Most people are very loyal. Once they decide that they like a person, a company or a product they stick with it. The goal of your branding is to show them why choosing you and your company to work with are the best choice. Your branding message is telling them who you are and what you can do for them to solve whatever it is that they need.

Your brand should inspire confidence and that confidence creates comfort that they are making the right decision. Then after they choose to purchase from you, your follow through with what you promised them in your message makes them loyal and keeps them coming back time after time.
We are going to go through 4 basic things you need to consider when you are determining what your brand is going to be.

Benefits of doing business with you

One of the main things you need to offer your potential customers is the answer to the question: what's in it for me? This is the message as to why they should choose you over your competition. This may be an addition service you provide or an added bonus they will receive just for working with you that they cannot get anywhere else. For example if your competition traditionally has an office where their customers make an appointment to come in and speak with them, you might offer house calls or walk in appointments.

The key is to realize that benefits and features are not the same thing. A feature is a given. It is a product specific piece of information. So anyone that I selling that same product will be able to offer the same feature. A benefit is that thing that your customers can only get by working with you.

What is your mission and your vision for your company

Your vision for where your business is going and your mission that drives you towards that vision are the basic backbone of any company. This is not just a paragraph that you jot down that sounds good so you can post it to a page on your website. This needs to be developed as part of the core of your business. It defines what your company and essentially what you are all about.

Once you develop your personal mission and your vision for your future and the future of your business, you will have a road map as to what to do next and where to go each step of the way. This will clearly lay out for your customers where you are going and why and allow them to connect with your company on a personal level. They will feel like they are helping you to create that vision and will feel more connected to you and your business.

Know what your customers think of your business

One factor people usually skip over when they are looking at their branding is what your current customers think of you. This even extends to what the general public or maybe people at networking events you attend think of you.

If you have been in business for a bit and you are looking at strengthening your branding you will want to find out what people currently think about your business and you. This will help you understand if your true message is coming across to them or if they are missing something very important. If your main benefits are unknown then they are not doing you any good. So if you survey your current customers as to what they think your message is and they come back all over the place you will see the holes and be able to focus on clarifying your message so that it is getting across to them the way you intended it to.

What do your customers think about your products?
Along with what your customers think about your overall brand and the company in general you should also know what they think about the products and services specifically. It will do you no good to come up with a list of benefits if no one but you finds those things valuable.
You might feel that having access to a digital version of your newsletter is great but if you are in a retirement community where very few of your residents have computer service, they would not see this as a benefit of living in your community.

So you should also be asking your customers questions like why did you choose us over someone else and what was it about our products that made you decide to buy from me.

When you are looking at developing your brand or strengthening the brand you may already have, keeping these 4 principals in mind will help you make sure you are considering things from all angles. By having a strong mission, vision and message you will be better prepared to offer your customers what they are wanting. Your personal and business branding will help you stand out from the crowd and make you the only choice when your prospective customers are looking to buy.

So, are you ready to learn exactly how you can develop your unique brand to help you stand out from the crowd? Check out this Branding Your Business and Yourself Training Program where I'll walk you through some great exercises on how to find who YOU are, what your unique message is and then how to take that information and apply it to your marketing