The Michelle Gifford Podcast Episode 71

3 Branding Mistakes You Are Making– Plus How to Fix Them!

I’ve been working a lot with different businesses lately in my coaching group, Michelle’s Money Makers, and also in my work with influencers and larger companies. It’s been interesting to see how businesses big and small are pivoting and changing in these uncertain times we are in currently. I want to talk to you about 3 branding mistakes you’re making and how to fix them.

As I’ve been helping people through the shift and pivot because of the Coronavirus, it’s been a real eye opener. As things shift in the world, you have to make big decisions. It’s important to have something you can go back to. You need a strong sense of identity and a “why” for building the business you are building. This will help you as you experience the changes that will inevitably happen as your business grows. During this time of quarantine and staying home, it’s a great time to think about what problem your business solves and why you feel called to serve your audience. 

Think about these questions-

What does my brand really look like?

Is what I’m doing in alignment with what my brand is?

Do you have a one-liner?

As I’ve helped other businesses walk through this time, I’ve been thinking about these questions a lot. To help with these questions, I hope you have a one-liner that you’ve created for your brand and business. I interviewed Macy Robison on my podcast a few episodes ago and we talked about the importance of a one-liner. Find the episode and show notes HERE

A one-liner really encompasses who you serve, how you serve them, and what you want them to do.

To reiterate, your brand is basically: 

• Who you are serving
• How you are serving them
• What problem you solve for them  
• How do you solve that problem

So when you’re thinking about your brand I want you to think about those questions. You have your visual brand, colors, logos, fonts. But more than that, you need to make sure that your overall branding goes back to those four questions above. Keep them in mind as you make decisions.

Branding Mistake 1- You aren’t speaking to your ideal audience. 

This is one of the branding mistakes that I’ve seen most often in new businesses. You rely on friends and family for building your business. Let’s be honest, most likely your friends and family aren’t your ideal customer. They won’t pay you for your knowledge. Ouch, I know that might hurt. But we’ve all been there and had that realization, right? 

Who do you talk to? Your ideal audience that is a smaller cluster of people (at first), or your larger audience that is made up of your friends and family? 

You need to make sure you are talking to the right people.

Whether you’ve done this as a small or large brand, you need to make sure that the people that you’re talking to are the ones you actually want to serve. I will warn you, when you change who you’re talking to on social media, there will be a period where you will see a dip in your engagement. It’s fine. Don’t get scared. Because you need to make sure that your audience is becoming a little more pure and full of who you really need to talk to and serve.

Those who are not your ideal audience will fall away, and your ideal audience will be there and your engagement will go back up. 

Branding Mistake 2- You’re making your product your brand

Let’s have a pretend conversation. “What do you do, Michelle?”  “I sell planners.” 

Wait. Think about this conversation. Do I only sell planners?

My planner is not my brand. I help women grow their business. My product, my planner, is one of the ways that I help women grow their business. But my brand is not my planner.

My product supports my brand by solving one of my ideal audience’s problems. So, what is your brand again? 

Your brand is how you serve your people over and over again. I’ve said it many times, but it’s always good to have a refresher!

That saying has two parts to it. How you serve. And your people

How you are serving your people– what do they need? Really think about that. How are you making their life easier? 

This is especially true with you, my MLM friends. A lot of people build their brand on their MLM. Let’s say it’s essential oils or makeup or shampoo. You cannot build a brand around the company’s brand. You need to build a brand around you and the people you serve. Your MLM product is just a part of your brand. This is how you will find success. If you only focus on the product, you are competing with thousands of people that are selling that product. If you focus on you and how that product solves your problems, then you are able to stand out more. You are the brand. Not your product. 

Mistake 3- You forget you are the expert. 

Should we hold hands for this one? Here is your weekly pep talk from Michelle. 

One of the most common branding mistakes is this third one. The reason you are building a brand is because you are setting yourself up as an expert. No matter what business you are building, you need to be the expert. Whether that business involves, plants, dancing, cooking cakes, making hair scrunchies, etc. You need to be the expert. I think sometimes we forget this part. We say to ourselves, “I don’t know enough”. I want to tell you that it doesn’t matter. You have something no one else has. You. 

If you sat down and talked about what you are an expert in, you could talk for hours, right? Ask my friends how long I can talk about business. Days and days! Ha! 

Does that mean that I am the top business person ever and the smartest person ever? No! (I wish!)

 

It’s not a contest

There’s no contest, there’s no person determining if you’re good enough to be an expert or not. If you are trying to help a person who is at a level zero get to where you are at- say, a level six , then in the process of helping them get there, you will learn and you will grow. They will also learn and grow and you will push yourself ahead so you can continue to serve them. Do  you see how this works? If you are continually pushing yourself harder and learning more, you will always be able to serve your audience in the ways you want to. 

Sometimes I have to remind myself that I’m an expert, too. I have coached a lot of people big and small and that experience means something. I forget that sometimes. 

Don’t get in your head and get in your own way. Don’t feel like you don’t have what it takes because you are a little insecure and you think someone might do it better than you. All that is doing is stopping you from helping someone else. Look at where you are now and everything you’ve learned, and think about how hard you worked to get there. If you could go back and help even one person to get to where you are and make it easier for them, wouldn’t it be worth it? I say, yes.

I want you to think about that. You being an expert is not conceited or arrogant. It’s owning your space and helping others to get to where you are. 

There you go, now you know how to fix the most common branding mistakes I see!

So, there are the 3 most common branding mistakes I see and also a few ways to solve them! I hope you enjoy this podcast episode, I love that I can chat with you, my biz sisters, through these weekly podcasts and blog posts. Someday I hope to be able to meet you in person! And we can talk business and branding and crazy kids. LOL. Until then, follow me on Instagram @iammichellegifford.

If you are ready to take your business to the next level and you want more individual attention than I can give you on my weekly podcasts, check out my Money Makers group! Click HERE for more information and use the code michelle10 for $10 off each month!