Have you ever heard people say with great certainty, “I don’t need a brand”
Well, I’d like to let them into a little secret … they already have one! You see, brand is about perception. And the reality is, we are being perceived by others all the time. From the moment they meet us, opinions are formed, judgments are made and decisions are taken … all in an instant. And we don’t even know it!
“He seems a bit too serious for me.”
“She looks like high-maintenance!”
“Will I introduce myself to her?”
As soon as we take a first glance at someone or something, we start to judge it. Let’s give an impersonal example to illustrate the point. Let’s say we are in a furniture store and we are looking to purchase a new sofa. So we move towards the first option. If we deem it to be too low at the back, we might simply pass it by. If we imagine we’ll hate the sensation of the velour fabric it’s made from, we’ll happily discard it in an instant. If the colour doesn’t go with our living room colour scheme, we might check to see if it comes in different colours … or we might not even bother! And when it comes to the comfort factor, some people will ‘boing’ down on every … sofa in the store (and then buy none of them!) while others won’t even give it a comfort test if there are other elements that are keeping them from investigating further. You see, the bottom line is, we ideally want our idea of the perfect sofa to be presented to us, to land right in front of our eyes. And the crazy thing is, we may not even know what that ideal sofa looks like yet. But we do know what it doesn’t look like!
Well, it’s the same with your brand! You need to truly know that ‘ideal sofa’ scenario before they do. And then you need to find a way to present your ideal client with a first impression that sits well for them. An image which they may not yet know for themselves. A visual and verbal solution that inspires them to want to invest their time and money in you. And the way you intrigue them sufficiently is to make them feel at home with you, to give them the comfort they were searching for, to instil them with confidence so that they come and check out your offering. This is all achievable through your brand.
Your brand has the power to subliminally draw your ideal client towards you. By diligently crafting the images you portray and the words you convey, you can create a sense of magnetism around you and your business that breaks down the barriers of awkwardness, misunderstanding and caution. Your brand can give your clients the reassurance that you are the sofa for them!
Thanks for illustrating how a brand can be perceived by others. I am particularly interested in the way in which you talk about ‘your ideal client’. I network with people most days of the week and now have, if you like, a checklist in my head as to who is my ideal client. As I am asking questions I am mentally ticking off my checklist to see if I would like to work with this person. Is there a match? I’m thinking. What interests me here is that you are talking about how you can draw your ideal clients towards you even before an initial conversation may take place. This has got to be good news if people can feel reassured even before you may have spoken together.