy working with, that motivates you, and who will pay you what you’re worth?
When you can identify each of these components and live by them in your branding and everyday systems of your business, they become your company CULTURE.
We usually think about brand identity and culture as two separate things. Your brand identity is your core values, your purpose, and your company personality, and your culture reflects all of that. From how you interact with people to how you answer the phone, your company personality and values drive your business and customer experience.
For your customers, your essence and culture help them connect, understand (and feel understood), and engage with your business. Your customer experience is what compels clients to want to interact with you and your business, become a loyal customer, and refer others to your business.
Furthermore, your company culture becomes especially important when you’re looking to scale your business. Your culture is the shared beliefs, characteristics, work ethic, etc. of everything who represents your business. Therefore, it’s imperative to align your brand identity and culture to ensure your values are represented in everyone you hire.
The best part? This all comes from you. Tiffany believes that your brand identity is already inside of you. It’s just a matter of bringing out those core values that you want to drive your business as you grow.
So, ask yourself this question: Is your marketing living your brand? Does your marketing capture the essence and culture of your business?
By aligning your marketing materials and strategy to truly encompass the essence and culture of your brand, you exemplify your values and the value you offer your customers.
When your audience recognizes the essence and culture of your brand, it draws them in; it connects them. They’ll take notice because they can sense your authenticity. Not only will this help you establish know, like, and trust from your ideal clients, but it will also pave the way to build strong relationships with loyal customers.
Want to build a marketing strategy that ecompasses your Brand Identity, Essence and Culture? Contact me today! Together, let’s build a marketing strategy that truly lives your brand.
For more about how to Live Your Brand and so much more, listen to the Marketing Matchmaker podcast!