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Let’s be honest. Are you (and your business) forgettable?

“You know what I like about you? You don’t care what anyone thinks!”

That…compliment…came from my mother-in-law when she first saw the eggplant painted walls in my living room. It’s true, we are not living our lives ready for resale here. My husband and I won’t play it safe and squelch our creativity within our own home. Our lives are not neutral statements.

Why tell you this? Frankly, I see crushing levels of mediocrity out here in suburbia and when I get out and surf the web to check out some of your businesses, things don’t look much better. So much creative inhibition in the lives and businesses of otherwise fine people! Just makes me want to scream:

For the love of God, People, Please Come Alive! You are boring me to tears!

I’m serious! I work with people every day who are brave enough to take on the challenge of finding their unique voices in the world and I see a whole lot more who would do well to follow suit.

Let’s take your brand presence for example. Don’t think you need one? That’s interesting. Good luck with that. Understand you need one but don’t really have one? Yes, I know.

If you are a self-employed person or small business owner with a website are you engaging me immediately in a compelling dialogue from the moment I find your site? Am I so clear on who you are, what makes you cool and why I definitely want to have you in my universe that I can’t help but reach out to you? Are YOU so clear on who you are that the whole concept of competition has become a meaningless and arcane concept?

If you don’t get this you are losing customers.

A lot of customers.

Real Life Example: When I enrolled in coach training, I spent some time checking out coaching websites. MANY coaching websites. Even then, not having ever thought about business or branding (I was a therapist, after all) I found myself become bored and in some cases actually turned off by 98% of what I saw there. By the time I looked at the 40th site I couldn’t remember any specific coaches, save ONE. I contacted the only coach that caught my attention just to congratulate him on being memorable. Keep in mind that I was just surfing. I wasn’t even looking to hire anyone. It hadn’t even occurred to me to consider it. Because the site engaged me, it was natural that I respond. This led to a reply and a suggestion that we talk live. I called. At the end of the hour, this coach asked me what I wanted to do. It wasn’t until that minute that I knew I wanted to hire him but I did.

Having a site that was compelling enough for me to want to know this individual when I didn’t even know I was in the market for his services put about $4,000 in that man’s pocket.

This illustration relates to my experience with a coach, but this phenomena is certainly not restricted to that industry. Regardless of the type of business you are in, go back and look at your company’s website, even if you are “just an employee”. How do you rate your site on its ability to achieve similar results with your visitors?

If you were unique this year, how will you keep from becoming a commodity next year?

Your business presence is just one manifestation of you (no matter what your position). Your physical environment is another. While I recognize it has been practical for many people to live in resale-ready homes due to frequent career moves, I also know that trend has changed and many are settling in to their homes for a far longer time than had been true in the last decade. Unfortunately, the way many people relate to their homes continues to reflect a sense of impermanence. Worse yet, having a conscious eye toward resale makes you a temporary inhabitant of someone else’s home! You have to ask yourself, who’s house are you in? The next buyer’s? Your parents’? Your boss or coworker’s? Your hired decorator’s?

If I walked in to your home, would your place engage me in an immediate dialogue about you? Hint: Yes it would…but what, exactly would it tell me? It would tell me what values you LIVE by (not the ones you say you live by, the ones you actually DO). It would tell me how you feel about yourself. It would tell me a lot about how it feels to be you. It would tell me what you ignore and what you embrace. Borrow the eyes of a stranger, if only in your mind, and walk around your environment. Open a closet or two. Look at your clothes. Notice where you feel pockets of dead energy and where you feel flow. If you have ever found yourself wondering what you stand for in the world and who you are…well, your environment has a great deal to tell you about what you have been projecting to the rest of us.

If your environment is not making a bold statement about who you are when you are at your best…if it is not clear to everyone who sees it (even if it is only you) that you are joyfully engaged with your life take a stand now to correct that.

You cannot be successful in life in any lasting and vital way if you do not have an Environment that supports you.

Yes, Big E, Environment. Who you hang out with and what you feed your body, brain and spirit are parts of your Environment as well. And consider this:

You will not attract to you the opportunities and resources you desire if what you show to the world tells us that it is okay to ignore you.

With the change of seasons, it’s a great time of year to start setting goals. Make being memorable one of them. Embrace your extraordinary uniqueness.

Laura Young, M.A. is a life coach and owner of Wellspring Coaching. A contributing author to several books including 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life with Jack Canfield, John Gray and Bob Proctor, coming in September,
Laura specializes in working with individuals facing midlife transitions (personal and career), as well as those seeking relationship improvement, individuals coping with grief and loss and those seeking high level personal development.

With doctoral training in counseling psychology, Laura has written extensively on such topics as stress management, motivation, finding one’s life purpose, creativity,achieving life balance, cultivating a healthy lifestyle and improving communication in personal and professional relationships .Visit her website to learn more about her coaching services. Visit her blog, Adventures of a Dragon Slayer to view her extensive resource base.

