Are you struggling to get more qualified prospects interested in your business?

If so, brand clarity could be the missing piece of the marketing puzzle.

Brand clarity is not just something you have. It’s a process that helps you communicate what you know about your business in a way that is easy for your target audience to understand.

To sell more of your products or services, you must prompt potential customers to act. Brand clarity makes all your messages more compelling. Most of all, it helps you stay laser-focused on your mission and on reaching the people you best serve.

After you read this article, you will know:

• How brand clarity bridges the communication gap between you and your target audience
• Why brand clarity makes all of your marketing and advertising more effective
• How to develop brand clarity for your small business

It’s How You Look at Things

There are over 7 billion people on the planet. That means there are over 7 billion unique perceptions of life.

People process everything they see, hear, and feel using a “filter”. This filter has been shaped by their experiences, past, and present.

What does this have to do with brand clarity?

I’m glad you asked.

If you want to get more prospects in your target audience to buy from you, they must see precisely how you can help them.

And they must see it immediately. Not tomorrow, not next week—now. Otherwise, your prospective customers will move on to a competitor and forget about you.

The business that connects with the prospect the fastest wins.

As the business owner, you are responsible for communicating your value quickly and effectively. Otherwise, you leave it up to the prospect to determine it for themselves.

Most of the time, what people think—their perception of you—won’t be accurate. Likewise, if your audience isn’t clear how you can help them, they won’t respond. Brand clarity bridges this communication gap between you and your target audience.

It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.
Henry David Thoreau

Brand Clarity Is the Foundation for a Compelling Message

Communication problems between businesses and their target audiences run rampant. Why?

Most small business owners jump straight into lead generation before developing brand clarity. They experiment with marketing messages, hoping to find something that works. In the process, they end up sending mixed signals that confuse their audience.

The most successful businesses have brand clarity before they start selling anything. They know exactly what to say and whom to say it to before they run the first ad. This clarity makes all marketing more effective.

Brand communication is the combination of activities that influence customers’ opinions of a company and its products.

Brand communication comes in many forms—written, spoken, or imagery (i.e., your logo)—all designed to build interest in your business.

Do you tweak messages on social media, websites, or ads, looking for anything that gets a response? We all have. And experimentation is acceptable if done correctly.

But many people in your audience have never heard of your business or are just getting to know you. So don’t get bored or impatient with your brand messaging. Most people will be seeing the brand or hearing our messaging for the first time.

The last thing you want to do is confuse your audience because a confused mind says no.

How to Get Brand Clarity

Now, I’m going to give you a framework to help you get brand clarity. Take your time with each question. The more thought you put into each one, the more brand clarity you’ll get.

1. Why does your business exist?

Your business has a purpose.

Why did you start?

Write it down. Try a few variations until you find one that flows and is easy to understand. Show it to ten or twenty people you trust and ask them for feedback.

The goal is to make sure that anyone can read what you have written and know precisely why you do what you do.

2. Why do you think your purpose is important?

This question is a follow-up to the first.

Why do you think people need what you offer?

Consider the problems your prospects have that you can solve. How do those problems make them feel every day of their lives? What does this problem prevent them from achieving?

Once your list is complete, pick the three most important ones.

The actual value of your business lies buried in this question.

3. What obstacles do your customers have that you can help them overcome?

Each one of us will encounter obstacles every time we set out to accomplish a goal. Your customers have barriers right now that are blocking their path.

Perhaps their obstacles are insecurities, such as low self-esteem or feelings of inadequacy. Maybe they’re confused about how to overcome their problems.

How does your product or service help them overcome physical and emotional obstacles?

Remember, obstacles are villains. Your customers are the hero of the story. You are the guide.

What can you share with the audience that positions you as the guide and helps them overcome the challenges they face?

4. Who are your best customers?

Now, who are the best candidates for your product or service?

Many businesses look for anyone who shows an interest in buying from them. But it would help if you focused instead on your best customers. These are the people you can help more than anyone else.

You can work with anyone you choose. But looking for the best customers improves the quality of your entire customer base over time.

Looking for your best customers is also the key to finding qualified prospects. Because you are intentional about whom you target, you will attract better customers.

Premium brands know that to help people at the highest level, they must find those who will benefit most from what they offer.

5. How do you transform your customers’ lives?

Emotions are powerful motivators. People buy the transformation you help them make.

People may tell you they want a new car. But if they only wanted “a car”, there wouldn’t be over 250 different models to choose from each year. So there’s more to the decision than meets the eye.

People buy the car that gets good gas mileage because it makes them feel responsible. They want the ones with higher safety ratings to protect their children. Others desire the luxury car because it makes them feel successful.

No matter how it looks on the surface, people buy the transformation—the emotional benefit.

What transformation does your product or service give customers?

6. What sets you apart?

You have lots of competitors. All of them make the same claims. So, why should anyone buy from you?

What makes you different?

You can’t think you know the answer to this question—you must be able to justify it. How?

Look over your top ten competitors. What do they promise customers? How do those compare to your promises?

What can you do that they aren’t?

7. What type of content do you enjoy creating?

Your audience will respond differently to each type of content.

Don’t force yourself to create a form of content you don’t enjoy. Why? Because if you don’t like doing it, you probably aren’t good at it.

It’s better to start developing content in a form you like. For example, if you enjoy writing, create blog posts. On the other hand, you might enjoy making videos.

It’s also true that your audience will prefer one form of content over another. But you can always repurpose the content in that format later.

8. What is your brand voice?

Each human being has a unique voice, and your business has one too.

Think about it: it’s not just what you say but how you say it. So, how do you want to communicate with your target audience?

Maybe your audience responds to a formal or academic tone. Others like a casual, friendly style.

Think about your audience. Who are they? What news outlets or social media channels do they use? Knowing what these are will help you create your brand voice.

But, as always, stay true to who you are. Your brand voice must be genuine to be effective.

Bonus question: What do you want people to say about your business when you aren’t around?

Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon, once said, “Your brand is what people say about you when you aren’t in the room.”

What someone says about you behind your back reveals what they think of you. The branding process allows you influence the impression you make.

Most businesses try to build a reputation by doing a good job for their customers. But shouldn’t you always do your best work? Besides, your target audience can’t know you do great work until they become customers and witness it firsthand.

Before people buy from you, they must decide if they know, like, and trust you. While you can’t completely control how they feel or what they think, you can use branding to influence their opinion.

Brand communication is the combination of activities that influence customers’ opinions of a company and its products.

What opinion do you want your audience to have of your business?

Write it down. Every message you put out into the world must express and reinforce this theme. This principle applies to your website, social media, ads, presentations, events, or any other point-of-contact.

Conclusion

Brand clarity is essential to compelling communication. Without it, you run the risk of confusing your audience with mixed or misguided messages. And a confused mind says no.

But with brand clarity, you can reach qualified prospects in your target audience. This process will help you attract more customers with less effort.

If you have a question or need help, email me personally at chris@goldenvineyardbranding.com

I’ll respond to your question and help you move to the next step, free and without any obligation.

Until next time,

Chris