If you’re out there selling something – stop it right now!
Stop selling and start branding. Your brand has a story to tell. Educate your buyer so they have all the knowledge they need to make an intelligent decision. If you start selling, they’ll just roll their eyes and try to get away from you. They won’t trust you. Find out where their anxiety lies, and show them a way out with knowledge. Encourage them to compare. You’re approach will be refreshing to what they see.
I take myself as an example. I position myself as the branding expert. I have an 8 page brochure that educate’s my customer on “How to give their brand a boost.” The whole point is to help them position their company as the first choice (of their buyer) rather than just more of the same.
You often hear that people don’t like to read much anymore. It’s not that they don’t like to read, it’s more that they don’t like to read copy that benefits you more than them. Give them information that makes you the first choice. You have to show your confidence and give away information that empowers your buyer.
Branding as an empowering tool draws to you customers who also value knowledge. It drives away buyers who fixate on price alone. These are not the customers you can grow on. You’ve heard of “price wars,” well this is a battle that only deep pockets can win. If that isn’t you, then it’s time to change the game to one of an intelligence strategy.
Don’t concern yourself if the competition starts to copy your model. That means they have their eyes off the ball and squarely on what ever it is you’re doing. You can’t control them, so keep your brand out front. Their ignorance can only help you.
It’s like I always say: “Lead don’t follow.”
Ed,
Stop selling and start branding is a great advise. But, how do you find your brand’s voice? Is it from what you want for your brand, or what the audience is expecting from you?
I think it’s no easy task getting rid of the anxiety from expecting good sales while boosting your brand. Any advice in that front?
I think what you’re also talking about here is inbound marketing. Create great content that will capture the attention of your target audience. You won’t need to “sell” to them because you’ve already established their trust.
That’s exactly what I’m talking about Jeff. I think it works so much better than out-bound. You’re not yelling either.
Thanks for your comment
One path to ridding your brand of anxiety is to truly differentiate yourself. Not the low hanging fruit such as, “Our people make the difference!” But positioning that sometimes puts the brand out on a limb, out of their comfort zone, delivering a message that your customer is crying out for but everyone’s afraid to deliver on. Good branding is not for the weak among us but those who truly want to be considered as the only choice – not one of many. To find your brand’s voice I suggest targeting where I’d like to end up and work to that end. Hopefully you’ve got caché built up that you can grow with that compliments your brand goal.