Category: Branding

Resolve to be Better

1/1/2019

"Let us make our future now and let us make today's dreams tomorrow's reality"
- Malala Yousafzai

In the spirit of New Year's traditions, let's talk about resolutions...but not in the usual sense.

Merriam-Webster offers a simple definition of resolution as being "the act of finding an answer or solution to a conflict, problem, etc..." (Merriam-Webster, Incorporated, 2015). What is the conflict or problem being referenced? I think it's the lack of follow-through some small business owners experience at different stages in their development. So, how does a business owner overcome this lack of follow-through?

Let's start by focusing on the reason opened your business in the beginning. While the list of reasons can be quite expansive, five common reasons include Pursuing a Personal Passion, Finding a Healthier Work/Life Balance, Building Something from the Ground up, Making More Money, and Offering a Desired Service. Whether the reason comes from this list, or is found elsewhere, the connecting point is that no matter the reason it's always personal to the business owner.

Being a small business owner means that every detail and task is mostly likely being monitored by you. This can be stressful and overwhelming, at times; and this stress can distract business owners from the mission of their companies which results in either forgetting about planned objectives, or even losing interest in completing them at all. A common phrase heard from business owners (and I'm sure most of us are guilty of saying it), "I just don't have the time".

I want to challenge anyone who reads this to never again make that statement! How can you do this? It's simple: Change the Wording.

Instead of saying, "I don't have the time" change the wording to "It's not a priority", and see how daily tasks take on a different light. Once you've mastered this challenge, you will be able to more clearly define what needs to be accomplished from day to day, and your time management skills will begin to emerge.

Here's an example:

We all understand that Social Media is a fantastic tool to use in today's world of small business. Think about the impact you would see if you didn't make updated Social Media posts for your business....If you "didn't have the time". Reaching new guests, staying in touch with your current clientele, and monitoring industry specific changes would become more difficult; and you could lose business because of it. Now, change that statement to, "Making Social Media posts is not a priority", and you can hear how terrible of an idea that is. As a small business owner you have to stay committed to the ideas that motivated you to open your own business.

You don't need to have the dream of becoming an international business owner in order to be successful. In fact, I've seen a number of businesses succeed with only opening one location. What made them successful? They stayed committed to their founding principles. These companies are dedicated to providing a quality product/service, and offering a personal connection to each of their clients. The owners of these businesses are firm in their understanding of why they are in operation, and they have remained flexible to the needs and demands of their market.

Remember why you started your company, and what motivated you to take that first step. It wasn't easy, but you did it. Not many people can say that! You've taken an unspoken oath to do what is necessary for your company to be a success...don't you think your business is worth taking the time and committing to making it a priority?

Now that the New Year is underway, it's time for us to take a look at what we are doing to improve ourselves and our lives. The same effort and energy we put into self-improvement should be offered to our businesses, our employees, and our clients. In the end, it's up to us how we choose to be the resolution our companies need.

Brandon has been focusing his attention on the world of small business since 2007, and admires the strength and dedication it takes for small business owners to mold and grow their dream into something they only ever imagined. The blogs provided on the EC Sales website are created from his personal experiences within the world of small business, and he shares them as a way of offering support and insight into what he thinks makes the best...the best

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Setting yourself Apart

8/20/2018

"Branding demands commitment; commitment to continual re-invention; striking chords with people to stir their emotions; and commitment to imagination. It is easy to be cynical about such things, much harder to be successful." - Sir Richard Branson, CEO Virgin Group

Your brand is what will lead your company to success. Without a proper strategy in place, your market will not be able to connect with you and your service. This means you could be overlooked, or even completely forgotten.

So, how can your company maintain and update its brand in order to keep the interest of your clients? These 4 steps will help to keep your brand unique and interesting to your markets demands and desires, while setting your company apart from your competition.

1) Tell Your Story

Everyone has a story, and those stories are unique to the individual and the company. Properly utilizing this step can easily set you apart from your competition, and can effectively pull the attention of your market. How? This is done by making a personal connection with the people you want supporting your business.

Your story is personal to you; however, there will always be aspects of your story that others can connect with and relate to. This is how you brand through telling your story. Express what interested you in starting your business, and how you landed on the product or service you provide. Whether your business started as a dream when you were a child, or if you wanted to escape the corporate world in order to create your own future, there will always be a way of expressing yourself to your clients, and making that personal connection.

2) Be Memorable

As a small business owner, you have to create methods of standing out to your clients in order to be remembered. What makes you different from your competition? How is your product or service different from what others offer that will influence a guest to return to your company? Making your business memorable sounds daunting, at first; however, it doesn't have to be as difficult as it sounds.

Your business can be remembered through a variety of aspects. This can be done through the color scheme you choose for the interior of your company, or even through the designs you choose for you logo. Personally, I like to focus on how I interact with my clients. Approaching your guests and interacting with them as though they were your personal friends or family can set you apart from the competition, and there are not costs associated with this. Take genuine interest in your guests, and they will take genuine interest in you.

3) Be Consistent

Your guests want to know what to expect from you every time they visit. This creates a sense of comfort, for them; and creates an unspoken invitation for them to return. By maintaining a consistent brand image, your business becomes stable in your industry; and the market begins to understand who you are and what services you provide. Through consistency, you are able to mold the perceptions of your business, and shows a level of stability that other small businesses may not have.

This step can be easily connected to Step #2. Maintaining a consistent brand helps make your company more memorable. Take a moment to think of some major companies in your industry; think about the logos these companies use; consider the perceptions the public has about these companies; and realize they have stayed consistent for years, if not decades. The public knows what to expect from consistent companies, and are able to their services from those of their competitors.

4) Stay Flexible

This might sound contradictory to Step #3; however, it is an important part of being a small business owner and creating a stable brand. The flexibility suggested in this step doesn't reference the flexibility of your brand. Instead, it means the flexibility of your business. There are rapid changes, in the world of business; and you have to be ready for them. New competitors enter the market on a daily basis; client demands and expectations fluctuate with their personal needs and desires; and how you engage your market can result in exponential growth or seemingly immediate failure.

With being flexible, your company doesn't necessarily have to renovate it's entire image, however. In fact, your business may simply need a face-lift. By maintaining the culture you originally established, your guests will not question your services. Instead, draw their attention with an updated logo, branch out into a new realm of social media presence, or engage your guests with a new product or service that is becoming popular in your market. In the end, remaining flexible and maintaining your current relationships will lead you down a road toward a more successful future.

Branding is the perceived image you put in place for yourself and your business. This image to be a representation of what your guests and market can expect of you. With a strong brand that tells your story, is memorable and consistent, and remains flexible to market fluctuations, your small business will continue to be a competitor in your industry.