Brands: as in who people think you are, rather than who you think they should think you are.

These days of transparency it is who you are authentically that matters.  There I used all the rhetoric words for brand.  Despite the over-used words, the concept holds.

Brands used to be what the marketing department wanted them to be.  Not any more.  Your brand is what your customers think it is.

Several years ago I was taking my bookkeeping business to yet another level and I wanted to know what my current business owners thought of Crystal Clear Bookkeeping.  I expected words like competence and expert, maybe intelligence (I’m a very good bookkeeper and I’m smart).  What I got were words like comfort, understanding and stress-relief.

Bookkeeping is a scary area for many because they don’t understand it.  We take them by the hand and gently lead them along the path to understanding it.  We are trusted and experienced guides here and people feel comfortable coming along with us.

If I had tried to build a marketing campaign around competence and expertise, I would have lost.  I rent an office that is beautiful and comfortable; we have sitting areas and tea.  Our marketing is about making your bookkeeping and business clear – crystal clear.

Brands are who people think you are, not who you want them to think you are.  What do your customers say about you?  How does your business support and reinforce that?