Brandmerry Blog Archives
4-Part Framework for a Simplified Online Business
Looking for a simplified way to build your business? What if I told you it could happen if you focus on one piece at a time over a 4-part system? I’m sharing all the details in today’s blog.
4-Part Framework for a Simplified Online Business
BY MICHELLE KNIGHT
I learned pretty quickly that the mainstream way of starting and growing a business wasn’t going to work for me.
I started my business with a one-month-old and a desire to leave my 9 to 5 within the year. As I grew my business while working full time I started to recognize the complexity of most business strategies. I made modifications as I went to scale my business to 6-figures.
Then, when my family sold everything to travel full time I made even more shifts to simplify my approach.
What I’ve learned along the way is that there is a simpler way to run your business and it comes down to implementing this 4-part framework.
And this framework isn’t just for people who travel, it’s designed for the woman who has a lot on her plate. You’re busy running a household, taking care of family, working your “other” jobs, you’re so ready for a simpler way to build a business.
Think of the framework as building blocks. Each one leads to another, if you skip one you’ll feel lost and overwhelmed, and that’s no way to grow a business.
By stripping away the access, just like in life, we can’t focus on the areas that yield the best results - this framework is all about that!
ENTREPRENEUR GROWTH PROBLEMS
Look, starting and running an online business can be hard. As we’ve mentioned previously things like a saturated market and imposter syndrome can really hold you back.
But, there’s another piece of the puzzle and that’s all the information online. It can be super easy to consume bits and pieces of information and try to piece it all together, but then you’re left with quite a few holes.
You might find yourself doing all the things, working for hours in your business, but experiencing little to no results.
Or taking in all the hodgepodge of information and questioning yourself and what you should be focused on to see results or your ability to build your business.
And worse, what I like to call SOS or Shiny Object Syndrome. You go down a path and then see something or hear something and think, “Wait let’s do that instead!”
These things are holding you back because not only are you doubting your ability to do it, but you’re also all over the place (said with love)!
The fastest way to grow is to create a path and give it dedication for at least 30 days. Based on your data, numbers, and feedback you can then pivot (you’ll see this when we talk about marketing below).
By having a clear framework to follow and repeat you’re able to simplify the entire process, optimize your time, and see results.
Ok, let’s get into it!
**If you want to watch the full video and details of the 4-part framework you can watch the video below.
LEVEL 1: BRAND FOUNDATIONS
Every brand needs to start here. These are the foundational pieces of your brand and business and integral in the overall growth and success.
This level includes identifying your niche, ideal customers, messaging, core offer(s), and the emotional or connection side of your brand.
The great news is this stage doesn’t have to be revisited often, if you put in the work now, but it does require work so people skip it. If you skip it you’ll find yourself constantly spinning your wheels and wondering what’s missing.
This stage should take 4 to 6 weeks to complete. I say this very specific timeline because one of the pitfalls of this level is that so many entrepreneurs never leave it.
They stay here rethinking and reworking all the details until they realized their one year into their business and haven’t made any money. This is why guidance at the foundational level is so important!
Remember, this stage is less about creating your logo, picking your colors, and designing your website, and more about the market research, becoming better at messaging and gaining clarity on your niche and offer.
If you want to scale your business, then the foundational pieces are key.
LEVEL 2: COMMUNITY GROWTH
Once you know who you are, who you want to attract, and what you want to offer, it’s time to build that community.
You have nothing if you don’t have someone to sell too and so many entrepreneurs, especially that first year in business make the mistake of assuming they’ll sell to no one - we all know it doesn’t work like that.
Here’s where you gain clarity on and design the method in which you’ll grow your community - the lead magnet and funnel.
When it comes to the lead magnet you want to create something that solves a problem and is in alignment with your core offer. I see so many entrepreneurs go too wide at this stage in an attempt to grow their community quickly, but then they are left with a large list of random people and no ideal clients (paying clients).
Some common mistakes to avoid at this stage are:
Being too general with your lead magnet/ freebie
Not solving a problem for your audience (no one needs more stuff)
Creating a resource that’s not wanted by your audience.
The goal is to attract and bring in your ideal customer, the one that is the best fit for your paid program.
From there, and during this level, you want to create your onboarding funnel or lead magnet funnel. Think of this as the conversation!
If you were at a party and met someone, who might be interested in your services, what would you want them to know about you, your work, and your offers?
So many entrepreneurs make this crazy complex in the beginning, but it’s really just about making sure every person that joins your community knows who you are and can determine in those first few automated emails if you’re the right fit for them!
At this level, once you have these two pieces in place you begin to move into the goal of daily community growth. That’s why this stage is so important because it gives you the tools you need to do just that.
LEVEL 3: CLIENT ATTRACTION
Continuing with our building blocks we enter into level three. Now, level three is where marketing or client attraction starts to happen in full force.
With the simplified business model, every day you’re focused on three things:
Growing your community
Nurturing your community
Making a sale
So, you never fully move through this level, you are just constantly testing, tweaking, and scaling.
This level can look like utilizing social media, blogging, Pinterest, SEO, Youtube, podcasting and so much more.
Personally, I love evergreen types of content as a way to build my community and nurture my existing one. Evergreen content means content that keeps performing, it doesn’t disappear after a few hours, but rather continues to drive traffic and bring in leads.
In my business, this is blogging + Pinterest, which also gives me a major boost with my SEO. So my leads are coming in from Pinterest and Google Searches mostly.
No matter what you choose, all though I HIGHLY recommend evergreen content, you need traffic. Consistent traffic and leads entering your funnel and into your community is key to growing a business.
