Once upon a time in Mexico, I was enjoying my first spicy margarita of the late afternoon when I received a request from a good friend. She asked me if I would mind reviewing her business’s new brand created by a consultant she had just hired. While a bite of delicious food from the all-inclusive resort hovered on a fork near my mouth, I was shocked! I did not understand why this friend—in fact, a very dear friend of mine—hired another firm to do her branding. Of course, I was honored to give my opinion and did so.
And then the hurt set in...the lack of understanding why I was not the first person that my friend thought of when updating her organization’s brand. Suddenly, the fresh ceviche in front of me turned sour in my mouth as I realized I had not overly communicated what I do and the value that it brings. If a dear friend did not immediately think of me, there was a problem.
This was early in my days of owning my small business and striving to establish myself as a strategic marketing consultant in Las Vegas. And even today, I must remind myself to keep strategically communicating what I do in a clear, concise, and consistent manner. According to the tried-and-true marketing rule of seven, a person must interact with a brand seven times before a purchase. This is also true for entrepreneurs and small business owners. So, what do I do?
Marketing Communications
When I started my business, I created three overarching categories of solutions I wanted to offer to my clients. While the verbiage might have evolved slightly, the gist of what I provide has not. At the center of my business is marketing communications. I define this as "executing strategic activities to increase client and employee loyalty, drive organization growth, and expand market awareness.” Essentially, this is communicating relevant messages to the proper audience across the right channels.
Brand and Content Development
Another of my three main offerings is brand creation and content development. Some of the clients I have worked with in the past were starting their brands from scratch, and it is a thrilling process to help essentially birth an entire brand identity. Other clients have wanted to create new messages based upon existing brands. Both are stimulating exercises necessary to communicate and showcase a company’s culture, image, and solution.
When I first partner with a new client, I like to start with the crucial step of documenting the brand. What is the value proposition and differentiators the organization brings to the marketplace? Which key messages should the brand showcase to bring new customers to the business? And what is the best tone and voice to share with your target audience? The answers to these important questions serve as a compass for any organization’s brand moving forward.
Once an organization’s brand is fully defined, a business has easy talking points and a barometer to create all future messaging. This is where a long-term content strategy—including an editorial calendar and collaborative messaging plans—comes into play.
Strategic Storytelling
Getting the correct message out there cannot be done without the third piece: strategic storytelling, which is what I believe is my most value-added skillset. I define strategic storytelling as, “Crafting a value proposition and positioning this message in a compelling and articulate way.” It’s leveraging the brand work I like to start with any client and crafting a message that is exciting and interesting to the audience.
“Once upon a time…” is one of the most engaging phrases in the English language. The reader—or viewer—settles in to discover a new world and escape daily life for a few moments. And as business leaders, we can harness this phrase’s power to tell not a fairy tale, but a real-life strategic story about solving problems, saving the day, or making the impossible possible. It is how this very story began—with the goal of showcasing what I do. If I can help you slay dragons and shout your story from the rooftops, I would love to help. Or as I said that day in Mexico, “I have just got to get my story out there more!”