We hear the word brand so often that we don’t give it a second thought. But what is a brand?
Let’s start by unpacking what it’s not. It’s not a logo. It’s not an identity. It’s not a product. It’s not even a name.
Let your gut be your guide
There are many definitions of a brand, but my favorite one is:
A brand is a person’s gut feeling about a product, service, or organization.
Once established, that gut-feeling can be applied to every touchpoint we have with our customers.
A soul brand is shaped around the concept of bringing your personal purpose, passions and talents to the world, so that they can help others, and fulfill you at the same time.
Brands are perceived by living, emotional and intuitive humans who experience brands in their own particular, human way. For that reason, your brand isn’t what YOU say it is. A brand is what OTHER PEOPLE say it is.
Help them to help you
Brands narrow down choice and save time. By creating a single point of focus, they eliminate the “noise” that tends to overwhelm.
Brands differentiate. There’s often little difference in the quality and features of offerings from different companies. By basing their differentiation on other elements, brands can stand out and be chosen not only for what they offer, but for what they represent. They help customers find their tribe.
Brands establish trust. Trust is all about reliability and delight. And when brands deliver these consistently, they meet and exceed customer expectations. This creates loyalty.
You’re whole (and so is your brand)
The best brands take a holistic approach. Blending strategy and creativity they optimize what the left and right brain bring to the party. By aligning the linear with the spatial, logic with emotion, analytics with intuition, the numerical with visual, and the verbal with physical, they’re able to craft a brand that takes makes allowance for the full spectrum of how the customer experiences them.
This full-spectrum approach is what creates a charismatic brand – a brand that in the mind of the customer, has no substitute.
Brand Building Best Practices
There are 5 disciplines that will help you build a charismatic brand:
- Differentiate
Our brains are hardwired to see things that stand out. It’s one of the ways we filter information so that we can prevent information overload.
- Collaborate
Remember we mentioned collaboration as a time-management tool in the blog on self-discipline? Well, it’s important for brand building too. When there are skills and expertise you need but you don’t have – find collaborators who can help.
- Innovate
The best innovations are disruptors. You know you’re onto something good when you have a creative solution or idea that scares a lot of people.
- Validate
Validating is about creating a dialogue with your audience. By creating a feedback loop you’re able to understand your clients so much better.
- Cultivate
A brand should be dynamic but consistent. Like a car, they may change direction, but the car itself should remain consistent.
By paying attention to how we ourselves experience brands, we’re so much better positioned to craft our own soul brand so that it’s true to who we really are.
If you’re stuck with how to begin creating your soul brand, start by visiting my 1:1 Page or my Online Course page.
If you enjoyed this article and would like to know “10 Secrets to find Your Soul Business”, download the FREE GUIDE here
