out what is the best tasting soft drink what Brand do you think of? If you think about what is the cheapest soft drink what Brand do you think of? Odds are, you've thought of two different Brands of pop. Why? Because those two particular qualities are almost always on opposite ends of the spectrum. It is extremely difficult to market yourself as the leader in both of those qualities. You must decide now what qualities you want most to be known for.

Once you have clearly identified what Brand X is known for, the next step is to start examining your current marketing efforts. Is your marketing focusing on these qualities, or is it all over the board. Remember to look at every piece of the marketing mix: advertising, collateral, communications, physical location

As human beings we tend to relate to one another on an emotional level, often speaking and acting before thinking. We can psych-speak all we want about being emotionally balanced and non-judgmental but we all do it, it is the nature of being a human being.

The problem here is not that we are fallible, emotional humans. The problem is that we tend to run our businesses as though they are our selves. You must begin to view your business as a completely separate entity that has no emotional baggage.

If you are having trouble embracing this concept try the following exercise: Take two pieces of paper and in 30 minutes or less write two profiles. The first profile should outline your business. Include everything that comes to mind about what this business is, how long it has been operating, who it serves, its position in the marketplace, the benefits of doing business with /purchasing from this company, who its employees and management are, its size in terms of physical location, customer base, employees, and revenues and its intentions for the future. The second profile should describe you as a human being. Your place of birth, where you grew up, your education, your interests and hobbies, what makes you unique, your family, your friends, your personal goals.

After completing this exercise you would ideally have come up with two unique profiles. Don't worry if yours seem too similar. It is a step in the right direction to have put this on paper and to have begun to think about how you and your company are one and the same, yet individual at the same time. Continue to work at separating the differences in your mind and on paper until you have two totally separate profiles. Then you are ready to move on.

Now that you are clear on the separateness of you and your business. It is time to review that profile to identify the message that you want your business to convey. Without the clarity of who and what your business on its own is, you were likely sending mixed messages. Allowing your business advertising and marketing to incorporate 'You' messages means incorporating your human limitations. So let's stop that and move you towards creating a Brand Image that has no limitations, that is innovative, inviting and irresistible!

Identify the top three qualities that you want your business to be known for. It may be helpful to think of this in terms of what you want people to say about their experience of doing business with your company. The challenge usually comes in narrowing your focus to just three. Everyone wants their customers to have dozens of wonderful things to say about their company. Though to clearly create Brand X you must streamline your expectations. Don't worry, if you offer great services or products and do business in a professional manner, people will have dozens of reasons at the end of the day. The idea is to ensure that your top three qualities will be articulated and felt by virtually all of your clients. This will begin to create the association between those qualities and your X company. If you think about what is the best tasting soft drink what Brand do you think of? If you think about what is the cheapest soft drink what Brand do you think of? Odds are, you've thought of two different Brands of pop. Why? Because those two particular qualities are almost always on opposite ends of the spectrum. It is extremely difficult to market yourself as the leader in both of those qualities. You must decide now what qualities you want most to be known for.

Once you have clearly identified what Brand X is known for, the next step is to start examining your current marketing efforts. Is your marketing focusing on these qualities, or is it all over the board. Remember to look at every piece of the marketing mix: advertising, collateral, communications, physical location

, how long it has been operating, who it serves, its position in the marketplace, the benefits of doing business with /purchasing from this company, who its employees and management are, its size in terms of physical location, customer base, employees, and revenues and its intentions for the future. The second profile should describe you as a human being. Your place of birth, where you grew up, your education, your interests and hobbies, what makes you unique, your family, your friends, your personal goals.

After completing this exercise you would ideally have come up with two unique profiles. Don't worry if yours seem too similar. It is a step in the right direction to have put this on paper and to have begun to think about how you and your company are one and the same, yet individual at the same time. Continue to work at separating the differences in your mind and on paper until you have two totally separate profiles. Then you are ready to move on.

Now that you are clear on the separateness of you and your business. It is time to review that profile to identify the message that you want your business to convey. Without the clarity of who and what your business on its own is, you were likely sending mixed messages. Allowing your business advertising and marketing to incorporate 'You' messages means incorporating your human limitations. So let's stop that and move you towards creating a Brand Image that has no limitations, that is innovative, inviting and irresistible!

