Defining Yourself as Your Brand By Jennifer Covello
One of the things I enjoy most as a small business owner is networking with others and learning about their businesses. What I find fascinating is that, without exception, when asked about their type of business, everyone says something like, “I sell a line of products that do …” or “I am an XYZ practitioner who offers…”. The focus is always on the ‘widget’ being offered for public consumption, rather than the person who created the widget in the first place.
It’s understandable really; especially if you created something unique or you have a service that no one else offers. But let’s face it. There aren’t THAT many different products on the market and it’s likely that there are other practitioners providing similar services. The key is to convince the consumer that there is a difference. But how?
As a former corporate marketer, I totally get this ‘widget’ focus. One of the responsibilities I had was to figure out how to market ACME corporation’s products better, faster, and cheaper so they could increase sales and get new customers. Seems logical, right?
Well, that was then. This is now. Today’s consumers are wowed by a product’s benefits, not its features. Consumers want to know more about the person who created this new widget and how they can relate to them. In a nutshell, they want to know your story. By relating to you first, they are able to open up to consider the product or service you are offering.
But how do you tell your story? Do you have a story? And who wants to hear it?
These are all important questions but before any of them can be answered, there’s one that you must be able to answer clearly and that is…“Who am I?”
Three very powerful words…“Who am I?” In order to tell your story, you have to know you have one. You have to know who you are in your soul and more importantly, you have to be willing to share your story…authentically share it. This can be scary to some.
You may be thinking that no one will care about your story or that it’s not big enough. Believe me, it is. When I ask people why they started their businesses, here are the top three answers:
- “I was making/doing (fill in the blank) as a hobby for my friends and family. Then I realized I could start a business,” or
- “I’ve always wanted to be (fill in the blank) and since being laid off, I decided I would go back to school to pursue it,” or
- “I was so miserable in my job that I decided I had to find something I was passionate about.”
These three answers have the potential to lead to great stories about you and your widget. Who wouldn’t want to hear about how you turned a hobby into a full-fledged business or what it was like to go back to school to learn a new skill, or how you overcame a big challenge to pursue your passion? I sure would! And I’ll bet others would too because we all get inspired by seeing others succeed. It confirms our belief that we CAN do it. It IS possible. And we will be successful.
One of the things I like to focus on in my marketing workshops is just this…gaining clarity about your true offering. Because when we are clear on why we are in the business of (fill in the blank), then we can not only share our story authentically, but people will easily understand what it is you have to sell and why they want to buy it from you and no one else.
Begin to think about ways to weave your story into your business marketing. Look at how your product or service is positioned and see if you can wiggle it slightly to reflect its true roots. If you’re not sure what that story is, then I recommend spending some time writing about the origins of your widget with as much detail as you can muster. Because it is in these words that you will discover what it is you are really offering. My guess is that it may not be a widget, but rather, it is you.
About Jennifer Covello
Jennifer Covello is the mother of two children and owner/founder of Frittabello, LLC, a spiritually-inspired baby-gift business (www.frittabello.com), including an award-winning baby journal entitled “My Life.” In 2009, her product line was expanded to include 100% organic cotton, custom- embroidered onesies, bibs, and hats; stationery; baby gift sets; and custom baby gift baskets. Ms. Covello has also written and published a children’s book, Frittabello and His Angel. Contact Jennifer at 800.991.5912; Follow her on Twitter: www.twitter.com/frittabello; Linked In: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jencovello; Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/frittabello