Unearthing Your Unique Promise ~ From Small Business Branding to Entrepreneurial Branding

The branding – and re-branding – of a small business is much like that of an entrepreneurial business. It’s about extracting your business’s unique promise of value in the most authentic way possible and then clearly expressing that promise of value through your work, daily communications, and brand messaging. This is not the easiest process at times simply because the Unearthing process asks you to take a close look at and contemplate on what you value and specifically stand for in your business.

I am currently in the process of taking part in the re-branding of a small business. A wonderful company who understands the power of branding through authenticity and importance of strategic positioning within their market. The first step is the Unearthing process and this is often the most difficult, especially when there is an existing brand in place. Often times, when businesses have an existing brand in place for a number of years, there are understandably emotional attachments to it and the process of unearthing a truly authentic brand becomes more difficult. The goal, however, is still the same – determine what rings most true for you in your business, so that you can attract the right clients who value you and your business.

The same difficulty often comes when entrepreneurs, coaches, trainers, consultants, etc. begin the process of Unearthing their brand or even re-branding themselves for the purpose of making their business more successful, attractive and profitable.

At this point in the process of re-branding this small business, the company is reviewing their current core values and positioning statement to determine whether it still holds true for them.

The following process is what I introduced to help Unearth the core values that really ring true for them and it can help you too in your business:

1. Write out your current core values (or if you don’t currently have core values set in place, it’s a great time to think about what those are). Next to each core value, I want you to write the definition of what that core value actually means. For example, let’s say that one of your core values is innovation. A definition of innovation is, “the act of introducing something new; introducing new things or methods.”

2. Next, for each core value, I want you to write how you or your business demonstrates this core value. What are the tactics that you use to demonstrate innovation? Are you coming up with new products to introduce to the marketplace? Are you introducing new technology or a new way of doing something?

3. Once you have your core value, definitions, and your tactic, write down what your outcome is for this core value. This outcome must answer a problem, concern or need for your ideal client. So, the outcome for innovation could be that you introduce a new product or service that addresses a specific need of your client. For example, you might introduce a client program that guarantees to improve lives through helping your clients lose weight in healthy and enjoyable ways.

4. So, now that we have all of these current core values written out and defined, we will take a look at each one more closely to determine whether the business practices these core values on a daily basis. This is the best way to determine whether it is a core value.

What’s so special about Unearthing your core values?
Determining the core values for your business helps you to provide a clear understanding of who you are to your clients. It helps to build credibility and loyalty, not only internally with employees, but also with your clients and those people who can benefit most from what you do.

Determining your core values is only one step in the Unearthing process to building a more profitable and authentic business. For more information and to begin extracting your brand, the Unearth Your Brand Excellence is starting up in January 2010. You can choose the workbook/guide to unearth your brand or the e-course for added support.

_____________

Prepare to effectively brand your business in 2010. The Brand Unearthing Phase for Networkers, Coaches, Trainers, Solopreneurs, Consultants, Representatives, and other entrepreneurs and small business owners is available beginning in January 2010 through the Unearth Your Brand Excellence Workbook & E-Course Program. Unearth Your Brand Excellence is a powerful preparatory course to building a brand foundation for your business to set yourself apart from other businesses who seemingly offer the same products and services. In addition, the program is specifically designed to give you the tools to effectively communicate your unique brand promise. Are you ready for brand excellence? More information and updated website coming soon at www.lisahromada.com/

P.S. As a special gift to my subscribers, starting December 14, 2009 I am starting the “B.E. ~ 12 Days of Giveaways!” where each day, I will be giving my wonderful subscribers valuable information (I will keep it short as I know your time is precious!) to help them start off the New Year with brand excellence (B.E.) a clearer vision of what they want 2010 to hold for them and their business.

If you're not yet a subscriber, you can sign up at lisahromada.com ~ As a bonus, you receive 15 articles from my e-book!