# 4 – FIND YOUR BRAND’S UNIQUE VALUE OR ‘SWEET SPOT’ You may have heard the term or had entire meetings around creating a ‘Unique Value Prop- osition,’ but how does that translate into your brand? Keeping in mind that your brand is a sum of the relationship you have with your customers, HERE ARE SOME OF MY FAVOURITE TIMES TO SEND HANDWRITTEN LETTERS TO CUS- TOMERS: • Are they a brand-new client? • Did you wrap up an important project? • Is their birthday around the corner? • Did they achieve a HUGE milestone? that you received a hand-written note from someone. Maybe it was your real estate agent checking in, or a client who appreciated the extra time you spent with them. It could also be the last holiday card you received! When you get something that took an additional couple steps, like a handwritten note mailed to you, it sticks in your mind and gives you all the warm and fuzzy feelings. For me, it was when I signed up with Mailchimp for my first-ever email campaign. I remember feeling unsure, happy, accomplished, and a little anxious about what people would think. These days I hardly think of any of those feelings. I think about something I received in the mail a week later—a pair of adorable socks from Mailchimp to congratulate me on sending out my first campaign. It changed the way I viewed the company. It built loyalty to them. And most importantly, it makes me think of them every time someone asks about an email service provider. These are small investments that will see a return for your company in personal use and referrals for years to come. So, take the extra time to use the digital ‘disconnect’ to your brand’s advan- tage.
charging a premium. While I wasn’t the only one to spot this opportu- nity, I approached it in my unique way. I built rela- tionships with a few key freelancers and started quoting on projects as a single team. My clients benefited from maintaining communi - cation with me while I facilitated meetings with the other team members they needed. And pro- viding that single point of contact was vital for a lot of clients to create brands that were contrib- uting to the bottom line right away. Review your top 3 competitors. Find the spots that are missing from what your customer needs and I can bet that you’ll find your brand’s ‘sweet spot’ (unique value). HERE ARE SOME OF MY FAVOURITE QUES- TIONS TOBRAINSTORMYOUR BRANDVALUE : • What’s unique about your process? • Is there a price point difference? How can you make that unique to your business? • Can you do something different on social media? • Is there a combination of skills or services that are distinct? • Is it your different experience that sets you apart? • Do you have some special connections in the community? Try to list as many as you can before you decide which one to create a brand strategy around. # 5 – BE CONSISTENT Every business owner I know has struggled at some point with consistency. However, this is something that can make or break your brand strategy. A business can have the most fantastic logo in the world, but if they’re not showing up consis- tently with their brand, they could be hurting their image. While there are some splendid movements
bringing something unique into your brand goes beyond the traditional ‘Unique Value’ that you’ve heard before. Think about all the things that are unique to your company. Maybe it’s the process you use to bring your customers from point A to point B. Or perhaps it’s a unique guarantee of money back. For some, it might even be about the unique problem that you solve for your customers. When I went into business, a common issue I
found my clients having around their brand was needing to talk to so many people. THEY NEEDED: • Photographers for professional headshots. • Video of their events to help promote sales. • Graphics for their social media. • Website design and sales pages. It was overwhelming for many to have to find all these individual freelancers and they didn’t want to pay for the lights to be on at an agency
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JANUARY 2021 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE
SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE • JANUARY 2021
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