Running a business in 2020 means keeping a lot of plates spinning at the same time. As well as ensuring operational excellence, you also need to ensure that your marketing efforts are making all the right impressions with your target audience. This one-two punch can lure in new customers and ensure that they stay with you, forming a foundation on which you can build sustainable growth.
Like any successful business, you want to build a brand that is ubiquitous. One that stands out in the minds of prospects and proves a rallying symbol for loyal customers. A brand that neatly encapsulates everything you are and everything you want to be as a business. But whatever size or shape your business may be, it’s possible that a fundamental misunderstanding of branding may be holding you back. Here are 4 things that many business owners still don’t understand about the subtle art and science of branding, even in 2020…
Your brand means more than you think it does
Building a brand is one of the most enjoyable and creatively rewarding aspects of running a business. But in your creative zeal, it’s easy to develop an overly simplistic view of what exactly your brand is. It’s more than just a pretty logo or a catchy slogan. It’s more than the color scheme on your website. It’s even more than your ads and marketing copy. It’s how well you train, support and look after your team. It’s how your employees answer the phone. It’s how you deal with complaints. It’s how you lead by example. It’s everything your business does to influence a customer’s opinion of you. It’s what people say about you when you’re not in the room.
Outsourcing is not a betrayal
As an entrepreneur whose reputation is intrinsically tied to your brand, it’s completely understandable that you want to do things your way. And while that granular control over every aspect of your operations may be reassuring, the truth is that it’s almost certainly costing you more than it should to run your business.
Whether it’s outsourcing your HR or payroll services, your digital marketing or your IT infrastructure you may find that you can do the same thing for less without compromising the integrity of your operations. Outsourcing is not a dirty word. Nor is it a betrayal of your operational identity. It’s deferring to the experts in ways that can save money and boost efficiency.
You may be the face of your brand, but your employees are its voice!
Many entrepreneurs make the shrewd decision to make themselves the face of their brand. And this can pay off ina big way. After all, people respond to other people. If you can make them react positively to you as a person, they can react positive to your brand.
But unless you’re a one-person operation, your employees are the point of c contact for your customers. You may be what brings them in, but your employees’ interactions with customers will be what influences their opinion of your brand. You may be its face but for all intents and purposes they are its voice.
