About 75% of the 22 million small businesses in the U.S. are owned and managed by a single individual. The typical business reflects the solo owner’s values, tastes and personality. Most importantly, the business and its owner are inseparable in the eyes of customers and prospects.
You can turn personal involvement into marketplace advantage by creating a strong, distinct Personal Brand identity.
What is a Personal Brand?
Personal branding represents a powerful personal self promotion and small business strategy. You create a Personal Brand based on your talents, skills and values. This Personal Brand identity becomes the foundation for all your marketing efforts. With a clear marketing identity, you can intentionally shape positive perceptions about you – as the symbol for your company.
Think about brands you use and recognize. Your perceptions about those brands have been shaped by consistent and persistent marketing messages. When your personal experience as a customer confirms those messages, the brand perception becomes reality.
Do you know any small businesses with a strong brand identity?
One of the most powerful small business owners tools is personal branding. Examples of individuals who created strong Personal Brands and developed them into multi-million-dollar enterprises include Oprah Winfrey, Martha Stewart, Nora Roberts, Stephen Covey, Tiger Woods and Tommy Hilfiger.
However, very few small business owners will use branding to be distinctive from their competitors. You are likely to be aware of a business owner with a strong Personal Brand ONLY if they are active in your market space or network. Most small business owners just don’t know how — and won’t make the effort — to use personal brand reputation building as an effective marketing strategy.
Personal Branding represents one of the most powerful — and under used — small business owners tools!
How can you create a strong Personal Brand?
Follow the five steps to create your Personal Brand identity. The process is adapted from Brand Me, Inc: How To Be Distinctive And Remarkable In What You Do And How You Do It, a guide for small business owners.
Step 1: Define Your Target: Everybody is NOT a potential buyer for what you have to offer. The biggest mistake you can make is being unclear about your target customer. Write a detailed description of the person who is your ideal buyer. Get the whole story »