Monday Motivation: In branding,what matters most is Your Voice!

Monday Motivation

Do you have a business you have been running for so long, and nothing positive has happened so far. You have put in your best, worked according to timelines and even exceeded some timelines, but the business hasn't progressed beyond the surface level. So what next? Do you keep asking the same questions you ask yourself everytime or you look for experts to help you out,or better still put in more work by researching and creating awareness for your brand? Whatever your decision, you know one thing is sure, and that is the goal you are looking to achieve with your brand, so you bare that in mind and not loose focus.



Now this question is for you to answer; How do I become a great brand?How do I go about adding value to my brand? Okay, what exactly is my story and I do I tell it to the world?How can I make my brand a sustainable one? Have you at anytime asked yourself these questions? If yes, has your answers brought about positive business growth for you? If no, now is the time for you to sit tight and read carefully.

Dear Business Owner, Entrepreneur, Trend Setter, Business Manager,etc, first thing I will like you to know is that in branding, a brand is beyond what you package and shove down the throat of people, a brand is just not that beautiful logo that took millions of Naira to design or not that  easy to navigate website you have put together,Your brand is simply more than the executive gold coated business cards you hand out to people or that  eye popping flyers or banners and bill boards you put around Third Mainland bridge and around your city to show that your colours were well thought out and would definitely appeal to everyone who sights it. What then is your brand, you ask? Your brand is simply your voice, meaning how loud you can effectively use it to propagate your cause, to drive what you believe will have a positive and lasting impact on people and how smooth,clean, and clear you can tell your story better than any one else who may have engaged to do that for you, and how many percent of your time and creativity you are willing to put in to ensure  sustainability,these and more are all the key to creating a successful brand with the long term goal in mind.

As an Entrepreneur, have you ever found yourself in a position whereby some one ask you about your brand, and all you do is tell the person oh my brand is this and that, and at the end of the day you sound so passionate about your idea but you know very well that the message you just passed across has no depth or meaning to the person listening to you. Yes I recently found myself in this position and that's what brought about this topic. I was recently invited for a business opportunity for my blog, and I found myself telling the Brand Manager of one of the biggest FMCG in Nigeria, about how big my dream for the blog is and how it will impact lifes and how in the longrun,it will be a go to place for consumers blabla, and ended it by saying, you know what, you cann't really understand now, but I know exactly what I'm trying to say. Yeah, this Brand Manager actually felt the passion I had in my voice and explanation, but couldnt find the brand I was trying to sell to him in all of my explanation, all I had managed to do was convince him about my lofty ideas, which was far apart from talking about the brand I have been building for 5 months.

It is important for Business Owners especially Entrepreneurs to know that our ideas and the brand in itself are two dinstinct things entirely, dont muddle them up.It is important to develop an effective brand message, after all we have said that your brand is your voice,meaning there has to be an indepth message in that voice, this message is a story that no one else can tell better than you. A story that embodies all the characteristics of your brand and its impact to the business world and the society at large.

The truth is no matter how you look at it,you want to be a brand to make money, in order words this is business and no one has the time and patience to help you to understand what your brand is about because time is money, so the sooner you are able to use your voice effeciently and effectively in the business space, the better it is for you.If you cannot communicate the value of your brand to your audience,then I'm sorry to say, there is no point investing in that business at all, you may close shop and go to bed!

In branding, there is no room for mediocres,in branding you have to know what you stand for, and knowing what you stand for simply means you can communicate the value of your brand, which can either be a product or a service, to everyone irrespective of the demography or any other factors that may be involved.