If you haven’t investigated your brand yet, and you haven’t formalized the information you’ve accumulated about it in a document that anyone can read, the people who create content for you are going to have to guess about what your target customers need to know about you in order to find you appealing. Some of us content writers are darned good guessers. But we don’t have all the answers to everything. Once you have developed the database that equals your brand statement, you can hand it to your writers and graphic designers and they can embed it into all of the content they create on your behalf. This will function as a guide to creating your website and absolutely everything else you write, or anyone writes for you.

Where there is no branding document to guide a company’s marketing efforts, this is what often happens:

I’ll ask my client: “Who is your ideal client?”

And they’ll say: “Everybody.”

Well, it’s hard for me to write to appeal to an “everybody.” But I CAN write to appeal to a 40-year-old male maintenance manager who is on his feet all day, hears regularly from his boss about how the safety record at the company is its number one priority, needs to continually do more with less and would rather not try a new supplier if it means burning bridges with the old one. The devil we know…

As a small business where every dollar counts, you can’t afford to talk to everyone. You have to start conversations that might lead to a sale with the people who are likely to buy what you’re selling. “Everybody” doesn’t need what you offer. But your ideal customer is eagerly scanning the horizon of their world hoping you will show up in it someday. THOSE are the people your marketing should be targeting so you can maximize your chances of find them.

So roll up your sleeves for a minute and let me help you unravel this one. My company does not provide branding consulting services at this point but over the years we’ve worked with three different branding companies and my team and I are continually on the lookout for new distinctions in this area. Despite working in the area and actively learning about how to maximize brand for our clients’ revenue generation, we’ve barely scratched the surface about what there is to know about branding. The branding for my own company is not something I’m waving the flag about as of this writing – my business has changed since our last re-brand, our website needs upgrading, our marketing materials need to be refreshed and another re-brand is on the radar for the next year or two. Will we ever catch up? Goodness me, I hope so.

This is an important topic and I will be digging a little deeper into in next week’s blog – so stay tuned!

And if you would like to connect with me to find out more about how Crossman Communications can help you tell your business story through your online content, please contact me directly at susan@crossmancommunications.com. If you’re in a hurry, book yourself in right away for a free consultation at www.meetme.so/susancrossman.