Reilly Newman | The amount of effort and resources you’ll put into your brand can lead your business down many roads. It’s not a matter of forcing a certain brand onto your audience, but actually helping them come to a desired perception of your business. This will be your brand.
Through everything that makes up your business — pricing, offering, marketing, advertising, name, logo, touchpoints, interior space, customer service, social media, your promise, etc — your audience will form their opinion and their perception about you. Yes, it sounds like it’s completely up to them. Yes, you aren’t in complete control of their minds. Yes, you are at the mercy of the market. Welcome to business.
The best way to create a brand is to flex, bend, pivot, and adapt to your market. Through the items I mentioned above, you are able to help guide them. Show them who you are, why you care, why they should choose you. Also, these attributes empower you to signal to them how you’d like to be perceived. How you want your business to be viewed.
Being at the mercy of the market forces you to listen. To approach your audience as people who buy from you, not people you sell to. The best way to create a brand is to respect this and honor it. To serve this audience and provide value. Their perception of you will absorb this and help craft that brand you ideally want. Your logo, identity system, website, etc. will help add aesthetic to bring flavor and personality to this. When it’s all wrapped together, the goal is to achieve trust and favor.
Put it in the context of wanting someone to like you. You’ll act, dress, and even talk a certain way to try and align with their favor. As you do these things, they conjure up what “you” means to them. This “you” is their perception of you. A personal brand if you will. Are you the funny one in the group? The serious one? We do this naturally, as we want to be accepted because being accepted means social inclusion. It means protection. It means survival.
On the other hand, think of someone who forces themselves into your life. You can feel how desperately they want to be liked or be your friend. To you, it’s almost repulsive. It drives you away. This is like when a business tries forcing their brand onto you. There’s no relationship. They won’t let you lead the dance of becoming friends. This innately feels like a red flag because your autonomy is being threatened. It feels like they are hiding something. They aren’t giving you the choice. They aren’t surrendering the power of choice to you to choose them which, once again, takes trust and favor.
The market holds the power. The market will determine who “you” are. It will determine your brand based on how you act, dress, talk, listen, etc. The best way to create a brand is to not force it. To respect and honor your audience. Give them the attributes they need to come up with their perception on their own. Their perception is your brand.
