Archive for the ‘business branding’ Category

By Ruth Klein, Integrative Brand Strategist & Productivity Coach

Are you ready for the New Branding Shift in Business? This shift is large and is having a pivotal impact on most businesses, large and small. When I think of the word, “shift,” I think of a change in mental or emotional perception…even if it’s only slight.

And, in most cases the BRAND SHIFT is slight although it has legs and has quake-like impact. I’d like you to consider three aspects of this brand shift, and if used as part of your Brand & Marketing Campaign, can help propel your brand message and ‘conversation’ with your targeted prospects and clients.

Transparency
How transparent are you in your business? There are several ways to exercise “transparency” in your business. Here are two of them…

1. Are you presently providing videos on your website or your sales letters that promote your products or services?Why is this important? People your prospective buyers want to see who you are. They will either resonate with you or they won’t. We love to “know” who we’re dealing with and face-to-face is still the most prized way to establish a business relationship. Embracing technology helps bring who you are and what you do to a whole new level…a seismic SHIFT.
2. What are your messages saying to the public? Are they coming from the mind or are they coming from a place that people can relate to from the heart? Most recently I received a question for my monthly “Ask Ruth“

Question: How much of your soul should you bare, especially if you are a very “open book” by nature & in which arenas? Perhaps “how much is too much” is a better way to put it?

This is a great question because it is real and there is a balance to how transparent you want to be in business. Many people are finding this out first hand with their online profiles on Facebook, MySpace, and other social networking sites where they may have been too transparent and now they’re having difficulty finding jobs, for example.

My guideline is:  If you can share it with your clients, chances are it’s okay to share it with others!

Immediacy
We all have experienced the unbelievable “speed lightning” of technology and the instantaneous responses via email; instant messaging, faxes (yes, even faxes), texting, and all the other avenues.

What I’m referring to here is the ability to think of something and then get it to market immediately! How many times have you sat on a product launch; started to offer a new service; worked on a book; or invented a new product or program and then you “sat” on it for awhile, only to find later that someone else had the idea AND did something about it? I know the answer… too many times!

Here is my best suggestion for taking action: Start taking 100% Personal Responsibility for what you’re doing and what you want to do and…. Secondly, just take action. Every time you’re in doubt, just think of Nike’s great tagline: “Just Do It.” Why do most of us resonate so much with Nike’s tagline? Because we need to be reminded to “Just Do It.”

Let me give you a perfect example of what I’m referring to above

Immediacy: 100% Personal Responsibility and “Just Do It.” Just today I saw in my inbox a conference that I would love to be part of and contribute my experiences and ideas…we share the same target market. I had asked to be part of the “speakers lineup” a year ago and it never came to pass.

So, today when I saw that the conference had grown and there were a lot of new speakers, I had a momentary ok, maybe it was more like 30 minutes of “I wish….”

Then, I realized that rather than stay “stuck” and “unproductive” and “wait for someone else to come knocking,” I had a huge SHIFT…remember the title of this whole article…” How the New Branding Shift Affects Your Business??

Well, I realized that I can take Personal Responsibility and select other businesses that I share more resonance with (I’m not even in alignment with most of the speakers!!! this awareness came to me after I made the Branding Shift) and create another large event. Done! So, I spoke with wonderful professional colleagues and we are creating our wonderful offering that will help others in a soul-centered way…reinforcing my business brand!

Relevancy
Time is the new currency today and technology has helped pick up the “urgency” of time. What that means to you and me is that if we’re going to say something to our clients, prospects, community, networking groups, social media, tweets, let’s make it relevant and not waste anyone’s time…I really appreciate businesses that respect my time!

That is the number one reason that most professionals didn’t use Twitter when it first came on the scene the element of Relevancy was not perceived to be part of the Twitter culture. Of course, the Twitter map has had a pivotal SHIFT in perceived value by professionals, entrepreneurs and others …who highly value their own and other’s time.

Here are two ways to bring Relevancy into your Business Brand:

1. Start blogging if you haven’t already. It appears that blogging is no longer a step-child to email messaging or websites…it is a full-blown branding strategy to send out relevant material. Your readers, listeners, clients, communities and subscribers want good information in bite-size pieces (Immediacy). Businesses that aren’t sending out bite-size messages (in television and radio they are called “sound bites) are losing the relationship and conversation with their followers and community. These bite-size pieces of information are perfect for tweeting good content…which in turn, can take your followers to your blog.I suggest you blog three to four times a week or offer a really good article once a week…experiment and see which works best for you and your community.
2. Keep the messaging focused on what your community wants to hear and learn… and make sure it’s valuable to them.For example, Drew Gerber with Pitch Rate (pitchrate.com) interviewed me for his Happy Hour that he offers to his clients and subscribers for free…he interviews “experts” in areas that his clients and prospects would find valuable and interesting.

   If you would like to listen to the recording, click here. The call is jam-packed with amazingly useful info about finding your unique, profitable and purpose-driven brand. Find out how to uncover your brand purpose, how to package all that you do, the myths of marketing, and more. We also chatted about how I landed O, The Oprah Magazine!

   Pitch Rate (www.Pitchrate.com) is a free media connection service for journalists, experts, and publicists…it’s amazing!  Share your branding questions and experiences with us here!

Here to becoming an Expert Celebrity!

