Yes, there is joy in finding brand clarity!
We see you winning the ultimate game of hide-and-go-seek when it comes to defining your brand. It’s time to come out of your hiding spot and S-T-R-E-T-C-H. This is one of the fun parts of running your own business. We promise!
All teasing aside, it is okay that you have prioritized creating what we call pillars one and two first. The foundation of a great business is crafting a business structure that allows you to share your gift with the world. However, there are still three more pillars for a reason! Once you’ve taken care of you, the entrepreneur, and the brass tacks of your business, it’s time for the fun part!
Why Brand Clarity Matters
The “hinge” of an iconic business is the brand. It reflects who you are and what you do in the universal languages of colors, visuals, and associated feelings. Just as everything from the car you drive to the clothes you wear to the phrases you say and how you spend your time signals to others if you are one of their kind, a clear brand does this for your ideal clients. AND here’s another really cool thing. The last pillars of your business, your website and marketing materials, will now have the substance they need to work like never before! Welcome to the magic of brand clarity. Maybe you didn’t have to hide from it after all?
Signs You Can’t Skip Out
Let’s play a new game. Gather your client-facing materials. Place your logo in front of you. Any regular hand-outs. Your business card. Pull up your website (if you have one). Take a look at your social media presence (if that exists too). And ask yourself, what does this convey about myself and my business? Could someone match me to my business materials?
If the answer is no for some or all of these, if there’s a lack of cohesion, your ideal client is confused. The good news is awareness is the first step to giving the gift of change, and it truly is a gift. To your future client who needs your abilities but would pass right by you in your current state. And to yourself, who may have been searching frantically for another solution that wouldn’t address the real issue.
Steps to Achieving It
At Elevate5, we blend our five-pillar approach with the essentials for a clear brand identity. We believe that brand clarity is an incredibly unique-to-you process (as everything with your business should be). Just as your gift and your business aren’t cookie-cutter, your brand can’t be a hodge-podge of trendy things that don’t match you.
1. Start with Your Brand’s Foundation
Back to the top! The foundation of your brand is tied to pillar one — you as the entrepreneur. This must anchor the expression of your brand. Consider this how you capture the essence of the underlying qualities you embody. When you meet someone, you can sense what they are about, even if they don’t lead with it. As a company, we don’t want to hide from our values but put them on display, as that builds consistency and trust.
So, start by writing down your purpose and why you do what you do. Take note of your unique gifts and skills. If this is difficult, a great activity is to ask those closest to you, “If you had to pay me a lot of money to do one skill, what would it be?” Their answers may surprise you. Don’t fret. Blindness to your own awesomeness can be common around ambitious entrepreneurs.
2. Anchor to Your Ideal Client
Now that you have a good understanding of your own ins and outs, it’s time to consider the other half of the equation. Your ideal clients. For this activity, we want to give you permission to dream outside of who you may currently be working with. In the process of bootstrapping your business, you may have gained experience that informs what type of clients you love serving the most. There is nothing wrong with that! The beautiful thing is as you curate your brand with these people in mind, you can attract more of them to you. Say hello to feeling refreshed, energized, and ready to serve more!
Let’s brainstorm their attributes, keeping in mind some practical implications that protect your peace as the entrepreneur. Starting with their characteristics, consider things like what they do for a living, how they spend their time outside of work, what beliefs and energy they bring to the table, and how these impact your ability to serve them. If there are limitations that impede your ability to share your gift, they are not the ideal client to build a brand around. Note if you struggle to think abstractly, sometimes it can be helpful to pick a tangible, real-life example of a client you love or would love working with. Once you have narrowed down these attributes, you can identify their pains, what words capture them, and use those words to attract them. How wonderful to have a head start on all future copy!
3. Develop Your Brand Story
If there’s a “hinge” to the “hinge” of your business (aka. your brand), this is it. Your brand story provides brand clarity by humanizing you, the ‘expert’ of your ideal clients’ problems. When someone is so far ahead of us, it is human nature to feel disconnected from them. Thoughts like “they have it figured out while I don’t; how could they possibly understand me” need to be addressed for your expertise to be seen as only an asset. But, how do you decide what is too personal to share or what is even notable to bring up from all aspects of your life? Enter the brand story.
Creating your brand story could be a whole other blog within itself, but we’ll lay a foundation here. Think back to the experiences that molded the purpose you now have for your life. The same purpose you share through your business. Consider the pain you felt that your ideal client likely shares with you. Brainstorm what words you would use to describe that feeling and reflect on what changed for you to move past that situation. Have you developed a clear path that you use to help others overcome the same hurdle? What offer do you have that lays out this path? Before you start the writing process, it is important to also consider what voice and tone will properly reflect you. That, in a nutshell, is the elevator pitch for your business.
4. Select Your Visuals
Congratulations, you have completed the heavy lifting or internal work for your brand. It’s time to shop around for the visuals that proudly display what you stand for. Essentially, what is your brand style? Just like with your ideal client, oftentimes, it is easiest to look at what exists rather than try to imagine something up. As you look at examples, pinpoint both what you like and dislike. Sometimes, the latter can be most informative! Consider things like colors, fonts, design styles, and the mood they convey as you look at different logos and websites to help form your own. This is where your brand can either pack a punch or fall flat, but no worries! We’re here to guide you. Be sure to refer to the pieces you’ve already determined in steps one through three to ensure they align with the brand visuals you choose
5. Brand Your Marketing
The more obvious connection between your brand and marketing is that once your brand is formulated, the visual and written aspects will be present in your marketing materials. Selecting your marketing avenues, however, should also be a process in line with the you that drives your brand. So many times, we hear our clients express that they don’t want to be on social media. To which we say congratulations! You know yourself well enough to honor what does not work for you. Which is great because trying to undermine this and press on anyway will likely translate in an unsettling way to the final product. Now, it’s time to decide what marketing channels are authentic to you.
To do this, check back in with yourself and your skills. Determine how to strike a balance between what you like most, what your schedule supports, and what is most impactful for growing your business. If you like to write, write, and use that as a foot in the door for nurturing future client relationships. If you love to network, find local groups and come ready with your beautifully new and authentic brand. You may be surprised at how much more powerfully you’ll show up now that you’ve made a clear brand for you, and only you.
Ready to Elevate Your Brand?
We may be biased, but establishing brand clarity is a lot more fun with a team of specialists who find great joy in assisting in the process. We know it can be easy to get lost in the weeds, and therefore, continue to put it off even longer. So, if you’d like to give yourself and those waiting to connect with you, the gift of brand clarity, reach out to us today. We’d love to come alongside you to provide the brand clarity you deserve!