April is Branding Month

Brands: as in who people think you are, rather than who you think they should think you are.

These days of transparency it is who you are authentically that matters.  There I used all the rhetoric words for brand.  Despite the over-used words, the concept holds.

Brands used to be what the marketing department wanted them to be.  Not any more.  Your brand is what your customers think it is.

Several years ago I was taking my bookkeeping business to yet another level and I wanted to know what my current business owners thought of Crystal Clear Bookkeeping.  I expected words like competence and expert, maybe intelligence (I’m a very good bookkeeper and I’m smart).  What I got were words like comfort, understanding and stress-relief.

Bookkeeping is a scary area for many because they don’t understand it.  We take them by the hand and gently lead them along the path to understanding it.  We are trusted and experienced guides here and people feel comfortable coming along with us.

If I had tried to build a marketing campaign around competence and expertise, I would have lost.  I rent an office that is beautiful and comfortable; we have sitting areas and tea.  Our marketing is about making your bookkeeping and business clear – crystal clear.

Brands are who people think you are, not who you want them to think you are.  What do your customers say about you?  How does your business support and reinforce that?

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3 Comments

  1. April 8, 2011    

    “If I had tried to build a marketing campaign around competence and expertise, I would have lost”

    competence and expertise are the important words here. You cannot promote yourself like that. If you say so, consumer might think, “If you have so much competence and expertise, why aren’t you the best?”

    So the best way is to dominate your brand in the niche. Find a word to own in th emind of consumer as brand is a the “gut feeling” of the consumer (who people think you are). Agreed

    All the best,
    Kamil

  2. April 11, 2011    

    Hi Kamil, it’s good to hear from you. I’ll have to think about the one word. It seems to be more a feeling. Looks like I have more research to do.

  3. April 11, 2011    

    How about putting your writing on my new blog?
    I’ll love to have you there

    Would you like to have video post of yours?

    Here’s the blog http://www.UglyIdea.com