Monthly Archives: March 2014

Professional Development , , Leave a comment

Personal Brand: Create Your Story and Control Your Image

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Your personal brand is your reputation: the impression you leave with people with whom you interact,  their perception of you.  The personal brand reflects the aura and impact of the choices you’ve made in life and how you present yourself to the world: mode of dress,  communication style,  profession,  educational level,  values and priorities,  how and with whom you socialize.

Primarily for professional reasons,  it is a smart idea to connect selected dots that you wish to emphasize and create a narrative that will communicate to prospective clients or employers,  VIPs and colleagues that you bring value and relevance and that professional or social affiliations with you are worthwhile.

Fail to proactively build and develop a personal brand that conveys integrity and competence and you risk being denied numerous opportunities in life.  Take control of the professional and social aspects of your personal brand and do whatever possible to create a destiny and legacy that have a positive impact.   Create a story that succinctly communicates your story,  or brand narrative,   to the world.  Portions of your brand narrative will be included in your curriculum vitae,  bio,  website,  press kit,  LinkedIn and Facebook pages.   As you write your brand narrative,  keep in mind three attributes that form the pillars of an excellent personal brand:

Authentic

The self you present to the world must reflect your expertise and experience,  core values and beliefs.   Have the courage to be your best self.   Emphasize the relevant.   Acknowledge your expertise and what you enjoy doing.  Be compassionate.  Pay it forward.  Keep it real.

Consistent

People want to know what to expect when they plan to interact with someone.  We trust that which is dependable and reliable.  Meet or exceed client expectations.   Keep your promises.  Monitor your choices,  for at some point you’ll need to respectfully decline certain offers because they do not appropriately reflect your brand.   As the late,  great Diana Vreeland,  former editor-in-chief at both Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue Magazines once said,  “Elegance is refusal.”

Coherent

In line with Ms. Vreeland’s famous quote,   choose to live your brand and that means you must learn to say no.  Your lifestyle: the associations that you join,  social comrades,  causes with which you align and skill sets that you promote must all reflect your brand and fit within the narrative.   Surround yourself with people who respect and support your life choices and who do not undermine your goals and values.   Carefully manage your time and resources in ways that will open the door and welcome your preferred future.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Marketing , , , , Leave a comment

What Business Are You Really In?

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Every business starts with a proposal to deliver certain products or services to those would be their customers.  The business model encompasses operations processes,  sales distribution and early stage marketing messages.  But over time,  the business owner or marketing team must achieve a more sophisticated knowledge of target customers and use that understanding to advance from exclusively dwelling on the functional aspects of items sold and the obvious benefits.

Successful products or services become  “brands”  by marketing the intangible essence that is associated with what they sell.  Brands connect with an unspoken motive of the customer and promote reputation,  image and aspirations.  Luxury brands like Neiman Marcus,  Chanel and Jaguar sell the image of wealth and status.  Nike sells the image of the focused,  independent,  athletic ideal self.  Puma,  another athletic shoe company,  avoids the athletic angle and sells urban cool along with their sneakers and other apparel.  Harvard Business School professor Theodore Levitt  (1925 – 2006)  described this phenomenon and its implications in  “Marketing Myopia” ,  his seminal article that in 1960 appeared in the Harvard Business Review.

Brands rise above being mere purveyors of products and services,  otherwise known as commodities.   Getting a handle on the  “je ne sais quoi”  unspoken  mission of your products or services as perceived by customers is the only way to achieve break-out success.  Delivering high-quality products and services via the optimal business model is how to build a following and earn a good reputation.  Being known as trustworthy and dependable are integral elements of building a brand.  But it is only the beginning.  Consider this: a film studio does not function to merely make and promote movies.  A film studio’s real business is entertainment.

So let’s figure out how to learn what business you are really in.  Why not start by teasing out the motives for doing business with you rather than a competitor?  Were you lucky or well-connected enough to persuade a powerful person to do business with you?  Does the coolest kid in class wear the clothing you sell?  The recommendations of thought leaders and other trusted sources are worth their weight in gold.  If a VIP gives you an assignment,  others will want to emulate that VIP and do business with you,  too.  Overwhelmingly,  people are followers and want to be seen where the  “in” crowd goes.

Keep that tendency in mind as you peel back another layer and decode the self-identity of your target customer and the image that your archetypal customer wants to project.  Get your arms around the social or professional impact of your products or services.  Who do your customers aspire to be,  whom do they emulate or identify with?  What is the underlying purpose of your product or service?

When you can decipher and describe the above,  you will discover the business you are really in.   Apply that knowledge and create marketing messages that resonate;  advertising choices that deliver the desired ROI;  design product packaging that customers respond to;  institute a pricing strategy that reflects the perceived value of your products and services;  and write a tag line that reflects the self-image,  aspirations and/or unspoken motives of your archetypal customers.

FYI here is a 1975 version of Theodore Levitt’s classic article  “Marketing Myopia”  http://www.sitesuite.com.au/files/marketingmyopia.pdf

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Business Strategy , , , Leave a comment

Howdy, Partner!

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It is said that two heads are better than one and that is often true.  When two people join forces to work on an important goal,  expertise and resources are shared and the goal is reached more quickly.  Moreover,  there is someone available to help make decisions,  someone to vent frustrations and celebrate victories with.  Human beings are social animals.  Most of us have an intimate partner in our life,  or would like one.   Many aspiring business owners and entrepreneurs would like to have a partner in their enterprise,  as well.

