A conversation I have been having recently with small businesses, is how to demonstrate a genuine and authentic business identity and values, while balancing the needs of ideal customers.
I often start with a brainstorming of words and phrases that truly represent the business. This can give lots of inspiration and guidance for your voice and content on social media and in communications as a whole – and helps counter “blank page syndrome” when you want to create something.
Plus, it helps customers know more about you than simply the product or service you offer.
As for much in life, my advice is to keep things real and authentic. It’s no good pretending to be one thing when it isn’t really what your business is about. You may admire clever marketing campaigns that use jokes or slang to communicate their irreverence, but if you are more of a traditional business (and the people who represent it are more traditional), then adopting that tone could just come across as … awkward.
Then the other part comes into play – your business or brand’s personality has to appeal to your ideal customer.
No matter how much you might want to attract a particular consumer, your brand’s personality just might not be talking to that particular person.
The solution? Make the customers who DO respond to your business’s identity your target (the easier option) …. or tweak your business identity so that it works for the customer you want.
This last option should really only be done if what is needed is a tweak o refocusing on existing parts of the identity, rather than a full-on personality change.
I have seen businesses struggle when they are desperately trying to attract a certain customer type that doesn’t fit their offering (eg. a restaurant that strives for fine dining customers but in fact appeals much more to casual family customers). Sometimes you have to accept where your sweet spot is and then just go for it wholeheartedly.
So what are your business’s unique characteristics? And what does your ideal customer look like? Matchmaking between these two things will bring you success in your marketing and in your revenue. If you know what your top 4 identifiers are for your business hit reply and tell me!
We talk a lot about this in the first 2 stages of my “Marketing Navigation System” where I guide businesses through a 5 step program which gets them out of overwhelm and onto a clear track for growing their business using marketing, with systems in place to make things work like clockwork for the future.