6 Steps to Bring Your Brand to Life (Step 2)

What is step 2 to building something special that will be your most important asset—your Brand?

If you’ve completed step 1 you should have a short statement that clarifies your brand’s mission with focus. If you haven’t done this, do yourself a favor, go back to step 1 and complete the exercise before you read this post.

So, you now have a short, clear statement—Perfect! But that’s just a start. Your statement from step 1 is the catalyst for everything you’re about to do.

Before I go any further, I want to let you know I’ve created a worksheet so you can easily follow along with this series:

For the worksheet, go to our 6 Steps to Bring Your Brand to Life Worksheets and click on “2–Brand Purpose Worksheet”.

Now, let’s go!

Step 1 was a warm up. It got you thinking about your brand, maybe like you’ve never done before. Now you are focused.

But step 2 is where you start building something that is not just about your business. It’s about you—what you love, your values, and what excites you.

So, what is step 2 to bringing your brand to life? It’s defining Your Why.

Step 2 is Giving your Brand Purpose—Why are you doing it?

Remember my introductory post? In that post I outlined the following…

What branding is to me.

Your WHY
Your HOW
Your WHAT

I described why branding is so important.

and…

Detailed what you can do to build a brand that moves the needle in your business.

I mentioned clarity (super important);

consistency (a must);

and two other words. Do you remember them?

Emotion and Love. Yep.

Emotion is about proudly telling those who will come to like, know, and trust you why you are doing what you’re doing.

And Love. Because you have to be fully invested and actually love what you’re doing and why you are doing it.

These two words focus on something I can’t emphasize enough—an intangible that is so important to brand-building.

Love and emotion get to the root of step 2—You zeroing in on your Why.

In that first post I detailed the following…

Your WHY.

People are way more interested in WHY you are doing what you are doing. They are not as interested in what you do. Yes, of course they need your products and/or services but the real reason they work with you is often based on your why.

So, when it comes to branding there is tremendous value in “why?”

It’s where you start to uncover your brand DNA, leaving no question in anyone’s mind about who you are, what you do, and of course, why you do it.

This becomes the foundation to developing and telling the story that best represents you and your business.

Cracking the genetic code of your business starts with why. If you don’t believe me, check out this video from Simon Sinek.

Here is the “secret” many marketing consultants, design firms, and web development companies fail to emphasize…

Without your Why—clearly defined at the beginning—your brand will falter and you will not accomplish the things you set out to do.

The theory is not so complicated—that moment when you are certain why you’re doing “it,” everything else becomes that much easier. Things will start to fall into place. It’s a freeing feeling but it’s also one of the most important components of building your brand the right way.

Do you want to know what will fall into place?

• Your copy
• All you marketing efforts
• The services you offer
• The products you create
• Your social media strategy
• The clients you covet
• A great feeling that gets you out of bed every day
• And all your plans going forward

So, getting clear on your why makes brand-building a cake walk. Well, it’s not that easy, but you get the picture.

I said people are way more interested in your Why than your What. (I agree with Simon Sinek. This gets to the root of branding done right. An individual will buy a product, work with a consultant, or hire a team based on what they know and feel about them… their beliefs.

Think about your response when shopping for a high-tech gadget.

You buy or ignore based on your beliefs—what you know about the product, the company, and its history.

But a complete brand image is not only about how an audience sees a company’s expertise. It’s really the combination of the shared experiences—of customers, readers, and fans.

You can create the perception of a great brand, but until people experience it in some way, you’ll see limited success.

And… if you want people to “experience” your brand, your WHY needs to shine through clearly.

To prove my point, let’s say someone’s website messaging states…

My coaching program is built to help you achieve your goals. It’s based on my years of working with solo professionals, executives, and CEOs. It’s clear, to-the-point, and is guaranteed to get you results. Contact me today so we can get started.

Not very convincing, is it?

What if the copy was crafted by someone expert at what they do, but their love and emotion came shining through in the form of a clear Why? Do you think you would be more inclined to contact them? Check this out…

I think each person has amazing, but untapped potential, with the ability to take their lives and careers to the next level. But some need help aligning their vision, laying out the steps, and achieving their goals. I started this business because I have a passion for helping people realize their dreams. My coaching program is built to help you work through the tough decisions, help you sharpen your skills, and then motivate you to move. Contact me today so we can get started.

This why also makes it easier to tell your ideal customers exactly what is in it for them. You’ll solve their pain and it will be such a great experience because you love what you do.

So, my next question is this: Do you have a why?

Is your entrepreneurial venture just about making money or is there something else at work deep inside you?

Since you’ve read this far, I’m assuming you’re nodding your head and saying “yes, I do have a why.”

So today, really drill down to your why. Give your brand purpose by articulating Why you are doing what you do.

To make this easier I’ve provided a worksheet.

Download my Brand Purpose Worksheet and flesh out your why and turn it into a statement like the above.

For the worksheet, go to our 6 Steps to Bring Your Brand to Life Worksheets and click on “2–Brand Purpose Worksheet”.

In my next post, we’ll dive into How you will help your ideal customer.

Do you want to bring your brand to life? Taking a few minutes to complete our brand audit will help you think about your current marketing efforts and what might need to change. It will also help me suggest several ways to improve your branding and marketing now: Brand audit.

After you complete the form, we’ll contact you to schedule a time to go over the results and see how we can help.

If you are interested in learning more about our branding and marketing process, sign up for my email list below.