Identify the top three qualities that you want your business to be known for. It may be helpful to think of this in terms of what you want people to say about their experience of doing business with your company. The challenge usually comes in narrowing your focus to just three. Everyone wants their customers to have dozens of wonderful things to say about their company. Though to clearly create Brand X you must streamline your expectations. Don't worry, if you offer great services or products and do business in a professional manner, people will have dozens of reasons at the end of the day. The idea is to ensure that your top three qualities will be articulated and felt by virtually all of your clients. This will begin to create the association between those qualities and your X company. If you think about what is the best tasting soft drink what Brand do you think of? If you think about what is the cheapest soft drink what Brand do you think of? Odds are, you've thought of two different Brands of pop. Why? Because those two particular qualities are almost always on opposite ends of the spectrum. It is extremely difficult to market yourself as the leader in both of those qualities. You must decide now what qualities you want most to be known for.

Once you have clearly identified what Brand X is known for, the next step is to start examining your current marketing efforts. Is your marketing focusing on these qualities, or is it all over the board. Remember to look at every piece of the marketing mix: advertising, collateral, communications, physical location

d the same, yet individual at the same time. Continue to work at separating the differences in your mind and on paper until you have two totally separate profiles. Then you are ready to move on.

Now that you are clear on the separateness of you and your business. It is time to review that profile to identify the message that you want your business to convey. Without the clarity of who and what your business on its own is, you were likely sending mixed messages. Allowing your business advertising and marketing to incorporate 'You' messages means incorporating your human limitations. So let's stop that and move you towards creating a Brand Image that has no limitations, that is innovative, inviting and irresistible!

Identify the top three qualities that you want your business to be known for. It may be helpful to think of this in terms of what you want people to say about their experience of doing business with your company. The challenge usually comes in narrowing your focus to just three. Everyone wants their customers to have dozens of wonderful things to say about their company. Though to clearly create Brand X you must streamline your expectations. Don't worry, if you offer great services or products and do business in a professional manner, people will have dozens of reasons at the end of the day. The idea is to ensure that your top three qualities will be articulated and felt by virtually all of your clients. This will begin to create the association between those qualities and your X company. If you think about what is the best tasting soft drink what Brand do you think of? If you think about what is the cheapest soft drink what Brand do you think of? Odds are, you've thought of two different Brands of pop. Why? Because those two particular qualities are almost always on opposite ends of the spectrum. It is extremely difficult to market yourself as the leader in both of those qualities. You must decide now what qualities you want most to be known for.

Once you have clearly identified what Brand X is known for, the next step is to start examining your current marketing efforts. Is your marketing focusing on these qualities, or is it all over the board. Remember to look at every piece of the marketing mix: advertising, collateral, communications, physical location

ou want your business to be known for. It may be helpful to think of this in terms of what you want people to say about their experience of doing business with your company. The challenge usually comes in narrowing your focus to just three. Everyone wants their customers to have dozens of wonderful things to say about their company. Though to clearly create Brand X you must streamline your expectations. Don't worry, if you offer great services or products and do business in a professional manner, people will have dozens of reasons at the end of the day. The idea is to ensure that your top three qualities will be articulated and felt by virtually all of your clients. This will begin to create the association between those qualities and your X company. If you think about what is the best tasting soft drink what Brand do you think of? If you think about what is the cheapest soft drink what Brand do you think of? Odds are, you've thought of two different Brands of pop. Why? Because those two particular qualities are almost always on opposite ends of the spectrum. It is extremely difficult to market yourself as the leader in both of those qualities. You must decide now what qualities you want most to be known for.

Once you have clearly identified what Brand X is known for, the next step is to start examining your current marketing efforts. Is your marketing focusing on these qualities, or is it all over the board. Remember to look at every piece of the marketing mix: advertising, collateral, communications, physical location

out what is the best tasting soft drink what Brand do you think of? If you think about what is the cheapest soft drink what Brand do you think of? Odds are, you've thought of two different Brands of pop. Why? Because those two particular qualities are almost always on opposite ends of the spectrum. It is extremely difficult to market yourself as the leader in both of those qualities. You must decide now what qualities you want most to be known for.

Once you have clearly identified what Brand X is known for, the next step is to start examining your current marketing efforts. Is your marketing focusing on these qualities, or is it all over the board. Remember to look at every piece of the marketing mix: advertising, collateral, communications, physical location & image, employee image, attitudes ... you name it everything conveys a message. It is time to make every aspect of your business match Brand X.

My next article will continue our work on Branding. In the meantime, start that homework. I would suggest that even if you believe you already have grasped the concept of the difference between you and your company, that you try the exercise for validation. Be intent on scrutinizing your thoughts and actions. Be determined to investing time and effort at building your business into the great venture it deserves to be.