Defining your brand is something every company tackles at some point in their growth, and if you are struggling to get started you’re not alone! In this week’s marketing tip, Brandon and Marina share some tips and work you can do to get started defining your brand.
The following two exercises will get your mind thinking about how to define your brand:
The first step to take when building a brand is to ask yourself the million-dollar question: why does your company exist? This question may seem a little existential, but it really does form the core of what you do. We ask ourselves this same question often at FMG Suite and our answer is that we exist to provide financial advisors the marketing tools they need to succeed. We understand that you have a lot on your plate and that marketing likely isn’t your first priority, which is why we offer an all-in-one marketing suite to alleviate some of these needs.
Your answer to why you exist could follow a similar structure. What needs do you help your clients address? What are you passionate about? What do clients thank you for? These questions will get you started in defining your brand.
The next homework assignment is creating a concrete persona that you can imagine yourself marketing to. We have found that when financial advisors put a face to their brand, it makes it much easier to create marketing materials. Some questions to get you started:
- Who is your ideal client?
- How old are they?
- What stage of investing are they in?
- Do they work in a specific industry?
- How many children or grandchildren do they have?
It is also possible to have multiple personas, because you probably have many facets of your business. If you would like more information, we did a marketing tip all about personas!
Once you have these two homework assignments done, put them together by combining your purpose (why you exist) with your persona (your ideal client). Here, you will have a strong foundation for brand definition.
PS: Here are three advisors we think have done an awesome job defining their brands! Eric Flaten of ePersonal Financial, Laura LaTorrette of North Georgia Wealth Management Group, and Trudy Langston of Savvy Tax Chick.