It ensures you always have someone to sell too!
The key here is consistently creating content, whatever that means for you. And remember, consistency doesn’t mean posting daily (that’s not simple), it means finding a schedule that works for you at this stage and sticking to it.
If your current approach to level three feels exhausting because you're posting daily on Instagram or engaging for 30-minutes every day in Facebook Groups it’s time to rethink your strategy. Consider one of the evergreen platforms above and the art of repurposing to optimize your time and content strategy.
Remember, this level is going to expand and grow as your business grows!
LEVEL 4: AUTHENTIC SELLING
At this stage, you have people coming into your community and inquiring about your services which is amazing! Now, it’s time to improve your conversions.
Think of it like this; if you have a landing page for your lead magnet and it’s converting at 20% would you choose to scrap the entire thing and start over or make some small adjustments and improve the conversion to 50%?
Hopefully, you picked adjustments because it’s the simpler and less time-consuming approach. Well, sales are the same.
You have to start somewhere and so many entrepreneurs start worrying about how they are going to sell, the conversation or script, etc.. rather than focusing their energy on Levels 1-3.
You need these levels to get people on the phone with you or in your DM’s and then you can fine-tune it from there.
Authentic selling looks like improving your sales conversations, your client onboarding and client retention - because we all know it’s easier and cheaper to keep an existing client than to find a new one.
CONCLUSION
I hope you’ve picked up on the theme here, it’s not about doing more or working harder it’s about making smarter decisions.
I witness so many entrepreneurs get too ahead of themselves. They're worried about the sales call and how they’ll do before they even have someone interested in chatting.
They’re obsessed with their website and making it perfect, but don’t have a marketing strategy to then drive traffic to the website.
The reality is driving traffic to a lead magnet landing page, in the beginning, is a better use of your time!
As you’re thinking of your own business and some of the holes that might have been exposed while working through this framework, I want to invite you to check out Roadmap to Freedom.
This exact 4-part framework is what makes up my signature group program designed to support you in making money on your terms and create a life of abundant experiences and impact.
Learn more at brandmerry.com/freedom.
Watch the full video training + some insider tips below.
- FREE GIFTS YOU'LL LOVE -
DISCOVER YOUR BRAND STORY IN UNDER 5 MINUTES
LEARN HOW TO WRITE AN ‘ABOUT ME’ PAGE THAT CONVERTS
MAP OUT 30 DAYS OF CONTENT IN UNDER AN HOUR
- READ THE LATEST POSTS -
MEET MICHELLE
Hey there, I'm Michelle Knight and I an online branding and marketing consultant for female entrepreneurs.
I believe in the power of storytelling and using that superpower to brand and market yourself online...oh and to set yourself free.
I'm obsessed with living a life of freedom, so much so, that my family and I now travel full-time while running my business from the road.
This blog serves as a home base for all things branding, marketing, content creation and more.
How to Handle Imposter Syndrome as a Small Business Owner
Ever struggle with imposter syndrome as a female entrepreneur? The reality is you’re not along and while it might ever go away completely there are four things you can do to build up your resilience and get to work.
How to Handle Imposter Syndrome as a Small Business Owner
BY MICHELLE KNIGHT
You're here for a reason.
You saw the title and you're like, this is something I need support with.
Now one of the things I want to share with you is I’m not promising to rid you of your feeling of imposter syndrome because I don’t think it ever fully goes away.
What I do believe, as with anything mindset related, you have to actively be flexing your muscle to move through something difficult. It’s not that things stop happening to you.
It's not that the feelings stop coming. It's not that you ever stop, comparing yourself to somebody else. It's not that you ever don't feel like there's not a space for you or the market never feels saturated, or your money mindset doesn't come into play and is like, “You can't do that!”
It's not that those things stop happening.
It's that you become stronger, and your mind becomes stronger and as a result, you can move through those things quickly and with confidence, and they don't affect you for long periods of time.
Remember as an entrepreneur your goal is to constantly be growing as you work towards new things, so you’re probably going to feel a bit at some time, but what I want you to have are ways to process and move through it quickly so you can continue taking action in your business.
If you want to skip reading the post and watch the video below, I’m sharing the same tips, plus a little inspiration around handling competition.
IMPOSTER SYNDROME
Imposter Syndrome was first discovered in 1978 by psychologists Pauline Rose Clance and Suzanne Imes and stems from the idea that you’ve only succeeded due to luck, and not because of your talent or qualifications.
As you can imagine this impact two groups of people a great deal:
+ Perfectionist. Perfectionist’s set ridiculously high expectations, and this is coming from a recovering perfectionist herself. Perfectionists often feel like they’re never good enough or measure up to their own expectations.
On the flip side perfectionist also do everything they can to avoid shame or embarrassment so putting themselves out there in a situation, where they could possibly look like they don’t belong is the worse (again speaking from experience here).
+ Experts and Leaders. Those that are considered an expert or leader, think influencers, coaches, mentors, teachers, might feel as if they need to know everything before moving on.
They spend their time-consuming information, rather than taking action because they never feel ready or good enough to move forward.
As you can probably see, these feelings don’t work well with being an online entrepreneur. As entrepreneurs 90% of the things you will do have to come from experience. It’s one of the golden rules of marketing...test, test, test and then evaluate your results to move forward.
You can’t possibly test if you’re not taking action.
If you let your inner feelings of being an imposter run the show, you're not putting yourself out into the world.
You're not testing things, you're not marketing, you're not fine-tuning your voice.
