Worth Every Penny: Branding your Business

[Pesso]

Hey Square Readers,

As we’re getting into reading Worth Every Penny by Sarah Petty and Erin Verbeck, let’s get deeper into the material. Last week we talked about the basics, the authors’ framework and definition of a Boutique business. 

Now, let’s dive into the first main section of the book: Branding.

Benefits of Branding

“Your identity is how you look, and your brand is how people feel about you.”

“Here’s the bottom line: you can’t build a strong brand on a weak identity.”

First, let’s talk about what branding actually is. Your branding is the total perception your customers have about you. Your logo and color scheme are part of your Visual Identity, which is only one part of your branding. Your brand is essentially your reputation.

Overall, having a well defined brand is incredibly important to any business, but especially a Boutique one. The authors write, “Without a remarkable brand, a boutique business is nothing… If people don’t know what you’re about, [or] if your business looks different every time they see you … they can’t rely on you for a spectacular, one-of-a-kind experience every time… To charge what you’re worth, it’s essential to carefully craft and manage your reputation for being the best at what you do… Your brand lays the foundation for attracting the right clients and increasing the results of your marketing efforts. Your fantastic, reliable brand will put you ahead of the competition… and justify the premium prices that make yours a healthy boutique business.”

Branding Yourself

So how do you actually go about defining, establishing, and maintaining your brand? 

Customer Perception

The authors suggest stepping into the mind of one of your best customers who loves and is devoted to your business. They suggest writing down what those customers think and feel about your business, what it means to them, the reasons they keep coming back, and more. Feel free to ask some of them to get the real answer! You can also add in your own ideas of what you would want your customers to feel. 

Create Consistent Standards

The foundation of your brand is setting and keeping up certain standards, and consistency is key. Every bit of your brand and visual identity should be the same everywhere, including logo, fonts, color choices, website, even down to the cleanliness and orderliness of your shop or physical space if you have one. It all needs to stay the same everywhere they show up, every single time. Failing to meet expectations even once can lose a customer. 

They write, “A strong brand creates consistency and a feeling of trust among your customers. It creates immediate recognition of your business… Even the slightest change to a logo creates inconsistencies in identity and brand. It creates a disconnect with customers and prospects… Customers won’t recognize you and all the goodness you offer—the experience, the service, the customization, and the relationship—if your identity is marginalized, scattered, or conflicted. Your identity is the glue that holds your brand together.”

Make Rules

Make sure that you’re setting standards for yourself, your employees, and your brand, and maintaining them no matter what. The authors recommend writing down your identity standards into a style guide for easy reference and training. They even offer a guide through their website.

Beyond just your identity, make rules about what your business does and does not do. These can be around where you advertise, what you won’t sell, how often to clean, and more. Having rules like this can make it virtually automatic to maintain your reputation, stay within your niche, and not do anything that could compromise any of that. Then do what you can to monitor and enforce these brand standards.

In our next discussion thread, we’ll talk about Section 2: Products, Services, and Customer Experience.

We’d love to hear your answer in the comments:

• How do you define your brand and what makes your business unique? 
• What are your brand standards and what rules can you have to maintain them? 
• Take a hard look at all of your branding elements. What can you fix to be more consistent?

Feel free to share any other thoughts you have about this book. We can’t wait to hear your thoughts in the comments below!

Don’t forget to:

• View and Subscribe to all threads about this book
• RSVP to our Live Discussion 

Happy reading,

Pesso

[rtfulk]

@Pesso  Our designs, we do all our designs. So it is something you can’t go to a big box store and purchase. We have spandex blended into outfits, this makes the soft, stretchy and fun to wear and play in.

[Pesso]

Thanks for sharing, @rtfulk ! That reputation of being unique and fun is fantastic!

[rtfulk]

We pride ourselves with selling items that can't be purchased at other places. We also do live shows, to us that is how you build a brand, one on one with customers. They really get to know us and make a connection.

[Pesso]

That's huge, @rtfulk ! Unique offerings and unique personalized experiences are a heck of a great way to build a brand! Way to go!

[Stacelyn24]

At our nail salon, we define our brand by the exceptional experience we provide to our clients. While we excel in offering top-tier nail services and premium products, what truly sets us apart is the immersive and luxurious atmosphere we've curated. Clients come to us not just for a manicure or pedicure, but for the entire journey – from the moment they step into our salon to the moment they leave feeling pampered and rejuvenated.

Our brand standards revolve around consistency, quality, and indulgence. To maintain these standards, we ensure that every aspect of our salon – from the decor to the customer service – reflects our commitment to excellence. We prioritize training our staff to uphold our brand values, ensuring that every interaction with clients is warm, professional, and attentive.

Taking a hard look at our branding elements, we recognize the importance of consistency across all touchpoints. While our in-salon experience embodies the boutique atmosphere we've cultivated, we can improve consistency in our online presence, such as our website and social media. By aligning these elements more closely with the luxurious experience clients receive in person, we can enhance our overall brand identity and reinforce our unique value proposition in the market.

[Pesso]

Thanks for sharing, @Stacelyn24 !

That sounds like a fantastic experience!

I'd love to hear some more here too -- how do you train your staff to uphold that brand value? What do you tell them, what resonates with them, and what are examples of them doing it?

What about your social and website can you make more consistent?