So many small business owners and their businesses suffer from the cobbler kids' syndrome. There is never enough time in the day or the timing just isn't right to work on your own materials and brand. The problem is -- if you don't take your image and your brand seriously, neither will your prospects.
Set aside time one day per week for the next 4 weeks and quickly improve your brand image:
- Update your website
- Write a blog article
- Clean up your presentation deck
- Revisit your value proposition
Let's look at some simple steps you can take to update each of these.
Follow along, take an active role and you will be feeling refreshed and accomplished before you know it! If you need more help moving into the next growth phase drop us a line; we can help you define your future.
1. Update your website
Take the time to reflect on your most recent projects. Which one stands out? What would you like potential customers to know about that project? Write up a short but concise summary, collect some materials such as images, reports and anecdotes, and add to the case study or work example section of your website. If it doesn't do so automatically, add an update to the home page highlighting the new content. Now go about your day.
2. Write a blog article
Pick up where you left off - why not write an article about whatever super skills went into that project you featured on your website? Talk about the unique challenges and how you addressed them. What made the solution the right one? Include some feedback from your client if possible. Oh, and images! Add images!
3. Clean up your presentation deck
You know it needs it; you have jam packed some slides over the years trying not to forget anything... but the good news is you know what you're talking about! It's time to go back and clean house. Any slide with more than a topic or two jammed into it, delete it. Add one major concept per slide and use mostly images to back up the concept that you will be talking about. I always recommend big animal pictures to those in need of a bullet/text cleansing. You want to talk about strategy, fill the slide with a picture of a wolf. It's not the words on the slide that matter; it's your interaction with the customer. Keep their attention on you - not on your slides. Don't make them read! Reinforce your point, but get out of the slide and into a conversation.
4. Revisit your value proposition
This one you can do without opening any applications or preparing any assets. Simply ask yourself - what do we do? What do we do well? Where do we actually make a difference? Do the answers align with your standard value proposition you have been pushing for years? Chances are it's related... but over time it has probably shifted just as your business has. Get your head around the updated version, write it down and then communicate it to your team. They need to know why they do what they do; otherwise they are just going through the motions.
I've heard all the excuses - hell I've used them all. The fact is that if you don't pay attention to your own brand, why should anyone else? You run a business and that's a big deal. Treat it like one.
