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They are afraid of your product or your service. Whatever you sell, there are two big reasons people aren’t buying it:

1. They don’t know about it.

2. They’re afraid of it.

If you can get over those two, then you get the chance to prove that they need it and it’s a good value. But as long as people are afraid of what you sell, you’re stuck.

A surprising number of people are afraid of accountants, lawyers, the Apple iPhone, acupuncturists, charities, insurance salesmen and boutique hotels. They’re afraid of anything with too many choices. All they see are too many opportunities to look foolish or to waste time or money.

We thought it might be useful to post our thoughts on what you should be thinking about when planning your own site.

Here’s our list of difficult but important questions you should answer before you spend any money:

1. What is the goal of the site? In other words, when it’s up and running and working well, what specific outcomes will occur?
2. Who are we trying to please? If it’s the boss, what does he/she want? Is impressing a certain kind of person important? Which kind?
3. How many people on your team have to be involved and at what level?
4. Who are we trying to reach? Is it everyone? Our customers? A certain kind of prospect?
5. What are the sites that this group has demonstrated they enjoy interacting with and why?
6. Are we trying to close sales? Are we telling a story? Are we just trying to gain permission to follow up? Are we hoping that people will watch or learn?
7. Do we need people to spread the word using various social media tools?
8. Are we building a group of people who will use the site to connect with each other?
9. Do people find the site via word of mouth?
10. Are they looking to answer a specific question?
11. Is there ongoing news and updates that need to be presented to people?
12. Is the site part of a larger suite of places online where people can find out about us, or is this our one sign post?
13. Does the information on the site require high bandwidth or just little bits of data?
14. Do we want people to call us?
15. How many times a month would we like people to come to the site and for how long do we want them to stay?
16. Who needs to update this site and how often?
17. How often can we afford to overhaul this site?
18. Does showing up in the search engines matter? If so, for what terms? At what cost? Will we be willing to compromise any of the things above in order to achieve this goal?
19. Will the site need to be universally accessible? Do issues of disability or language or browser come into it?
20. How much money do we have to spend? How much time?

And finally,

Does the organization understand that ‘everything’ is not an option?

1. Do I want people to interact with me and my brand in unexpected ways (as opposed to just quietly consume it)?
2. When they interact, do I overwhelm my clients with delight that they want to go on talking about?

If you think about dead or dying brands like Ryan Air, the answer to both questions is clearly ‘no’.

On the other hand, intelligent, vibrant, growing brands manage to answer both questions with a resounding ‘yes.’ It’s not an accident and it’s not easy, but if you do it right, it may be worth it.

I once heard a so called brand guru say, “There is no “and’ in brand.”
The guru’s point: The more specifically you define who you are and what you do, the better chance you’ll have of selling yourself. It’s counter-intuitive because so many people think that if they define themselves broadly and spread the net as far as possible then they’ll get more customers and have more options. In fact, the opposite occurs. If you try to offer too much you, not only will you be seen as a ‘jack of all trades, master of none’ will just confuse people. People will wonder how good you are at any one thing if you say you are good at so many.

Differentiate your brand.

Being like everyone else will stunt your success. Ask yourself, “What’s different, what’s relevant and special about me and why should anyone care?” Find a niche that you can own, that’s not associated with anyone else. Do not follow the pack, make your own way and shout about it on the journey.

Use words wisely.

One of the popular ideas in business today is using a story to bring a company mission, project or success to life. Stories have been powerful for centuries because they are a memorable way to convey what can often me complex ideas. Work on your elevator speech, a thirty-second personal or business “commercial” you can use when networking and when pitching yourself for new projects or assignments.

Make a visual statement.

Like it or not, you are a package, you are the brand, just like a product on a shelf. Spend time thinking about how to make your brand more powerful, distinctive and memorable, whether it’s by working on your media or presentation skills or by updating your clothes.

Establish powerful alliances.

This is perhaps one of the most powerful aspects of developing your brand. The people, projects, causes and organisations with which you are associated will help define who you are. For example, having graduated from a top university has caché but it’s becoming less and less important these days so you need other things which which can help your brand. These other less tangible things are now the most important aspect of your brand and added to that they will make yu feel good about yourself and help others.  Be open to sharing and collaboration, get involved with community, professional, and/or philanthropic organisations that align with your personal brand and that will help you network.

Define and prioritize your target markets.

As the manager of your brand, that is you remember, think in terms of markets. Identify these markets and make a list of how important to you these markets are. Do not fall in to the trap of how much money they bring in directly, this may not be the point. All of these markets play an important role in your success both from a financial and association point of view; their perception of your abilities and accomplishments can make or break you.

Take charge of your brand.

Just as every brand manager assesses his brand against competitors every once in a while to make sure that his brand is relevant and up-to-date, your personal brand needs periodic upkeep, too. How often you do this is linked to the business you are in or the profession you follow and of course it is also influence by advances in technology and fashions in its use. What worked for your brand last month may not work this month. The most popular social media channel you had great success with last year may not be relevant this year. The world is dynamic and technology moves at a pace meaning you need to stay on your toes if you want to stay abreast of new opportunities and threats. If your capabilities or accomplishments seem out of step with the current marketplace and with your competitors, it may be time to revisit, reinvent or update your brand.

The goal of course is to do this so well that when people think of, say, personal chefs, they think of you (If you happen to be a personal chef that is). Your brand should represent something different, something relevant and something valuable, your brand is your promise!

So lets go through the thought process in a little more detail.

Your message: Can you explain your big idea clearly in a couple of sentences, so that people know what’s different, why it is relevant to them and why they should care?

Your scope: If people were to Google your name, would they discover high-quality and consistent information about you, what you have done and what you can do for them?

Your market: Can you clearly define your key target markets and identify the best way to market yourself to them?

Your appearance: Do you have a unique visual identity that appeals to your target markets, and is it consistent with your personal brand?

Your style: Does your personality and your leadership style engage others?

In today’s information overloaded society, the brands that stand for something relevant and that build positive perceptions in a clear and consistent way are the ones that succeed. Answer the questions above and use them strategically, and your brand will work wonders for you.

With an all new, easier to use administrative back end and lots of new front end features.

More details here….

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