Brand Building For The Network Marketer
Brand building can often be misunderstood.
Many people don’t realize that brand building is an essential ingredient in the network marketing industry.
Building a brand is certainly not a new concept. Ever heard of Pepsi, McDonald, Coca Cola? Of course you have.
All of these companies have built a brand around their products and services. It works to increase sales and have consumer stick-ability but most importantly it builds familiarity . According to Neilson’s Global New Product Innovation Survey, 59% of consumers prefer to buy new products from brand familiar to them.
If your goal as a small business is to grow it through influence and trust then building your brand should be of paramount importance.
Branding is much more than just about have a cool logo or a good ad showing up that might entice people to contact you.
You will be defined by your customer’s perception of you and your business.
People look at your storefront. In online marketing, this is represented by your website, its design, and how well it answers the question “What’s in it for me”.
People also like to see how you communicate which is easily seen from either emails they receive from you or just by visiting your social presence and the content you display there.
People will also be attracted to what other people say about you, your services or your products.
But this does not happen overnight. It takes time and yes, money.
Here are 5 steps you can use to guide you toward building a successful brand.
1- Know your target market
You can’t please everyone. So with that in mind, know exactly who you want to reach so that your message and mission can be tailored to meet your audience’s specific needs. You need to understand your audience if you want them to relate to you.
2. Have a mission statement
Take Coca-Cola for example. Their mission is
- To refresh the world…
- To inspire moments of optimism and happiness…
- To create value and make a difference.
Coca-Cola goes even further by describing its Vision, Winning Culture, Values to Live by, Market Focus, all pushing their inspiring brand with creativity, passion, optimism and fun.
Although I don’t support Coca-Cola, you have to agree that they have been very successful at fulfilling their mission.
In the case of network marketing, your mission statement can be very close to your company’s official statement if it is relevant. Be creative.
3. Research what top leaders are doing to brand themselves in your niche.
Although you shouldn’t imitate what they are doing you should be aware of what they do well and see how you can differentiate yourself from your competition.
You can look in several place:
- You can look at how consistent their message is and how visually active they are across different channels.
- You can judge the quality of their products or services.
- You can read customer reviews about them.
4. Decide what your brand key qualities will be and how it can benefit others.
This process may be the most difficult one for you because it demands honesty about what you bring to the table. Identify your strengths and weaknesses and apply yourself at improving what you don’t like and expose liberally what you do like.
In the networking environment, your face will most likely be your brand. This means you will have to be visible everywhere your target audience is. Online, this means being active in social media. It may mean you having to create videos that teach something your audience may find valuable.
So if you are afraid of being in front of a camera, you will have to make an effort to conquer that fear.
5. Get professional help.
You can’t do it all alone and there is a LOT to do. How serious you are about building your online business will dictate whether you approach someone to help you achieve your goals or not.
It’s possible to have a really nice website and totally miss the mark. Website designers are rarely marketers and vice versa. Although rare, they do exist. I happen to be working with one every day.
Do give me a call if you are interested in building your brand and let’s discuss your goals and your vision.
Becoming a successful competitor in your niche needs a consistent message and visual identity where your brand is integrated into every aspect of your client’s experience with you whether it is through your website, your social content or your personal interactions
About the Author Marie Leonard
Marie is a seasoned online coach and marketer helping newcomers save time and money in applying sound internet marketing processes and providing them with versatile tools to ease their lead generation frustrations.
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