Here we’re going to talk about how branding adds value. Tangible value is revenue, and intangible value is reputation. Great branding readily speeds up a prospect’s understanding of who you are and how you help people (run your business) adds value.
It adds value because rather than spending time in confusion-land, trying to figure out what you do exactly, they’re spending time considering,
Can working with this individual (you) help me achieve what I need to do?
Can this product do what I need it to do?
Am I going to enjoy working with this person?
Are they an expert in what I need?
As you can see, when a prospect picks and chooses which option to go with, you want to make a choice easy.
Who Needs Branding?
People have said that they don’t believe in branding because they don’t want to turn away a sale. First, they’d rather be a jack of all trades. Second, they will do anything to and get the job than potentially lose it to a competitor.
As the old saying goes, “When you market to everyone, you market to no one.” You’re not everybody’s cup of tea. Maybe you’re too technical, too extroverted, too analytical, etc. Branding adds value by adding to your bottom line. It helps you close more quickly! You don’t have to expel as much energy convincing someone to work with you.
Don’t take that personally. It’s best to work with those who appreciate who you are, your expertise, and your style when it comes to executing.
When you work with people who don’t appreciate what comes naturally, you will never make them happy. Both sides can feel the strain. An “easy” project all of a sudden becomes a challenge of miscommunication and frustration.
Branding and it’s Intangible/Intrinsic Value
What’s the value of your time? What’s the value of ongoing referrals and impressive word of mouth? What’s the value of your reputation?
Consider these questions the next time you want to market to everyone and not leave anybody out. I know it’s hard, but if your top competitors can brand, so can you.
When we’re not intentional about our brand image, that causes other people to do it for us, and that’s a dangerous place to be. It feels like someone else categorizes you and puts you in a box whether or not you like it.
Learn from My Mistakes
Years ago, some disadvantaged businesses in the DOT program referred to me as “The Little Asian Lady who teaches QuickBooks with the DOT.” #1) I didn’t particularly appreciate being identified as the Asian Lady. I’m proud of my heritage, but I’d like to think I make an impression based on my hard-earned skillset and not my ethnicity. #2) I teach way more than QuickBooks!
It took a long while, 8-9 years, to expand beyond QuickBooks. I’m so excited to be known as “Money!” in certain circles. It was a long work that I don’t wish on anybody! That’s why I teach my clients to brand purposely from the start, so they don’t need to go back and make the same corrections I made.