Ruth Klein
www.RuthKlein.com
© 2010 Ruth Klein

Are you feeling overwhelmed with all the work you have to do; all the products or services you want to start; finally use or reuse the previous products and services and maybe even re-launch them? Plus, are you wondering how you will find the time to do all of this work so that you can start monetizing your existing material, products (new or old), services, etc. ?

Most small businesses, authors and professionals I work with have answered a resounding “yes to these feelings of overwhelm and frustration…and they find themselves procrastinating and not getting much of anything done.

Our reality is our perception which is made up of our thoughts and experiences. If your thinking and hence, your perception is one of being overwhelmed with all your past and present products, writing, books, seminars, services, then you are overwhelmed. The response to feeling overwhelmed is often procrastination, anxiety and stress. There is another option and that is changing your reality in this moment.

Rather than the perception of overwhelm, you can change your thoughts right in this moment toI have a “treasure of stuff that I’ve created and now I have the opportunity to reuse, modify or re-launch them and update my Personal and Business Brand in the process.

So, how does this all tie into your Personal and Business Brand? Here are six ways that you can take your overwhelm feelings, many “old and “new products, services, ideas and books..update them and then re-launch them with a focus to an updated Personal and Business Brand. I hope you like my new Brand look in this issue.

1. First, give yourself permission to spend one to two hours a day for the next two weeks to “find all your past seminars, webinars, videos, speeches, different types of writing, blog posts, MP3′s, testimonials, pictures, special discounts and promotions that worked well in the past

Tip: I assure you that the time you spend “gathering will shorten the “hun later.

2. Organize all this information into what you believe would be worthwhile to use now. You will be amazed at all the great “stuff or as I prefer to say, “treasures you will find. Congratulations for doing this, because now you will save so much time and stress moving forward in sorting, discarding and re-launching your ideas, products, books and services.

Tip: This is the perfect time to gather all of your old as well as new material. Why reinvent the wheel? Chances are good that your “older works, material and writings have gems in them and can easily be used and updated with what you’re doing now.

3. Now, it’s time to make a list of everything you have found and put the “treasures into categories, and then create neat piles. Do this for all the good stuff you’ve found. Create complimentary stacks, if necessary.

Tip: Place these stacks of treasures in large plastic containers and list the contents on a sheet of paper that you keep on top of each of the stacks makes for easy reference and saves a ton of time moving forward.

4. Okay, now that you’ve taken the time to pull everything, identified what everything is; put them into stacks of similar content; made a list of everythingnow, it’s time to identify the top two (yes, only two) areas that you are passionate about and want to focus on in your business. Those are the two (yes, only two..) areas that you will now focus on and this becomes your new updated Brand. Chose the “treasures from the stacks that feed back into your top focus areas.

Tip: Choose those two areas that you most enjoy doing and look for ROI (Return on investment in terms of time, money and energy)

5. Commit to spending four focused hours a day on the two primary areas you’ve chosen and watch how your Personal and Business Brand starts to come alive for you as well as your new clients. It has to work as it is a Universal Law that which you focus on most will be that which shows up most in your life!

Tip: “Focused time” in this case is referred to as Marketing. The life blood and engine of your business is the marketing that you do four focused hours a day is worth more than ten hours of work with interruptions including interruptions such as email and reading e newsletters! Go ahead and read emails but NOT during your focused time.

6. Enjoy your new treasures and the wealth of new opportunities and options available to you…which all equates to attracting your ideal clients with your updated products, services and brand.

Tip: The Universe needs what you have to offer. It’s not about you, it’s about your contribution that is the issue here.

Ruth Klein is a Brand Strategist and Time Managment Expert for Smart Women’s Coaching. Post your questions and comments about this article here – we want to hear from you.

If you are interested in taking your business to the next level by creating your Soul-Centered Brand…then join Ruth and me live in October for her G 4 Branding Summit.  Click here  to learn more.  Hope to see you there!

I have a special treat for you. I know there a lot of teleseminars out there, but believe me when I say you won’t want to miss this Branding seminar that Ruth Klein, an Integrative Brand Strategist and Productivity Coach, is doing just for you, my clients and subscribers! 

Ruth Klein

Ruth is focused on helping you create a business brand or a book brand that is in alignment with your purpose and passion! She has a special talent of integrating your Authentic Self with your business brand or book brand… she’s very successful with professionals, entrepreneurs and authors. In fact, I’ve had the pleasure of working with Ruth on branding and she helped me focus and get clarity on my Brand, the Awakened Midlife Millionaire…which is in alignment with my purpose and passion.

Ruth is very good in finding all of your hidden skills, talents and intellectual capital and helping you use these gifts while serving others.

It’s refreshing to meet someone like Ruth Klein, who walks her walk and talks her talk.

 Please join me Wednesday, August 25th at 7:30pm ET when Ruth will offer a teleseminar on “Creating a Soul-Centered Business and/or Book Brand”  which she has agreed to do for free for all of you. In this teleseminar, you will learn:

• The Three Myths of Marketing and How to Work Through Them
• How is Your Business Unique? Four Steps to follow To Find Out
• Finding Your Brand Purpose
• How to Finally “Package” All That You Do
• plus, lots more 

Please join me for one hour of wonderful and useful information for your business.  Click here to sign up!

Here’s to Your Brand & Prosperity!

Katana Abbott, CFP
Awakened Midlife Millionaire Coach
www.katanaabbott.com