Developing Your Unique Market Brand - Going from Bland to Memorable

Developing Your Unique Market Brand - Going from Bland to Memorable

by Jennie Norris, ASP Master, IAHSP- Premier

Owner, Sensational Home Staging & Marketing Guru

Helping My Clients Achieve Success - Because That's What I Enjoy!

 

When it comes to marketing your business, have you developed a strategy that really sets you apart from others that provide the same service? Do you believe that it’s all about your services, your skill or your business strategies?

Answer these questions:

Do you believe that you can appeal to every target client?

Do you believe that anyone can become your client?

Do you believe clients hire you because of your services?

 

If you answered YES to any of those questions, I have news for you. You are wrong. Yes – wrong.

 

In order for you to truly develop your key marketing brand and honor yourself you need to understand that you do not appeal to every person and not everyone wants to work with you. When you embrace that fact – it’s liberating!

 

In life and we pick and choose our friends and partners. Why don’t we have that same discriminating attitude when it comes to our potential clients? It’s a mistake to think that we will magically be able to create this appeal in our business where everyone we meet will want to work with us. Those that believe they have universal appeal end up developing a marketing strategy that basically waters down who they truly are, and focuses on the generic, bland blob of oatmeal approach to attracting a client.

 

I’ve never cared for oatmeal. The mushy consistency and the bland taste were never my favorite. That’s probably why at 4 years old I fed my morning oatmeal to the stray red tabby cat outside our kitchen sliding glass door. I missed the first half of pre-school that day as my punishment but that is how I got my first pet, Victor.

 

Mass appeal is dead. The unique, story-telling aspect of who we are draws our perfect clients to us. And the best part is we don’t have to fabricate or engineer a story – we all have wonderful stories called our lives – to draw upon for inspiration.

 

It’s not about rejection it’s about embracing who you truly are and the laws of attraction will bring your perfect clients to you. It’s about creating an emotional connection through story telling about YOU and your life that makes marketing memorable.

 

Think about the recent Super Bowl commercials. Which ones were your favorites? Mine were the Clydesdale, the Farmers, and the Old People. They told a story, showed the heart behind the message, made me laugh or cry, and it was memorable. The ones I least liked were focused strictly on the product and did not get to my emotions.

 

If you want to develop your true unique marketing brand and strategy ask your self some questions and be really honest with your answers, knowing that there are no wrong answers:

 

• What makes me different or unique? (your background, your talents, your characteristics)

• What am I truly passionate about in my life? (family, friends, your work, a cause, etc.)

• What hobbies do I have? (your interests, your focus when not working)

• What are my core values? (your beliefs, your heart)

 

If you have trouble answering the questions above, get help from your close family and friends to get some concrete answers.

 

The things you wrote down – those need to be the focus of your marketing brand. You need to somehow incorporate those elements into your message. Don’t hide who you are under a blob of oatmeal believing that you might offend someone if you truly “put it out there.” Guess what? That person you are afraid of offending is going to figure it out anyway – and not be part of what you are building. And the person that is like you, has the same interests as you, respects what you stand for – they are going to be that much MORE attracted to you because of your willingness to “put it out there.”

 

So many people think, “If I can just be like (some other person you admire) then I will be successful.” And forget that they can NEVER be that person because that person is already taken!

 

When a business person is able to craft their marketing around their core values and passions it becomes about the emotional story telling in our marketing instead of focusing on service and how hard we work.

Face it – no one really cares how hard you work or your litany of services you offer – BORING. Yawn. That is not an interesting story. What they care about is YOU and finding a connection to you that makes sense for their life. They care about how you fit with their goals and values.

 

Embrace who you are – know that you are not a blob of oatmeal – you are a vibrant, interesting human being with opinions, thoughts, and passions. Use THOSE to differentiate yourself and come up with creative ways to let people know WHO you are and WHY you do what you do. When you are able to marry the two pathways of marketing and branding you and your business, you will attract the type of clients you want and success will be yours.