A life or business partner can bring many advantages to a relationship,  or can bring disaster.   Most business partnerships fail and nearly 50% of marriages end in divorce.  Your marriage partner and your business partner must each be chosen with care and an eye to the future.  Opposites may attract,  but they are usually unsustainable affairs.  Shared values,  goals,  priorities,  expectations,  vision for the enterprise and complementary skills are the ties that bind.

Before you start talking partnership with your presumed intended,  catalogue the resources that the business needs to reach and sustain profitability.  Consider what you are willing to give up to obtain those resources.  If you need start-up or expansion capital,  approaching a lending institution may be the best strategy.  If your financial projections indicate that business revenues generated will allow you to repay the borrowed money within 5 years and also your credit is good,  talk to your accountant and banker and figure out a loan strategy.  If specific expertise is what the business needs,  then write-up job specs and hire employees.

If money is the primary issue and you prefer to finance privately,  then some form of partnership is your money-raising strategy.  Calculate the optimal amount of capital investment required and ask your accountant or business attorney to estimate how much ownership you will likely have to relinquish to your investing partner.   If it appears that you cannot afford to keep at least 51%,   then consider taking on two partners and giving yourself controlling interest.  Never split 50 – 50,  to avoid becoming deadlocked on important decisions.  In my business plan writing workshop,  I emphasize that you have to know yourself when you’re in business.  Think objectively about how much of a presence of others in your business you can tolerate.  Your personality type may lead you to seek a limited or silent partner arrangement,  a partner who mostly wants to make money and believes in your ability to operate the business wisely.

However,  you may conclude that you need a general partner,  one who makes both a monetary investment and contributes expertise and business acumen.   You will then have to accept that there is more than one way to view challenges,  opportunities and risks and that decision-making will be shared.   Those realities are always big adjustments for the founding partner.  Additionally,  you and the partner must carve out your respective roles and responsibilities in the business.  Be sure also to address the amount of time the partner plans to contribute weekly.  Can you live with that?  The division of labor must be established and written into the partner agreement.   Check also the presumed partner’s financial history.   Do not form a partnership with one who carries heavy debt.

Finally,  include an exit strategy in the partner agreement.  Sometimes things don’t work out and someone wants out.  Protect the business and yourself with a partner buy-out option and provisions for the divorce,  illness,  or death of a partner.  Make sure you don’t wind up in business with an ex-spouse,  surviving spouse,  or the partner’s children.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Marketing , , , , Leave a comment

ID Your Target Customers

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Step One in evaluating the prospects of a business venture requires that you know who is likely to become a customer.  Here are 8 smart questions that will help you gauge whether you have a viable target market for your enterprise:

1.  Who will pay a premium price for my products or services?

  • Investigate how much business those who would be your closest competitors are doing and learn what motivates their customers to do business with them and find also pricing info,  if possible.
  • Assess your competitive advantages: do you possess a  “secret sauce”  that will make customers do business regularly and pay a little more?
  • Assess the value of your personal brand: who will do business with you because they value what you represent and do?

2.  Who has already done business with me?

  •  If your business is up and running,  growing your business often means persuading those who are already customers to do more business with you.  Which upgrades and extras to your service line might your current customers buy?
  • Speak with customers you know well and ask what adjustments in service,  features or delivery system would make their lives easier.
  • Design a survey and send it out to your mailing list and also add to your website and social media,  so that you can get more opinions and validate the findings of the customer Q & A.
  • Beta test new products and services with current customers,  to gauge their acceptance and refine the concept,  packaging,  marketing message,  delivery system,  price point, etc.

3.  Am I overestimating potential demand for my products and services?

  • Hire a marketing research firm to run a focus group to estimate the size of the market for your product or service.
  • Smaller budget holders should refer to numbers 1 and 2 and figure out how much business competitors are doing and if applicable,   ask current customers which new offerings would be useful to their organizations.

4.  Am I assuming that everyone values what I value?

  • Reality test your take on the priorities of your target market by asking them,  in face to face meetings or via surveys.  Read industry blogs to confirm how customers use similar products and services.
  • Find the thought leaders and listen to what they say about the need for what you plan to sell.  Without revealing your motive,  you can write in and ask questions.

5.  Does my business model match my target customers?

  • The business model is the blueprint for positioning your venture to make a profit.
  •  The ideal customer groups for your products and services must receive the right marketing message in the right way.  Products and services must be sold in the right way at the right price,  using the method of payment that customers expect.
  •  Design a business model that inspires trust and confidence and is user-friendly convenient.

6.  Who are my main competitors and how did they get started?

  • Study three or four close competitors and learn the back story of the founders.  What competitive advantages do they possess?
  • How long have those competitors been in business and what may have changed,  or remained constant,  in the business environment that allowed them to find success?
  • Define critical success factors for your venture.

7.  How will potential customers and I find each other?

  • Hair dressers,  manicurists and employees of consulting firms have the great advantage of being able to steal future clients from their former employers.  If you are employed in the industry in which you plan to open a business,  start now to strengthen relationships with those customers who might jump ship and go with you.
  • Learn how to reach your target customers.  Which organizations do they join,   which conferences do they attend,  which blogs or newsletters do they read,  does social media for business resonate with them and where should you advertise.

8.  Do you see opportunities to expand your target market?

  •  Eventually, it will become necessary to find ways to expand your business either vertically or horizontally. Stay abreast of happenings in the industry and maintain good communications with your customers to understand what you might offer in the future.
  • Can you create a niche market or two by tweaking what you have,  or offering it under another name and advertising in different media?

Thanks for reading,

Kim