Another show... Another valuable lesson, so I thought I'd share it. Mary Queen of Shops brings another brand tip into the nations living rooms, courtesy of a struggling village shop in Dorset. And this weeks lesson came from the lips of a lady at a coffee morning in the village:
You have to sell yourself, before you sell your product.
People buy people. Whether you're a village shop or Tesco, a law firm or IT consultants, it's the personality of your business that your customers buy. I'll explain that in a minute.
The couple running the shop in Corfe Castle had moved to the town from London, and had never really taken the time to get to know anybody. And they'd never run a shop before. So business was drying up and they were losing £6,000 a month. So Mary got them out of the shop and into the community, and turned them from the people behind the counter into real people with real personalities that the community could get to know and engage with. And most importantly, buy from.
So how does that relate to a business? Well, every business has a personality - it's one way of describing what a brand is. And it's crucial to a business because it's unique; it's the one thing (in most instances) that makes you different from any other business. If you look at sectors where the product or service delivered is very similar (airlines, petrol or banks for example), brand - the personality of each company - is the only thing that differentiates one from another.
The more clearly you can define the personality of your business, and translate that into a brand - something that your audience can interact and engage with - the greater the loyalty you will develop in your audience. And in a competitive economic client, loyal customers - whatever sector you are in - are the difference between success and failure.
So, thanks again Mary! What lesson will we learn next week?
If you'd like to have a chat about personality, brand and your business, email jonathan@alderandalder.co.uk or call 01392 248107.
About Me
- Jonathan Alder
- I'm the author of Brand in the Boardroom. Brand in the Boardroom is a book, written to help the leaders of SMEs understand how their brand can drive the success of their business. The aim of this newsletter is to bring the book to life. I want to share examples and insight that illustrate the potential your brand brings to your business. It is published monthly. If you would like to subscribe, there's a link in my bio.