You're not finding your authenticity, you're not growing a community.
And as I've shared time and time again, those things are absolutely necessary when you are launching, running and wanting to scale an online business, there's no way around it.
4 WAYS TO MOVE THROUGH IMPOSTER SYNDROME
1. REFRAME YOUR THOUGHTS
When you find yourself having these feelings of imposter syndrome - feeling like you can’t do it, or you need to overdeliver to be worthy, or that you don’t fit in - I want you to stop and think about how you are acting?
As a result of the thoughts that are going through your head or the feelings that you have, what are your responses and then how do they manifest themselves in action or inaction?
Remember, it's not just what action you're taking, but it can also be what action you are avoiding. You might find yourself constantly postponing, postponing and postponing until it’s ready, but we know that being ready is totally up to you.
When you recognize these thoughts and recognize the things that are happening you can build up your awareness and that muscle to move through it quickly so that when that happens again, you can be like, “Oh, wait, wait, I know what's going on here. And I'm going to take a couple of minutes to work through this!”
2. ASSIGN YOUR VOICE
This is a little trick, one I’ve used while working through my recovery of perfectionism, and that’s separating my inner perfectionist or in this case the feeling of being an imposter, from my true identity.
I suggest giving your inner critic a name.
And the next time you hear that little voice that says, “You don't belong here,” you can separate her from you.
Give her a name. Talk to her and tell her, “Not today, Sally, I don't have time for you to show up today. I've got things to do!”
So this can be one of the things that you do to recognize that this isn't you, this voice isn't who you are, this is a small little voice in your head that does not control the outcome or does not control your success.
3. RECOGNIZE YOU ARE WORTHY
You don't need to justify anything.
You don't need to justify why you charge what you charge.
You don't need to justify why you do what you do.
You don't need to justify anything because you are worthy as you are.
And you can show up as you are at this moment. If you are changing who you are, and you are changing your voice, then you're missing the point of building a personal brand, you're missing the whole entire mark.
The whole point of a personal brand is to show up as your true self and build community around what you have to offer.
But people don't just buy the products and services, they're paying attention to you. They're here for you.
If someone sells something similar to what you sell, why did they choose you? Because of the personal brand.
And one of the best things that you can do for your business is to own your voice. Practice putting your voice out there.
In order to do this, you have got to start to recognize that you are worthy.
If you don’t feel it, spend your time working on your mindset around your worthiness. One of my favorite tricks is to put reminders everywhere around you, post it in your bathroom, your office, your can and remind yourself every single day that you are worthy of all of the success.
4. GET SUPPORT
Having someone in your corner who understands when you’re feeling like an imposter can be one of the best strategies for an online entrepreneur. Find yourself a community, a business bestie or a coach that can support you when you’re feeling as if you’re not good enough.
These feelings can keep you from having a successful business, so it’s important that you don’t ignore them or you’ll find yourself feeling stuck in your business for an extended period of time.
CONCLUSION
Imposter syndrome is just one of the many feelings that might come up for you as you build your online business. It’s important that with every strategy you implement you also take the time to build up your resilient mindset.
I recognized this need very early on when I also felt intense feelings of imposter syndrome, comparisonitis and perfectionism, so I got support.
It’s one of the many reasons we have a Mindset Coach inside of my signature program Roadmap to Freedom.
Roadmap to Freedom is a live 90-day program for the new and aspiring female entrepreneur ready to simplify the process of building an online business that allows her to make money on her terms and create a life of abundant experiences and impact.
Doors open October 2020.
If you’re looking for not only the mindset support to grow your business, but the step by step strategies I’ve taught over one hundred women, through this program, I invite you to learn more about Roadmap to Freedom at brandmerry.com/freedom.
WATCH THE FULL VIDEO AND SOME BONUS TIPS BELOW.
- FREE GIFTS YOU'LL LOVE -
DISCOVER YOUR BRAND STORY IN UNDER 5 MINUTES
LEARN HOW TO WRITE AN ‘ABOUT ME’ PAGE THAT CONVERTS
MAP OUT 30 DAYS OF CONTENT IN UNDER AN HOUR
- READ THE LATEST POSTS -
MEET MICHELLE
Hey there, I'm Michelle Knight and I an online branding and marketing consultant for female entrepreneurs.
I believe in the power of storytelling and using that superpower to brand and market yourself online...oh and to set yourself free.
I'm obsessed with living a life of freedom, so much so, that my family and I now travel full-time while running my business from the road.
This blog serves as a home base for all things branding, marketing, content creation and more.
3 Ways to Stand Out in a Saturated Market
Does it feel like everyone is talking about the same thing? Do you wonder how you stand out in a saturated and crowded market? I’m sharing three ways to stand out in your marketing, attract your dream clients and own your space online.
3 Ways to Stand Out in a Saturated Market
BY MICHELLE KNIGHT
The saturated market.
The crowded marketplace.
If you’re anything like me, in my first year of business, you probably felt (or feel) that there are a lot of people talking about the same thing as you!
Maybe you’ve looked around at your competition and felt like a tiny fish in a big sea of successful entrepreneurs.
You might see someone post something similar to you and get more engagement and question if you’re doing anything right.
I see this happen the most in the niching down process, typically in the very beginning, when we're like, “Alright, what is it? What’s my market? What do I call myself? What’s my title? Who do I want to work with? How will I introduce myself?”
This feeling can also come up when you're creating an offer.
I see entrepreneurs who really get wrapped up in the fact that somebody already has this offer that they want to create.
