The Transformative Effect of a Well-Built Brand Statement

I spent this past weekend among a group of smart writers at Jeff Goins’s first Tribe Conference in Nashville, Tennessee.

Jeff asked me to speak about content marketing (one of my favorite topics).

But I was an attendee as well. Jeff populated the conference with lots of excellent speakers, some of whom I’d never heard speak before.

So I took advantage of the invitation to learn as well as speak. On the morning of the first day, I sat down at a table full of experienced and aspiring authors to absorb as much as I could.

That day, Jeff asked us to do a simple branding exercise. He shared it off the cuff — almost as an aside — and gave us a few minutes to fill in the following blanks he provided for the exercise:

• I help _____
• (do) _____
• so they can _____.

A short exercise that leads to powerful results

I recognized the power of this short exercise as soon as Jeff shared it. And I also knew I could help the people seated at my table. Branding is kind of my thing.

So during the next break we had, I asked the person next to me what she’d written down for her branding statement.

When she shared it, I made a suggestion that resulted in a shorter and more direct statement.

Once she finished editing it, I could see the relief in her eyes. And the excitement, too.

So I continued around the table, talking about and honing brand statements. Each time we finished polishing a brand statement, I saw a light bulb go off.

Here’s the thing: an effective brand statement isn’t just for your prospects and customers.

An effective brand statement is for you.

What a brand statement impacts

When you can boil down what your business is about and crystallize what it offers, that helps you:

• Create content that’s on-target and effective.
• Build products and services that meet the needs of the people you want to serve.
• Filter new ideas and check them against your business’s true purpose as reflected by your brand statement.
• Feel emboldened to meet the audacious statement you create: it’s like a mini manifesto for your business.

So let’s dive in to this brand statement process. I want to see a light bulb go off over your head, too!

Warning: don’t be deceived by the simplicity of this exercise.

Going through the steps will yield a short statement you can put the full force of your business behind.

Step 1: “We/I help ____”

In this first section, you’re going to identify the people you help.

And please, don’t fill this blank with the word “people.” It’s important to specify exactly who you help.

Your ideal customer will recognize himself when you describe him in this section, and that’s the point.

When we talked about this at my table, I reminded the group of a few things to keep in mind:

• You can’t serve everyone. If your brand statement makes it sound like you do, the resulting sentence will be bland and uninspiring.
• Even though you target a specific customer, you’ll attract others. Specifying who you help doesn’t limit your options as much as you may think. By describing your ideal customer, you’ll attract that customer and anyone who aspires to be that ideal customer.
• Remember your true client. One person at our table gave inspirational speeches to high school students. At first glance, you might think his ideal customer is a high school student. But it’s the adults in those students’ lives — the high school administrators — who hire the speakers. When he edited his brand statement to target that group, everything fell into place. Your true client is the one who makes the decision to buy your products or services: be sure that’s who you’re describing.

Keep your answers here as short as possible. Ideally, the entire brand statement will fit into one sentence, so use the least number of words possible.

Examples:
A firm that offers security systems for the residential market:

“We help homeowners …”

A company that provides virtual assistance for digital marketers:

“We help busy digital business owners …”

An individual who coaches authors who want to have speaking careers:

“I help authors …”

Step 2: “(Do) ____”

What product or service do you offer, and what does it do? Be specific.

Remember that:

• If you have more than one major product line, you can develop a brand statement for each.
• Your brand statement will work best if you describe what physical change happens as a result of using your product.
• Be specific, but keep it short.

Examples:
A firm that offers security systems for the residential market:

“… protect their valuable residences and personal property …”

A company that provides virtual assistance for digital marketers:

“… make the most of their limited time …”

An individual who coaches authors who want to have speaking careers:

“… become powerful public speakers …”

Step 3: “So they can ____”

In this part of the brand statement, you’re going to describe the transformation your ideal customers will experience once they engage with your product or service.

This is the part of the brand statement that will play the biggest part in getting your prospects excited about working with you, so spend plenty of time on this one.

Examples:
A firm that offers security systems for the residential market:

“… so they can sleep peacefully, travel confidently, and feel secure.”

A company that provides virtual assistance for digital marketers:

“… so they can make more money doing the things they love.”

An individual who coaches authors who want to have speaking careers:

“… so they can expand their reach, grow their audiences, and boost their profits.”

What does that give us?

Let’s see how our three example businesses fared with their brand statements:

A firm that offers security systems for the residential market:

We help homeowners protect their valuable residences and personal property so they can sleep peacefully, travel confidently, and feel secure.

A company that provides virtual assistance for digital marketers:

We help busy digital business owners make the most of their limited time so they can make more money doing the things they love.

An individual who coaches authors who want to have speaking careers:

I help authors become powerful public speakers so they can expand their reach, grow their audiences, and boost their profits.

Not bad, right? These short statements pack a lot of punch and demonstrate the high value each business offers — and who each one serves.

It’s your turn

Now that you know how to put one together, it’s time for you to write your own powerful brand statement.

This simple exercise will help set the direction for everything you do. You can use it on your About page, in your social media profiles, and even when you’re doing in-person networking.

Once you’re finished — and that light bulb goes off — share your brand statement with us on LinkedIn!