3 Business Relationship Building “Must Do” Activities to Increase Your Brand’s Recognition
Okay… so….When does advocating for yourself and your idea of value, cross the line into negativity and criticism? REALLY… I’m asking.. For me… I believe in being authentic and a self-advocate but, is it naive to think doing so won’t step on toes? Sometimes, I’m learning, the dialogue between two people may be interpreted totally differently and misconstrued into something negative (no matter how innocent you may mean it to be). So… if I’ve been the cause of any hurt feelings because of this phenomenon… I sincerely apologize.
Why am I bringing this up? Well, the business relationship is a very important aspect to my business strategy and I believe, it should be to yours as well. Listen to this podcast and hear how my guest and I define BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP for a better understanding of my perspective and why I think it’s so important to brand growth. You’ll see it’s an effective tool you could be using to increase YOUR brand’s recognition.
What I want to do with this blog post is share my two cents on 3 BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP BUILDING “MUST DO’s” to increase your Brand’s Recognition.
#1 – The Business Relationship Requires You to Be honest. I’m sure I sound like a broken record, but it’s because everything starts with YOU! You have to be honest with yourself about who you are, what you want, your expectations and your value. Of course you need to be honest with those you are doing business, but it’s only truly possible to be honest with others if you’re honest with yourself first. The way to do this is to know your strengths, your weaknesses, your pain points, your non-negotiables, and your (for lack of better terminology) love language. You have to be honest about what motivates you and what intimidates you. You have to be honest about your fears and from where those fears come. This is important because inevitably you’ll need to put it in check or keep it at bay because it will repeatedly rear it’s ugly head. Part of honesty means knowing the root of it and how to fight against it.
#2 – The Business Relationship Requires You to Be Prepared. In knowing what you want, you are in a better position to create, what I like to call, CIRCUMSTANCES FOR OPTIMAL SUCCESS. Preparation means doing your homework on the events you attend. If you’re interested in meeting new people for the sake of developing new business relationships, you should not only know the type of people with whom you’d like to meet, but also where you can find them, the types of events they attend, and what they need. Preparation means working on what you bring to the table so you’re confident in your value and can add it to the conversations going on around you. A lost opportunity to share my value and do this was recently brought to my attention, and when it was I realized I had devalued myself by not sharing and contributing my expertise to the conversation. Had I prepared for the event in advance, I would have recognized my opportunity instead of feeling like I couldn’t participate and that the content didn’t relate to me. When building authentic business relationships, it’s important to check yourself before you inadvertently offend someone because of you weren’t prepared to contribute to the content instead of leaving voicing your opinions.
#3 – The Business Relationship Requires You to Be Realistic. Listen, I don’t want you to get the idea that building authentic business relationships is going to be all flowers and gumdrops. The truth is, people disappoint and feelings get hurt (as unintentional as it may be). Just like any relationship you’re forming, it’s important to manage expectations. You should manage your expectations, what you expect of others, and what you expect to get from the relationship, in general. The reality is, when two people/companies come together, each is bringing their own baggage/hangups. Expecting someone to “just get you” is unrealistic. Expecting your opinion to be the only one that matters, also unrealistic and can be….scratch that… will be a source of contention in the relationship. Sacrifice and compromise ARE realistic, and should be used when building an authentic business relationship.
In the end, these 3 business relationship building “Must Do” activities increase your brand’s recognition because the relationships you forge with other business owners yields an amazing return by being the source of other, equally beneficial resources. They yield fruit by providing assistance in areas you lack knowledge, and in the actual development of friendships with people who are familiar with this journey called entrepreneurship.
Now I want to hear from you. How are you using your business relationships to increase your brand recognition?
Brand Consistency Done S.M.A.R.T_BTBTV
When it comes to leading with intention and purpose, the shortest distance between wanting it and getting it is to be SMART. In this episode, I’m sharing my tips for how BRAND CONSISTENCY is done S.M.A.R.T. It’s short and sweet, but packs a big punch. Success yields brand consistency.
How to Create an Authentic Brand in 3 Steps_BTBTV
I used 3 steps during a recent Live client case study. In this video, I’m sharing the 3 steps to creating an authentic brand in a way that’s easy to understand.
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3 Tips to Master Brand Preparation
We agonize over some of the simplest things in our business… why do you think that is? We have incredible fear of failure and if I may be so blunt…there is often EXTREME GUILT! To address some of these issues, I’m offering some of my tips to master brand preparation. “Victory is the the child of preparation and determination”; it’s a quote I found that really speaks to the importance of being prepared.
Think about it, when DO you find yourself most afraid? If you’re like me…it’s when a customer seems unhappy or a deal seems to be going south.
TIP #1 is MASTER THE ART OF CUSTOMER SERVICE: The idea here is to recognize CUSTOMER SERVICE is directly linked to the way your brand is perceived. The preparation required for a positive perception, is in the development of policies and procedures that reflect your brands culture. Customer want to know you have THEIR best interest at heart and are sincerely vested in solving their problems.
TIP #2 is MAINTAIN BRAND CONSISTENCY: Consistency MENTALLY creates trust, but it requires you to tap into your value in an honest way. The preparation required for this tip is in the work it takes to ensure your brand communication (both verbal and non-verbal) speaks AND relates to your customers issues. It’s important for your brand messaging to attract the “know, like, trust” relationships from those you’re targeting.
TIP #3 is MANAGE YOUR GOALS & ANALYTICS: If there’s one thing I know for sure… it’s that you must have goals, they must be quantifiable, and you must manage them through analytics. The preparation required to manage these areas is in creating S.M.A.R.T. Goals and testing, testing, testing. There is no magic bullet to getting the success formula right the first time. Doing business is called a “numbers game” for a reason. Determining the right Marketing Mix formula can only be done by testing different strategies and learning from the analytics gathered in the wake.
Your success is in your preparation and your preparation comes from knowing your value and having the confidence to make decisions based on it. The rapport you build with your customer is the result of being prepared with a brand identity that represents your values, a brand message to which your customers can relate, and the ability to share it authentically. This brings me back to the quote I mentioned at the beginning of this post, “Victory is the the child of preparation and determination”. Have your VICTORY! Be prepared!
I know it can be difficult to get it all done. This is especially difficult if, like me, you’re a one person show. That’s all the more reason to think about your preparation. If you liked this blog post please share your comments below and become a VIP Member.
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How to Persevere and Build and Authentic Brand_BTBTV