The reality is there are a lot of offers out there, but just because someone has a similar offer doesn’t mean they teach it in the same way as you will, or serve the same audience.
What I’m trying to say is no matter what stage of business you’re in you’re most likely going to experience this feeling that there isn’t space for you.
So today, I want to share three ways to stand out!
A SATURATED MARKET
Having done this for four years, I have seen this fear of fitting in or this fear of not being able to stand out, keep women that I have been in programs with from building successful businesses and I've watched it keep my students from it as well.
Because the reality is, this isn't a strategy thing.
If you don't believe that you have space in your industry if you don't believe that you belong here, that you can be successful in your niche that you can attract the people that you want to attract - it won't matter what new cool strategy or course or thing that you implement.
So you have to believe that there is space for you.
Because there is space for you.
I mean, statistically, there are a lot of people in the world. There are so many people that need your services, that need your products, that need your offerings, that haven't found their person yet, haven't found their brand, yet.
This happens to me daily, I get messages from women that say, “I've been looking for branding advice. I've been all over the internet, and I haven't found somebody that resonated with me. And then I found your website.”
This is why it’s so important to show up and own your space, even if there are a lot of people!
It’s not about the people already doing the work, they don’t dictate your success!
YOU DO and so does your marketing!
3 WAYS TO STAND OUT IN A SATURATED AND CROWDED MARKET
1. IDENTIFY AND OWN YOUR STORY
There are so many reasons why I love story work and incorporating storytelling into your marketing, but one of the reasons it’s so powerful is what it gives you.
Identifying and owning your story allows you to tap into who you are, what makes you different, what you value, your mission and ALL of this is what sets you apart from others.
Owning these parts of your story and incorporating them into every aspect of your business, especially marketing, which is essentially where you want to stand out is key.
At the beginning of my business, storytelling was all I had.
I’d share stories as they happened, as I built my business, as I made mistakes.
I’d share more of who I was to build trust with my growing community and it worked.
I’ve said it many times but the thing that separates you from someone with a similar audience, similar offer is your story. This is why the first module in my program Roadmap to Freedom is all about your story and niche.
If there's one thing that sets you apart from somebody else in your niche, somebody else in your industry, it's your specific experiences.
It's the things that have happened to you, for you in your life, the journey that you've been led on because no two people have the same story.
And yet so many entrepreneurs miss out on this golden opportunity to share their story as a way to separate themselves from the “competition.”
The beautiful thing about your story is it’s already inside of you, you don’t need to do anything special to start sharing it, except take the time to identify the key pieces that are relatable to your audience.
2. IDENTIFY YOUR AUTHENTIC VOICE
86 percent of consumers say authenticity is important when deciding what brands they like and support. (Stackla, 2019)
People want to buy from authentic and transparent brands more now than ever before.
Why? Because the market is crowded.
We think the markets are crowded as the one selling, think about what your ideal customer thinks as the one who is purchasing?
They start looking for something to solve their problem and then they have all of these options and they're trying to figure out who to choose.
Who do you think they're going to be pulled to?
The person that is going to solve their problem of course, but more specifically the person who seems relatable, trustworthy and authentic, right?
I was having a conversation with a Roadmap to Freedom client the other day on our group call and she was expressing this feeling of not standing out, of just contributing to the noise.
We chatted about her methods, framework and ultimately who she was.
Finally, I said, “Why did you decide to work with me?”
She and the other ladies rattled off a bunch of reasons why each of them decided to invest in my brand and program, each of them saying something different.
That’s because it’s not one thing that gets everyone on board; it's the combination of you owning your story and sharing your authentic voice with the world and your ideal customers picking up on the pieces that resonate most with them.
It comes from understanding your story, but it also comes with time.
You're going to step into your authenticity, the more that you show up and create content.
The more that you show up, the more those pieces of your personality will start to shine.
When I started my business, I was doing live video from the very beginning.
I’d read all kinds of resources that told me how to say hi, when to make the pitch, how to prepare, how to write my script, what lighting and background to use.
And every time I’d feel like something was off and not ME.
I started to worry less about the script and the background and started showing up when I was inspired. I’d go live in the car, on walks, with a kid on my lap, whatever I needed to show up for my community and not worry about what it “looked” like.
This style still serves me today! I know I have something to share, I’m excited and I let that speak for itself and my audience doesn’t need a perfect background with perfect lighting to get what they need from it.
Is it for everyone?
Nope.
But it’s for my people and ideal customer.
One of the best things that you can do in finding your authentic voice and finding your authenticity is to show up consistently, find the quirks and things that make you...you.
But consistently showing up you’ll start to see what people are responding to and you’ll give more of that.
When I would live stream with Cal, all my mompreneurs loved it, so I kept going. Something I was scared would make me look less than professional, ended up being one of my greatest assets.
3. FILL THE GAP IN THE MARKET
One of the best things you can do in a crowded market is to fill the gaps.
If you see everyone is talking about the same thing and doing the same thing, how can you offer an industry disrupt?
If you see people are asking for something and it’s not getting delivered, how can you create something for them?
For example, branding. That's my specialty, and there are a lot of people who teach branding, it’s a very big market.
When I first started teaching branding, I was trying to do all the things that everyone else was doing, and what I felt so many people needed based on the offers currently in the market.
But there was this group of people who are talking specifically about personal branding. They wanted to know how to show up, how to share their story, how to be the face of the brand.
So in 2019, I created You! Branded, a course specifically centered around personal branding and helping female entrepreneurs build their personal brand. I filled the gap and owned the space.
