5 Steps to Building Brand Confidence
You might be feeling a bit stagnant in your business or frustrated that your efforts in marketing and promotion are not getting in front of the eyes of the people you want to work with.
Brand confidence is when you have the focus and empowerment to know you are taking all the right steps and you’re feeling rewarded for your efforts.
Confidence can magnetize, add value and create less doubt for consumers. Here are some ways to practice building business confidence:
1. Go all in with who you want to work with
Don’t be afraid of having a niche. The more you can be an expert with a certain clientele, the more you will get to know their hot buttons and that will give you the empowerment to speak their language. People also pay more for someone who works specifically in their segment. Think if you had a need: say a doctor, would you see a general doctor for your ailment, or go to a specialist who studies 24/7 what you need. What if you wanted to re-design your house, would you hire a general designer who can do every kind of design direction, or an interior designer for a family home like you have? Likely the latter. See how powerful it is to niche down?
2. Remind yourself of your uniqueness
Sometimes the stories we tell ourselves is imposter syndrome or not understanding how your story impacts your offering. If you are a planner today and have a background as an accountant — you are a unique wonder in the way you approach your planning offerings with detail etc. If you have been in big tech and you have a photography company, you have unique ways of showcasing your team approach, understanding what it means to orchestrate all pieces of event day. Understanding your uniqueness and skills are what sets you apart. OWN them and use them to help craft your unique story. Uniqueness helps you stand out, not blend in.
3. Set up the framework of systems that work for you
Not sleeping at night thinking of all the things we have on our to-do list or who we need to reach out to is definitely a dark cloud of overwhelm. When you have an organized, step-by-step system or CRM (client relationship management) in place, you can have the peace of mind that you have a fall back net and can focus your mental energy on growth, development and networking to reach your goals. Fun fact, even if you don’t feel like you have a system in place, I promise you have patterns of things you do on rotation. Take note of those and start there to streamline all that you want your client experience to be.
4. Show up!
Brand confidence sometimes has to be forced. Maybe you just need to put yourself in the room with those you are looking to grow towards. We grow from the community around us, and when you have a target of venues you want to work at or vendors you want to work alongside, we are responsible for showing up and pulling up a seat. You can be confident alongside them sharing your unique approach, your proven client process and your passion for serving your customers.
5. Use Proven Metrics
Doing your research and understanding your metrics can be a key to knowing what is sticking and what can get you traction. Being your own advocate to get in front of the right audience that is looking for your offerings requires some testing and some reflection. Just because a new social platform is popular doesn’t mean your audience is there. Just because you think you know your couples doesn’t mean you can stop learning. Keep an eye on what triggers people respond to, react and commit to do more of that. Understand your endless options and what platforms and marketing efforts your clients respond to. Don’t be afraid to test, but put your energy in what you see is gaining momentum. Remember, we get older and our clients stay about the same age in most vendor categories. So, keep learning about your audience and lean into what works. What no longer works, cut the cord.
6. Reflect On Your Wins
Reviews can not only boost our self esteem but helps others see your value to be more confident buyers. Ensure you take the time to gather reviews from past clients and journal about the main takeaways from each client - when did you feel at your best? What made you the most profitable? Looking at the big picture allows you to set better boundaries for future clients but selling yourself stronger, adjusting service offerings to showcase your strengths and get insight for what you do best from others. It’s a win win!