Written by: Vickie Sullivan | August 18, 2015
Branding and Your Business
A lot of business owners use their thought leadership to stand out among their competitors. At 30,000 feet, this is a great idea. In tight markets, buyer’s choice becomes more subjective. Thought leadership can create the inside edge.
The biggest mistake many businesses make in their branding efforts is what I call the “orphans”. The owners will make thought leadership have so much to say that they don’t know what works and what doesn’t. Their perspective is buried in a website, an old book manuscript, and it’s hard to sort it all out.
Construction economist Richard Vermeulen had brilliant ideas about a hot topic (sustainability) in his industry (construction). The problem: in the mountain of information, there was no clear connection between his business in cost control and his brilliance in sustainability. There was no underlying theme to tie everything together.
At first, Richard hired me to get his book and thought leadership out there. What I found in my analysis: a killer connection between his manuscript and the brand for his business. This underlying theme creates messages that aligned all the moving parts of his business: growth plans, market strategy, sales and overall branding. Result: everything changed. His 15-year-old website was overhauled the right way the first time. (How often does that happen?) And his book became an Amazon best seller in the aeras where his best clients gather. Woo hoo!
Sometimes we are too close to our brilliance and can’t see the connections. Listen to his story. Then ask yourself, “What is the underlying theme that aligns my brand to my business strategy?”
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- Buyer Mentality and the B2B Market