When I knew I wanted to revamp my program Roadmap to Freedom, I started to think about the industry and all the people who have programs and courses supporting new and aspiring entrepreneurs in building their business.
I thought about the gaps, specifically the marketing gaps, where people were tired of showing up in Facebook Groups or relying on social media to grow their new business, so I filled the gap.
Roadmap to Freedom offers support with SEO, Pinterest, just to name a few that serve the business owners who are looking for a more streamlined and simple approach to marketing.
So it doesn't mean that your course, program or your offer has to be completely different. It's finding those little holes and filling them.
Filling in the gap gives you the marketing advantage.
So when you're thinking about your offer, your system or how you solve the problem for your audience, think about the gaps.
Are there any gaps in your industry that you feel confident in filling? Because it will pay off.
Then if you can communicate to them, why this gap is there, and how you fill it, even better!
CONCLUSION
What’s so cool about focusing on these three pieces first is that they're already inside of you.
Take the time to identify them, find the gaps and share your authenticity with others and then add in all the fun marketing strategies (because there are a lot)!
Inside my program, Roadmap to Freedom I teach female entrepreneurs how to set this strong foundation for their business, own their story and authenticity and build a revenue-generating business around it.
Roadmap to Freedom is a live 90-day program for the new and aspiring female entrepreneur who is ready to simplify the process of building an online business that allows her to make money on her terms and create a life of abundant experiences and impact.
And doors are opening on October 18, 2020.
If you’re interested in learning more about Roadmap to Freedom and joining the waitlist, where you’ll be the first to know about special bonuses, including 1:1 coaching from me, you can visit brandmerry.com/freedom.
P.S. Take the NEW Business Roadmap Quiz. Discover your next three strategic business moves and customized business roadmap at brandmerry.com/roadmap.
WATCH MONDAYS WITH MICHELLE EPISODE 27: STANDING OUT IN A SATURATED AND CROWDED MARKET, BELOW
Mondays With Michelle happens every Monday at 4 pm CST. Sign up for notifications so you don’t miss any future episodes at MondayWithMichelle.com
- FREE GIFTS YOU'LL LOVE -
DISCOVER YOUR BRAND STORY IN UNDER 5 MINUTES
LEARN HOW TO WRITE AN ‘ABOUT ME’ PAGE THAT CONVERTS
MAP OUT 30 DAYS OF CONTENT IN UNDER AN HOUR
- READ THE LATEST POSTS -
MEET MICHELLE
Hey there, I'm Michelle Knight and I an online branding and marketing consultant for female entrepreneurs.
I believe in the power of storytelling and using that superpower to brand and market yourself online...oh and to set yourself free.
I'm obsessed with living a life of freedom, so much so, that my family and I now travel full-time while running my business from the road.
This blog serves as a home base for all things branding, marketing, content creation and more.
Relationship Marketing (or Human-to-Human Marketing) in 2020 and Beyond
There’s a new and improved way of marketing. Old traditional strategies and tactics are out, it’s all about relationship marketing in 2020 and beyond. What is relationship marketing? Why is it important? How do you use it in your marketing strategies? Let’s dive into it on today’s blog.
Relationship Marketing (or Human-to-Human Marketing) in 2020 and Beyond
BY MICHELLE KNIGHT
Relationships.
Not only are they essential to our everyday life, but also our marketing.
When is the last time you thought about the relationship you were building with your online audience?
Is relationship building a part of your everyday strategy as an online brand and business owner?
If not, it needs to be!
Relationship marketing is the goal as an online brand, it’s not about the instant purchases although those are amazing, it’s about the recurring customers, the loyal fans and the audience members that need a little bit more before buying.
If we’re only worried about the instant and single sale, we miss out on a lot of money!
Bain & Company found that increasing customer retention by just five percent can increase company profits by a whopping 25 percent.
And that acquiring new customers is estimated to be 5 to 25 times more expensive than retaining current ones.
Relationship marketing plays a role in new client onboarding, client retention and the overall success of your business.
Let’s explore it a little more!
WHAT IS RELATIONSHIP MARKETING?
Relationship Marketing, also referred to as H2H (Human-to-Human marketing) is focused on one thing, building a relationship between the brand and the consumer.
It is the new age of marketing if you can call it new. It’s no longer acceptable to rely on traditional marketing setups like B2C (Business-to-Consumer) or B2B (Business-to-Business) and has moved to a Human-to-Human marketing approach.
Relationship marketing builds on the idea that every transaction comes down to a human buying something from another human, when you think of marketing and specifically selling in this way it shifts the way you go about sharing your products and services to a more emotional and empathetic approach focused on connection.
Added bonus not only does this increase conversion rates, but it also increases client retention!
In relationship marketing your strategy becomes 100% about building trust.
It’s about the emotional connection your audience has to your brand, it puts an emphasis on Brand Affinity and as the brand and marketer, it puts more emphasis on storytelling.
This switch is much more effective than the “traditional” way of advertising and marketing your products and services, which can sometimes feel disconnected and inauthentic to your audience.
86 percent of consumers say that authenticity is a key factor when deciding what brands they like and support (Stackla, 2019)
WHY RELATIONSHIP MARKETING IS IMPORTANT AS AN ONLINE BRAND
As we’ve already covered a million times, relationship marketing is about relationships, so with that in mind, there is a two-fold approach.
Can you guess what it is? You probably guessed it...relationship marketing comes down to you and the consumer or potential client.
Let’s first talk about you (aka the brand). No matter if you work for a company, or more likely have an entrepreneurial business (possibly a personal brand) there is a human(s) running the show.