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Having a concise, clear image that you project to your clients
and customers is important in today’s market. More and more
people are leaving the job market and creating their own
business, whether by choice or necessity, so the competition
continues to expand. Therefore it is increasingly important to
stand out among your competition. You want your business to be
memorable!

Customers remember images and feelings that are evoked more
than just a name on a business card. What type of feeling do you
want your business to evoke in your customers / clients? How do
you want to be remembered? Do you want to be the first one your
customer thinks about over your competition? Of course you do.
But what do you want to be remembered for?

Your excellent customer service?
Your winning smile?
Your product?
Your prices?
Your logo?

How are you different from your competition? What makes your
business special? Ask yourself these questions and then look at
the answers. Maybe you are already projecting a particular
image. It is cohesive, or is it sloppy? Do you even have an
image? Do you have a brand name? Do you have any sort of
identity?

What about your services? Does each one have a different
look, feel and image, or does it tie into the image of your
business? Can you look at your services and see the brand name,
image or theme running through each description? Choosing to use
the same logo on all your materials, sticking with a consistent
color theme and playing off a specific theme is part of branding.

For example, a recent episode of Taking Care of Business on
TLC television highlighted a company that custom designed baby
gift baskets. Their logo, color scheme and theme were brought
together to expand their image. The professional business
mentors assisted the owner with creating press releases and media
kits for his baby company that were done like birth
announcements. This created visual interest, continued the theme
of the company and along with the logo and color consistency, the
branding was top notch. As a result, he had several articles
written about his business in key magazines that target his
specific market.

What about your company? Does your image reflect your
product? Do your customers recognize you by your business name
or a product name? Are you consistent with your marketing
message? These are ALL important questions whether you are
starting a business or looking to expand your existing business.
So, ask the questions, listen to the answers and create a plan
for branding your business!

© 2005 Jodie Foster

Jodie Foster is a managing partner in Baraka Bay, a visionary business and organization development consultancy. They offer unique knowledge, techniques, and expertise to provide solutions, services and products for businesses, organizations and individuals. http://www.BarakaBay.com

Publisher’s Guidelines: You may freely publish this article online, in email newsletters, or in print so long as the resource box and byline are in tact. Author would appreciate a notification, but that is optional.

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Small businesses owners today are aware of the importance of carving an image in the minds of their prospective clients. They realize the effect of a catchy business name, a distinctive logo and the perfect slogan as well as the effective execution of their brand through appropriate marketing material and advertising.

For a small business to stand out in the minds of their prospective clients, it is not enough to just look the part, they have to be the part. Thanks to developments in technology and the propagation of information, prospects today are just as savvy as business owners. Put yourself in the shoes of your clients; would you rather go with a firm that looks the part and makes huge promises or one with a record of keeping their promises? Far greater than a good image is a good reputation, for an image is who you say you are but your reputation is who others say you are based on their encounter with you or that of another.

It is essential that your reputation lines up with your image; your reputation is mostly influenced by the customer experience you provide. Here are a few tips to help you build a solid reputation and reinforce your image:

Keep your promises. Don’t promise your clients the moon and the stars if you cannot deliver. Breaking a promise affects you integrity and the disappointment your client experiences may result in the severance of the relationship depending on the severity of the situation. Offer what you are capable of delivering.

Be original. Trying hard to fit in, or mimic the image of other more successful companies may be to your detriment; be you. As an example I chose the name The SoHo Cheerleader for my business because it represents what I want to accomplish, which is providing motivation and support to solopreneurs, it also represents my fun and witty streak. Like you, your business is unique so dare to be original. Ensure that your image truly represents you.

Provide excellent customer service. Create a positive customer experience for each client from the time they contact you right until the completion of their project.

Exceed their expectations. Every time you deliver service above what is required you are adding value and giving client cause to remember you.

Become an expert in your field by:

1. Staying on top of developments in your field.
2. Investing in training opportunities.
3. Writing articles and/or books.
4. Taking on speaking opportunities.
5. Educating your clients.

Focus on a niche. It is difficult to stand out when you lack focus. Stop being a Jack of all trades and get recognition amongst the group you have decided to target. You’ll gain popularity quicker and get more referrals.

Survey your clients. Find out how you can be of better service to them and what other business needs you might be able to meet within your specialty.

Research your competition. Learn from their mistakes and triumphs.

Begin with the end in mind. What do you want people to tell others about your company? Once you have made up your list, integrate it into your mission statement and look for opportunities to accomplish the things on your list with every single client that comes your way.

Bisi Adepo-Bassey (The SoHo Cheerleader) is a business coach and workshop/group facilitator, who helps sole proprietors achieve success by providing practical tips and advice as well as motivation and support. http://www.sohocheerleader.com/

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