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Of course, they’re all attractive and successful women. But they’re also attractive and successful brands.
Think about it. When you hear any of their names, you automatically know what you’re going to get. Kim Kardashian is all about fashion and glamour. Oprah is about love and living your best life. And Barbie is every little girl’s feminine ideal and a woman's fashionista. Each offers an expertise and is the face of their business.
So let me ask you - At your core, are you and your business a brand like Barbie, Kim, and Oprah?
Don’t worry if you’re not. Not all businesses are brands. You could be a product, a service, or a mission/movement.
Or, quite possibly, you’re a hybrid. Oprah is a hybrid; she’s a brand AND a mission. Barbie’s a hybrid, too. She’s a brand AND a product.
So think about you and your business and choose the category that most closely aligns with the ultimate vision you have for your business, and not necessarily the business as it stands today. I’m talking about the grand vision you initially had for your business, that Woohoo Within™ that spoke to you, guided you, and gave you permission to think BIG and share your innate gifts with the world.
Many of us have lost that initial vision, bogged down by the burdens of running a business, making money, and chasing clients.
Sound familiar? If so, it’s time to get re-engaged to your Woohoo Within™ and honor what you’re REALLY here to do.
So again, in the grand vision of your business, are you a brand, product, service, mission/movement, or a hybrid combination? And if you’re a hybrid, what percentage of your business is a brand? A product? A service? A mission/movement.
Why does it matter what you and your business are?
Because the way you communicate your brilliance depends very much on how you answer that question. It also tells you how you should be spending your time.
Products and Services
If your business is focused primarily on any particular product or service, your time should be spent on sales. But don’t be GROSS about it. (GROSS stands for Getting Really Offended by Selfish Selling. Here’s a blog I wrote about that.
Instead, lead with your unique selling proposition. Tell your customers about the benefits they get from buying your product or using your services. Use social media to engage with your customers, inviting them into your product or service world, the benefits they can expect, and how your particular product or service will change their lives. For you, it's all about sales.
Brand
If you’re a brand, you'll want to spend your time building a profitable platform. This may include getting booked on TV, landing speaking gigs, and sharing your expertise with the world in big and bold ways. Spend time defining your social persona and honing your expert status. The quickest and easiest way to establish your expertise is to become a content queen! Create valuable content and share it through blogging, videos, speaking, ezines and article syndication.
If you are a brand AND a product or service, you will want to market yourself as much as you sell your products and services. Think about Rachael Ray. She’s a brand and she has several products. If you watch her television show, you’ll see her cooking with her own brand of cookware. Jenny Craig is a brand and a service. You recognize the brand’s celebrity spokespeople, such as Valerie Bertinelli, Kirstie Alley, and Jason Alexander. And you most likely know that their service is geared towards weight loss including packaged meals (a product) and a health consultant (a service).
Mission/Movement
Finally, if you’re a mission/movement like Tory Johnson’s Spark & Hustle, your job is to build a community and find evangelists to enroll in your movement. Spend time on your messaging and the energetics surrounding your messaging because ultimately your goal is to engage, inspire, and enroll people in your mission so that they can help spread the word and be your evangelists.
If you are a brand AND a mission/movement, you will want to be sure everything you do – from the items you post on social media, to the clothes you wear to networking events, to how you communicate your message to the masses – fits your messaging and the energetics behind your messaging. Oprah is a brand and a movement. Her movement – living your best life – has a home when she launched the network OWN.
Remember, you can be a combination, but it’s important to know what combination you are so you can effectively communicate your message to the masses.
Got questions? Want to share what you and your business are? Post a comment here!
To build a profitable platform like Kim, Oprah, and Barbie, join my How to Build a Sustainable 6 Figure Platform teleclass on March 9th!