The idea is that the human(s) become the face, voice and connection between the audience and the products. It’s important to focus on creating content that showcases the values of the brand, connects emotionally to the consumer, and shares great stories.
It becomes more about quality over quantity, tieing every single piece of content back to the question, “How does this build a relationship and trust with my audience?”
The other side of the equation is your audience. Remember, you’re talking to a real human on the other end of your emails, social media posts and videos. This can be so easy to forget as we’re living in an age of automation.
However, you can’t automate human connection!
Think about how you as a consumer hope to engage with a brand, actually take it a step further, how do you like to interact with a friend? My guess is if the only communication you had with them was an automated/ canned response you’d peace out!
We often overlook the fact that our potential customers are real people, with real lives, looking for real connections.
At the end of the day, humans want to be seen, heard, and understood, and as a brand, you have the ability to do just that through your marketing efforts.
From a marketing standpoint when you can focus on building a solid relationship through your marketing efforts you’ll build trust with your audience much quicker than if you're ignoring the struggles and desires of your audience.
Relationships build trust and trust is what leads to sales.
81 percent of consumers said that they need to be able to trust the brand in order to buy from them (Edelman, 2019)
3 WAYS TO IMPROVE RELATIONSHIP MARKETING BETWEEN YOU AND YOUR AUDIENCE
1. BE CONVERSATIONAL
We already talked about the friend element above, but let’s dive into it a bit further. When you’re speaking to a friend, you’re typically casual, you’re more conversational and my guess you sound like a real human.
Yet, so many online brands forget this simple strategy when they are posting or creating content for the internet. Much of this comes from a preconceived idea of what success means or how we should be showing up online, but this facade can be impacting your ability to build relationships with your audience.
“People can smell inauthenticity!” - my girl Michelle Obama
And it’s true, we’ve seen this time and time with large online brands.
Your goal.
Show up.
Be real.
Focus on the conversations.
A great way to do this is by inviting your audience to have a conversation with you. Encourage people to comment, message you, or send an email and then respond - I know what a concept!
And we’re sitting here rolling our eyes thinking, “Of course we respond!” but think about bots for 5 seconds and then tell me that every online marketer gets this concept...they don’t.
Again, so many entrepreneurs are striving for automation over the connection and it’s hurting.
Say no to BOTS!
2. BUILD RELATIONSHIPS IN YOUR EMAIL FUNNEL
Ok, I know I said you can’t automate connection and I still stand by that, but of course, as a growing online brand, we need a little automation.
One of my favorite places for automation is in the new subscriber email sequence. While many entrepreneurs go into building their email funnel/ email sequence/ lead magnet sequence, call it what you want, with an emphasis on selling we should really be focusing on relationships.
Use this opportunity to introduce yourself, your mission, your values and be of service to your audience. This is a great place to provide high-value content to once again build trust.
79 percent of people say that user-generated content highly impacts their purchasing decisions. (Stlacka, 2019)
3. SHARE STORIES IN YOUR MARKETING
Storytelling my love language, but seriously I talk about storytelling a lot over here on the Brandmerry Blog because it’s so powerful as a marketing strategy. It’s one of the fastest ways to build relationships and trust with your audience and is so freaking fun.
If you’re not familiar with storytelling in business, check out this post here.
Storytelling can…
+Introduce the human side of your brand by sharing your founder story
+Give your audience a glimpse into the behind-the-scenes of your brand and business
+Introduce multiple dimensions to your brand, so it becomes less about just the products you offer and more about the brand as a whole
+Help your audience remember your content
+Create an emotional connection between the consumer and your brand
And most importantly storytelling is an excellent way to show empathy for your audience and the problem you solve. Empathy is so crucial when it comes to build relationships and therefore is a must for online brands who are excited and eager to become pros at relationship marketing - hey that’s you, right?!
If you’re wondering where to start with storytelling you can check out 5 Examples of Brand Storytelling to Incorporate into Your Marketing here.
CONCLUSION
A note about authenticity.
It’s time we take back authenticity! It’s become such a freaking buzz word and we’re finding so many brands are living outside of authenticity.
Over here at Brandmerry HQ, we believe that authenticity is the alignment of personality, ideals, and appearance in all aspects of your life. If I meet you in person and you’re way different than how you “appear” online there’s a misalignment with your authenticity.
Authenticity might be a buzzword, but it’s important and crucial to marketing!
Remember that statistic from above?
86 percent of consumers say that authenticity is a key factor when deciding what brands they like and support (Stackla, 2019)
As you’ve seen in this post all of it comes back to authentically showing up online and connecting with your audience on a human to human level.
So check yourself, how authentic are you being with your brand and marketing?
Is there a misalignment?
Are you acting like someone you feel you should be to make money online?
If so, take the steps to get back into alignment with your authenticity and focus on building relationships with your growing audience.
BONUS
So much of this authenticity comes back to the foundations of your brand. How your brand voice was established at the very beginning!
Inside my free Build a Better Brand Method class, I share the top three mistakes entrepreneurs make when it comes to building their personal brand and the 3-part framework to build moving forward.
If you haven’t attended this class, it’s a must listen to. Sign up for the next available time at brandmerry.com/brandmasterclass.
P.S. If you made it this far, good for you! Let’s take it a step further and dive into your branding as a way to build relationships. If you haven’t already make sure to watch my free class on The Build a Better Brand Method.
It’s a free 60-minute class for female entrepreneurs looking to build a strong personal brand that supports them in standing out online, creating a stream of high-value content, and build a community of fans that leads to a revenue-generating business.
