Strengthen your Brand with transparency

The growth of technology and the internet’s leveling the playing field has had an impact on consumers that you must be aware of — that of transparency. Consumers want greater transparency in their everyday purchases. Each day they become more educated about their buying power and use more scrutiny in deciding how and where to do business.
The way our world works no longer depends on limited, one-sided communication from big brands and because of that tiny brands now have power to seek community, opinions and details in advance of their purchases through reviews, websites and online voting systems.

If you can meet their current needs while building a strong relationship at the same time you’ll be their brand of choice, every time. To get started consider the obvious: can they make money, save money, save time, eliminate pain or struggle (gain comfort), eliminate effort or gain recognition with what you provide?

Begin with their most pressing need, and market your services with that message in mind. One of the common mistakes made in business is that of waiting to achieve a certain level of success before starting a transparent relationship with your potential clients. However, building in that transparency is just the thing to start, and accelerate, the relationship. Here are some ways that you can pull back the curtains of your business and open that door of opportunity:

1) Take your clients through your thought process. When you discover new ways to serve your clients, include them at every step. Take them along for the ride. Often we want to wait until we are ready for the big reveal before we introduce our clients to a new way of serving them. The alternative is better. The alternative is to take them through the process as you’re building the service, getting their feedback along the way and building a stronger community.

2) Share the roadblocks. It’s easy for us to share our victories in business, but it’s also helpful when you encounter roadblocks to share those as well. I remember a popular business coach hosting a teleclass last year that totally bombed. She had a series of technology complications, and then to compensate she went into “recovery and sales mode” and ending up delivering a call that was criticized across the net.

After just a few hours of contemplation, she decided to record the call again, blast her mistakes to her followers using social media and describe to them her emotional struggle with the call. The result? She continued to be a trusted brand in her industry, and garnered the respect of her critics.

3) Share your opinion. One of the essentials for developing a strong brand is to establish your unique voice. Express your opinion without censoring it. Be authentic in your expression while maintaining integrity and respect and you’ll resonate with your ideal client in a deep and sustaining way.

4) Don’t hide behind the curtain. Remember how at the end of the Wizard of Oz (one of my favorite movies) the wizard lost all credibility? He was too distracted portraying a false sense of power to notice that he actually had enough knowledge to help Dorothy and her crew. His action (or inaction) changed their lives. Your decisions may not carry that much weight (yet) but if you truly value your clients, pull back that curtain and let them see you (and include some photos and videos too).

With our world of social media and instant connections, transparency has become somewhat expected of us. Be sure you’re getting the most of the visibility and opportunities you have by using it to create a stronger bond with your clients and you will be their only solution to the needs that arise from day to day.

Need help putting brand sequences in place to build more transparency, connection and visibility into your brand? We can help you and your staff develop routines that make the process quick and easy so that you can position yourself as the go-to person in your industry. Call us at 888-YOU-BRAND (or 201-356-9139 for international dialers) and let’s chat to evaluate where you stand, ok?