Don’t Just Solve Your Customers’ Problems, Enrich Their Lives
I recently had the pleasure of working with Paul Rakowicz to develop his Brand Strategy and Messaging Framework. The very talented designer Kelby VanBrocklin created his Visual Brand Identity, and to bring everything together, I built him a new website. Check it out!
I believe great brands don’t just solve our tangible immediate problems, but that they go deeper to also enrich our lives. Paul’s brand does just that - it goes beyond the typical public speaking coaching model (improving our performance) and into the realm of holistic personal growth by helping his clients “train their speaking voice to unlock a life of greater influence, confidence and connection.”
Early on in the process, while we were exploring the purpose behind his brand (why his brand exists beyond making money), Paul candidly said “I just want people to be so comfortable with their sense of self that they’re happy and can do whatever they want to do, not being held back by their voice.” That’s when I knew we had the makings of a great brand, and we quickly got to work building his brand strategy and messaging framework around that noble idea. We dug deeper beyond the tangible benefits of vocal coaching and leaned into the emotional benefits to showcase how training your speaking voice actually changes your view of yourself.
This is a lesson in brand strategy and messaging we can all implement; the tangible benefits are important to communicate to your audience, but going beyond those concrete solutions to communicate the personal transformation that will take place is what will make your audience connect with your brand, and ultimately how your brand will enrich their lives.
Going back to Paul’s brand, take a look at how we went beyond tangible benefits to position his brand as a life-enriching brand, not just a problem solving brand. Both are important, but the former connects on a deeper level. Here’s an example of one tangible benefit that we explored for deeper meaning during our strategy building phase of the project:
Eliminate vocal fillers (tangible solution)
Make it easier for your listener to connect with what you’re saying (tangible benefit)
Create deeper connections and gain more influence (emotional benefit)
Become a more confident person (personal transformation)
How does your brand enrich your clients’ lives? When you solve their tangible problems, does anything else happen? Anything deeper? If you sell house cleaning supplies, do you just kill 99.9% of germs? Or do you also empower your customers to create a peaceful and rejuvenating space for their family to enjoy life together? Shifting your brand messaging to these more emotional and transformative benefits helps you stand out from the crowd of competition.
Here’s a fun challenge - pick one tangible solution your brand provides, and then dig deeper to find the emotional benefit and personal transformation that solution can lead to. Post in the comments!