Sign up for the class at brandmerry.com/brandmasterclass.
- FREE GIFTS YOU'LL LOVE -
DISCOVER YOUR BRAND STORY IN UNDER 5 MINUTES
LEARN HOW TO WRITE AN ‘ABOUT ME’ PAGE THAT CONVERTS
MAP OUT 30 DAYS OF CONTENT IN UNDER AN HOUR
- READ THE LATEST POSTS -
MEET MICHELLE
Hey there, I'm Michelle Knight and I an online branding and marketing consultant for female entrepreneurs.
I believe in the power of storytelling and using that superpower to brand and market yourself online...oh and to set yourself free.
I'm obsessed with living a life of freedom, so much so, that my family and I now travel full-time while running my business from the road.
This blog serves as a home base for all things branding, marketing, content creation and more.
BRAND AFFINITY: WHAT IS IT AND HOW DO YOU IMPROVE IT
Have you ever wondered why some brands resonate with you so much better than others? Or, why you find yourself coming back to a brand over and over again because of the connection you feel? It’s Brand Affinity! Learn what it is and how to improve it for your business on the blog.
Brand Affinity: What Is It and How Do You Improve It?
BY MICHELLE KNIGHT
Have you ever wondered why some brands resonate with you so much better than others?
Or, why you find yourself coming back to a brand over and over again because of the connection you feel?
Me too, that was until I learned about Brand Affinity.
Turns out I had been focused on building Brand Affinity for years, just didn’t have a name for it, but this secret sauce is something every online brand should work towards (more on why in a minute).
The beautiful thing about Brand Affinity is that it doesn’t have to take years to build trust. We often think that building trust with our audience takes a lot of time, and for some it does depending on where they are in the buying process, but it can happen within in minutes.
The tips I’m sharing with you in this blog will give you tools to start building Brand Affinity today, so you can get started on your way in building a deeper relationship with your audience.
Let’s start at the beginning.
WHAT IS BRAND AFFINITY?
Brand Affinity is when a consumer believes a particular brand shares the same values as them.
It’s deeper than a knowledge of the brand, brand awareness, and begins to build the connection between consumer and brand on a more personal and emotional level.
This connection is what allows you, as the brand, to not only stand out online but keep your audience coming back time and time again.
Remember purchase decisions come down to trust.
“If someone likes you they’ll listen to you, if they trust you they’ll do business with you!” - Zig Ziglar
Building this trust is necessary when building an online brand in 2020 and beyond because consumers are looking for brands that they can trust.
As more generations become part of movements and make changes in their personal lives they’re looking for brands that share those values and go even further to provide support for those values as well.
When you build brand affinity with your audience you increase the likelihood that they will purchase your service or product, you create a consumer base that sticks around for the long haul (hello community) and your audience is more likely to refer others to your brand.
I don’t know about you, but that sounds like a sweet deal.
BRAND AFFINITY IN MARKETING
In a few minutes, I’m going to share with you five ways to increase your brand affinity, but there is one strategy that is essential when it comes to marketing your business and that’s the power of storytelling.
The reality is you can’t just post your values every single day on social media, but you want people to understand them.
You can’t share your mission point-blank in every email, but you want your audience to understand it.
This is where storytelling becomes your secret weapon in marketing.
Through strong storytelling, you can showcase your values and mission daily through your brand messaging. Yes, that’s right storytelling should be incorporated into every aspect of your marketing.
Want to learn all the ins and outs of storytelling in business? My Tell Better Stories Mini-Course has your name written all over it. Learn more at brandmerry.com/stories
Storytelling gives you the ability to not only share relevant stories that showcase your values and mission (hello, Brand Affinity) but give you the tools to begin building deeper relationships with your audience.
These deeper relationships and connection are why our audiences trust us, buy from us and keep coming back.
It’s not enough to just have strong Brand Awareness, someone’s knowledge of your brand, you have to go deeper. The truth is, there are a lot of people offering something similar to you, multiple ways for a consumer to solve their problem, but storytelling and specifically Brand Affinity makes your brand...their brand.
5 WAYS TO INCREASE YOUR BRAND AFFINITY
I know you’re wondering, “Michelle, aside from storytelling how can I increase Brand Affinity with my community?”
Well, I’m so glad you asked!
I know storytelling can feel complex, I’ve included some resources below to support you with this, but I want you to be able to start TODAY. So, below you’ll find five simple ways to improve your Brand Affinity almost immediately.
1 | SHARE YOUR BRAND VALUES
Seems simple enough right? Well, not enough brands are identifying the values of their brand and therefore aren’t sharing them. How do you expect someone to experience Brand Affinity, shared values, if you yourself don’t know your brand values.
So, if you haven’t already identified yours now is the time to start.
I suggest thinking of the values you personally hold and how those connect to your brand.
What values do you want to share between you and your consumer, it will be a lot easier to build a business you love if you attract the right people.
For instance, some of my brand values are:
+ Authenticity
+ Transparency
+ Care and Attention to Detail
+ Reduce the overwhelm
+ The desire for our living a Freedom lifestyle
I showcase these through my marketing, every email, photo, etc is focused on attracting people who share the same values.
TAKE ACTION: Identify your core values and then share them.
The simplest thing to do is post them on your website, this can be done on your About Me page, but as we talked about earlier you’ll also want to showcase these through storytelling.
2| SHARE THE MISSION BEHIND YOUR BRAND
I started my career in non-profit work so forgive me as a gush over the power of a Brand Mission. As business owners we forget this, not enough business owners are taking the time to identify the mission or purpose behind their brand and this is a mistake.
