What do companies like Apple, Amazon and Starbucks have in common? We trust their brands without question, regardless of whether the iPhone price tag is justified or the coffee is the best. Here are the seven steps to help you create the same kind of unconditional trust for your personal brand.
1. Start with a story.
Good branding isn’t about an eye-catching logo, the perfect filter on your photos or even your product or service. We don’t just buy things because we like them or because the decision seems logical. We buy because we are moved emotionally; then we justify the decision with logic. Moving your customers emotionally is what really good branding is all about.
Storytelling is the most powerful way to trigger emotions. Let your brand tell a story that your potential customers identify with. Explain why you exist. Talk about their pain points and how you can help them solve those problems — ideally because you’ve solved them for yourself as well.
Until they get to know you, people will only follow you or buy from you for the benefits you offer them, which must be crystal clear. Explicitly communicate what you deliver, and consider this to be your central theme.
2. Clarify your mission and values.
As the foundation of your brand, your mission and values are critical to your target audience. To identify your mission and values, look at your story. For example, loyalty might be your primary value if you had to overcome problems with deceptive business partners.
Your mission and values should match those of your customers. As an example, take the famous quote from Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, which is widely considered to be the company’s unofficial mission: “Man is the creator of change in this world. As such, he should be above systems and structures, and not subordinate to them.” It speaks to exactly what customers want: simple technology that helps them create change of all kinds.
3. Break the habit.
Think about how you can help your audience establish new habits and rituals that are better than the current way of doing things. For example, the dating app Tinder broke the “habit” of approaching potential partners in bars. Before the online streaming service Netflix, you had to watch television shows at a certain time and deal with advertising breaks.
You can also break the habit with a personal brand. For instance, most coaches offer live seminars; so you might offer online webinars instead, knowing that many people want to learn from the comfort of their homes. This is especially powerful if you share a common “enemy” with your audience. For example, if your enemy is expensive online courses, break the habit and offer a free course to get their attention.
4. Create an iconic experience with flair.
An iconic experience isn’t just about branding; it’s about flair. Opening the packaging of a new Apple product is a special experience. You know you are only one step away from sleek new technology. The box slides open smoothly and the product is front and center. You can start using it immediately, and the instruction manual and accessories are hidden at the bottom of the box. First things first — that’s what you remember.
Service businesses can also create an iconic experience. For example, if you’re a marketing strategist, you might offer your own unique approach to strategy calls. Or you could limit the time you spend on incoming calls from potential customers to eight minutes, which makes you stand out and forces the client to get to the point quickly.
5. Speak to four personality traits.
The days of a one-dimensional script are gone. In addition to aligning with your story, mission, and values, the rest of your messaging should speak directly to four personality traits. My business mentor, Tai Lopez, calls them PASE: practical, action-oriented, social and emotional.
Action-oriented customers want a quick, easy solution, while practical personalities resonate with data and logic. Social people care primarily about expanding their network, while emotional personalities typically have more fear and doubt. Most of us have all of these qualities, but some are usually more dominant than others.
Demonstrate how your product or service meets all those criteria. Provide a quick and easy solution, overcome potential fears and doubts, demonstrate the social benefits of your offer, and support your case with data and logic.
6. Focus on likeability, authority and safety.
Before anyone will buy from you, they must like you, believe in your authority, and feel safe with you. Likeability opens the door because no one buys from someone they don’t like. Establish this connection by being kind, smiling often and listening to your audience. Most importantly, be yourself. People don’t resonate with a “perfect” life, so be open about your failures and successes.
Authority comes with expertise. Share your experience and practical knowledge to communicate why you are the right person to solve their problem. Build on that authority with testimonials so your audience knows it’s safe to trust you because others have.
7. Define your 'sacred words.'
Once you’ve started building a following, create a language that only they will understand or relate to. This can come from your name, values and culture. For example, my online educational platform is called SELFMADE, so our community is a “SELFMADE society” of “SELFMATES.”
By offering something unique to your followers, you develop a sense of community and disqualify those who don’t speak your language. Your brand is defined by what others say about you. When you take the wheel and control the narrative, you can establish a stand-out, eight-figure business.
