A few weeks ago, Leah and I were at a friend’s birthday party.
As soon as he saw us approach, and even though he was mid-conversation with other attendees, he excitedly announced: “I have tapes in my car for you!”
See, Leah and I have earned a bit of a reputation. A brand, even. We’re those weird millennials recreating our 90s childhoods one VHS tape at a time.
The collection now numbers in the hundreds, and, yes, we watch them.
So our friends know that if they stumble upon any tapes while cleaning out an attic, a basement, or some other host of long-forgotten technology, we probably want them.
But how did we acquire this reputation? Simply by being us, by doing what we do.
Eventually, people find out (like when they come over to our house and see the multiple shelves in our TV room, including several prominent displays, containing every 90s thriller you remember) and they don’t forget.
Then, when they come across a tape out in the world, they think about us.
We didn’t have to ask anyone, we just had to do what we do consistently. We just had to be us, publicly.
That’s what building a brand is. It’s not a series of statements you make, it’s a pattern of behaviour.
Clayton Christensen and Michael Raynor, in The Innovator’s Solution, say that “Brands are ... hollow words into which marketers stuff meaning.”
But I think you could say that brands are hollow words into which marketers stuff actions.
That’s what gives a brand its weight, its credibility. The fact that it is self-evident once the company’s actions are observed.
So the question becomes: If you want to improve, elevate, or promote your company’s “brand,” what are you doing?
If your actions were observed by your prospects, the work you do every day, what kind of reputation would you acquire?
And, more than that, what would they remember about you?
What context or circumstance in the world, in their lives, or in their work would trigger a thought about you?
That’s the benefit of a brand: When someone has a struggle, a moment in which they need a particular service or type of support, they should think of you based on what they know about what you do.
So this all boils down to:
What are you doing publicly that allows your prospects to associate you with a need they might have?
And how can you show them more actively?
Kelford Inc. are content marketers for expert advisors. If you’re struggling with what to say and where to say it to attract your ideal clients, we’ll show you the way.