63% of consumers state they want to buy from purpose-driven businesses.
And although money is amazing, I love it myself, it’s not the purpose. Your purpose and mission need to be deeper than that.
For instance, the mission behind my brand is…
“To empower women to uncover and own their story and share it with the world through their personal brand.”
This mission not only drives every decision in my business, but is also one of the main connectors for my audience.
TAKE ACTION: Identify your mission.
What is the purpose behind your business?
What legacy do you want to leave begin with your work?
Then share it! I love encouraging my clients to share their mission statement on their Home Page, but you can also include it on your About Me page.
3 | SHOW BRAND AFFINITY THROUGH PHOTOS
This is my favorite thing to do as a personal brand and it’s so important. We often don’t think about the effect of Instagram on building trust or the use of seeing multiple photos on a website as a way to build Brand Affinity, but it’s actually a very powerful practice.
Here’s why it’s so powerful. When you showcase multiple photos of yourself, different outfits, different locations, different expressions your audience feels as if they are seeing at different moments in time. It’s as if you’ve met and know each other for longer than you actually have.
Photography overall is one of my favorite investments as a brand. It’s not about spending a bunch of money or posing for all your photos, but it is about elevating your brand by showing different sides of your personality and if you’re not a photographer then hiring one can be one of the best investments in your business.
TAKE ACTION: Hire a photographer if you can and make sure you clearly articulate your brand values, ideal customer and the emotional connection you want to portray. More on prepping for a Brand Photoshoot here
But, even if you can’t invest in a photographer right now, you can use a tripod or a friend to take photos of you. Make sure you’re sharing different moments in time to achieve the Brand Affinity. Then share your photos on your website and of course on social media.
Take a look at my Instagram to get a feel for this!
4 | BUILD A COMMUNITY
There are a lot of different ways to build community outside of a private Facebook Group, even though everyone is telling you that you need one. The truth is you can build community on social media and through your email lists just as effectively.
When we think of community we think of a central location for everyone to hang out, but what you’re wanting to do is just declare your brand as the community.
For example, inside of my first email when you sign up for my email list I welcome new subscribers to the Brandmerry Community.
I’m always referring to the Brandmerry Community on my live streams, blogs and on social media. There isn’t a specific jacket we all wear, but we know. The women inside the community know I’m speaking to them and about them and that builds connection.
You could even go as far as declaring a name for your community.
This sense of unity makes someone feel as if they are part of something bigger. It’s not just about buying your product and peacing out it’s about belonging, which we as humans want.
TAKE ACTION: How can you use the tools at your fingertips to build a community? Will you give your audience a name? Determine some of the fun ways you can create a community that allows your audience to be part of something.
5 | EXCELLENT CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
It’s no secret that as consumers we want to be cared for. We don’t want to work extra hard to get the products and services we desire and once we make the decision, i.e. commitment, we want it to be easy.
This is where your customer service comes to the next level.
We often think the customer service is the sale, and while that is important, what comes next is what builds further Brand Affinity.
For instance, when someone purchases one of my services or courses they receive instant confirmation that their purchase has been received. Then, they receive an email with all the information they need, including login, how to access the materials, the next steps and where to start.
I take the guesswork out of getting started and right away my audience feels taken care of and trust is increased.
TAKE ACTION: How can you improve your customer service? If you have any holes in your process, post-sale, fill those now!
CONCLUSION
I hope you can see the importance of Brand Affinity and why every single brand, no matter what you sell, should be focused on building this deeper connection and trust with their audience.
As I mentioned before I know sometimes this whole branding and storytelling thing can feel like a lot. If you’re wanting to build more of a foundation with your brand, understand how all the pieces like storytelling fit together and what you want to avoid when building your brand then I’d love to invite you to watch my free class.
In this free class, I’ll share the Build a Better Brand Method. Sign up for the next available time at brandmerry.com/brandmasterclass.
And if you’re looking for those resources on storytelling, sorry to keep you hanging, you can find those below.
Where and When to Share Your Brand Story can be found here
The Art of Storytelling in Business can be found here
5 Examples of Brand Storytelling to Incorporate into Your Marketing can be found here
How to Attract Your Dream Clients Through Emotional Branding can be found here
I hope these resources will support you in understanding storytelling in marketing on a deeper, it really changes everything!
P.S. If you made it this far, good for you! Let’s take it a step further and dive into your branding. If you haven’t already be sure to watch my free class on The Build a Better Brand Method.
It’s a free 60-minute class for female entrepreneurs looking to build a strong personal brand that supports them in standing out online, creating a stream of high-value content and build a community of fans that leads to a revenue-generating business.
Sign up for the class at brandmerry.com/brandmasterclass.
- FREE GIFTS YOU'LL LOVE -
DISCOVER YOUR BRAND STORY IN UNDER 5 MINUTES
LEARN HOW TO WRITE AN ‘ABOUT ME’ PAGE THAT CONVERTS
MAP OUT 30 DAYS OF CONTENT IN UNDER AN HOUR
- READ THE LATEST POSTS -
MEET MICHELLE
Hey there, I'm Michelle Knight and I an online branding and marketing consultant for female entrepreneurs.
I believe in the power of storytelling and using that superpower to brand and market yourself online...oh and to set yourself free.
I'm obsessed with living a life of freedom, so much so, that my family and I now travel full-time while running my business from the road.
This blog serves as a home base for all things branding, marketing, content creation and more.