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I was recently on a forum thread at Remodel Crazy and really enjoy the topics they discuss over there and the sites creators Paul & Rory invest a good amount of time in the industry and I commend them for that. I wanted to post my comments on the topic, branding, because I think this is a discussion that should be taken to heart. This is in a members area that people must register for, so in order to participate in the forum and you are a contractor, please register.

I could invest quite a bit of time talking about marketing-branding, but maybe if you would, just let me start with some decent info on branding and see if it is of interest. This is just to get some ideas out to you.

What Does Your Company message say about you?

Lots of remodeling/Hme Imp. owners are intimidated by the thought of marketing their businesses. The buzzwords and flash associated with “marketing” often make embarking on a do-it-yourself marketing effort seem daunting. But don’t let that fear distract you from the goal of educating your customers and potential customers about your business.

In your day-to-day business, you focus on what your customers need and how you can provide them with that. That is what your marketing should focus on, too. Too many marketing messages focus on the company rather than the customer. So as you craft your marketing strategy and materials, keep the customer top of mind.

Here are some ideas that will help you take that customer-driven attitude and translating it into marketing:

Today’s marketing requires lots of content, lots of education, and lots of trust-building via expertise sharing. The tri-fold brochure just doesn’t cut it anymore. Today’s smart marketers think in terms of information products more than marketing collateral — education over selling rules the day.

The best way to tap this necessary marketing shift is to think in terms of kits or suites of information. The most practical approach for the typical small business is the creation of on-demand, flexible and personal marketing kits, press kits and new customer kits.

These multiple page-documents, often housed in a pocket of a custom file folder, allow you to tell the entire story in a range of formats that take in the learning styles and personalities of a broad range of prospects.

A typical marketing kit might include the following pages:

Your core differences: Use one page to outline 3 or 4 key ways that your remodeling business is different. Make these the most important value benefits and not sales mumbo jumbo.
Your products/services: You do need to tell your potential client what it is you have to offer.
Success stories: Profile a number of successful customer engagements and try to involve your customer as much as possible and share specific results if you can.
FAQs: You know the kinds of questions that get asked or should get asked — list them for those readers that are looking for a specific bit of information.
Processes and checklists: Show proof of how you get the work done in a professional manner by sharing your process maps and checklists as marketing documents.
Your company story: Everyone loves a good story and everybody has one. Share your personal story, why you do what you do, and make a deeper connection with prospects.
Testimonials: Let your customers sing your praises and let your prospects see this third-party validation.
Articles: If you’ve published articles or received some great press, include copies of these in your kit.

A new customer kit can include information on:

Key contacts: List everyone that your customer might need to contact.
How your process works: Set the expectation for what will happen next so that there are no surprises.
What you need from the customer: If you need information from a customer or need to set a meeting, let them know what to do to get started.
How your billing works: Let them know how your billing works, how you expect to be paid. This demonstrates your professionalism and can help avoid misunderstanding after the work is done.

A basic press kit should include:

Overview: This should be solid background information, not a sales pitch.
Key staff bios: Let everyone know the key facts about people in your organization that they may need to interview ( with photos).
Suggested questions: In some cases if you are noted expert- a unique process -you can aid journalists by listing important questions.
Potential story ideas: You should be thinking of these at all times internally, but you may also want to develop some key story ideas that tie into themes and industry trends.
Customer stories: Journalists love success stories, so profiling your customers and offering their success stories to journalists can be a win for all parties.
The flexible nature of these kinds of information products make them easy to change, grow and personalize almost on a case by case basis.

In addition, this is exactly the type of education-based content that should be going on your website in an effort to build visitor trust and search engine attention.

So, I ask you. What are you doing to brand yourself?

Try this exercise to help you develop a personal marketing message that grabs your prospect’s attention.

Quite often small business owners will ask me to reveal the most powerful marketing strategy I have seen. I can say without hesitation that the most powerful marketing strategy has little to do with advertising, direct mail, websites, referrals or blogs.

No, before any of those things will really have an impact on your business, you’ve got to uncover and communicate how your business is different from every other business that says they do what you do. You’ve got to get out of the commodity business. You’ve got to stake your claim on a simple idea or position in the mind of your prospective clients.

You’ve got to create and bring to life a powerful personal marketing message.

The following is an exercise that I have developed that allows you to find your message by focusing on creating a marketing based answer to one very important question.

And the question is: What do you do for a living? The answer to that question is something that I call “Your Talking Logo.”

Like a traditional printed logo, a talking logo is a tool that allows your firm to communicate verbally the single greatest benefit of doing business with your firm. A talking logo is a short statement that quickly communicates your firm’s position and forces the listener to want to know more.

The talking logo is generally played in response to the comment, “So, tell me about your remodeling business or tell me what you do.” Everyone has attended a networking event where you are given a minute to describe your business…another great place to use your talking logo. When it comes to referral marketing, the talking logo is how you communicate the value of your business to referral sources.

How do you create your talking logo?

Remember, a talking logo must be a short statement that leaves the listener wanting to know more. Think about your clients or potential clients … they want to know what’s in it for them. Don’t just tell them what your firm does- tell them in a way that matters to them.

“I’m in the remodeling business.” “I’m a contractor.” “I’m a painting contractor.” “I’m a building specialist.” The only thing this type of response will get you is, “Who cares?” or worse. A talking logo grabs your prospect’s attention.

Your talking logo is created in two distinct parts. Part 1 addresses your target market, and Part 2 zeroes in on a problem, frustration or want that market has.

You know you have a great talking logo when a person hears you deliver it and immediately says, “Really, how do you do that?”

“So, if you ask Bill the architect, “what do you do for a living?” Which do you think is more powerful? “Oh, I’m a registered architect” or [Talking Logo] “I show contractors how to get paid faster.”

Now if you’re a contractor you’ve got to know more, right? In the example above Bill has focused on addressing a key frustration that he knows contractors (his target market) have.

What about this one? “I show small service professionals how to triple what they charge?”

Do you see a pattern?

Here’s the pattern: Action verb, (I show, I teach, I help) target market, (business owners, homeowners, teachers, divorced women, Fortune 500 companies) how to xxxx = solve a problem or meet a need that you know your marketing has.

Now ask yourself, “Who wouldn’t want to know more when you heard a talking logo that spoke directly to you?” Communicating a powerful message like this will get you referral appointments too.

Now, once you get their attention with your talking logo answer to what you do for a living, it’s time to deliver the goods.

So, now they utter, “Really, how do you do that?”

You must be equally prepared to answer this supplemental question. Once your prospect says, “Tell me more,” you need Part 2, and that is when you tell them how you plan to solve their problem.

The key to this tool though, is waiting until you have their full attention with your talking logo.

Part 2: Again, the architect from above – “Well, we have developed relationships with every zoning board in the metro area and can make sure that your projects don’t get hung up by red tape, ensuring that you get to that first pay request faster.”

By understanding your positioning and your target market and then communicating it through your talking logo, you will be miles ahead of most of your competition and well on your way to generating referrals and leads from anyone you meet.