How my Brand Blueprint has helped me to grow Honest Folk in a way that’s right for me
Your Brand Strategy (Blueprint) is your customer focused part of your business plan. Whether you’ve got a business plan written down or not, having a plan of how to reach your customers is crucial.
Two years ago, I finalised my own Brand Blueprint and it’s been a game changer for my business. So I wanted to share how I use it and the impact it’s had on my business.
It’s helped me focus on what I want
My Blueprint helps me to make sure that any business decisions I’m making fit with my long term goals. I’ve got my goals for the next 3-5 years at the very beginning of my Blueprint. Along with my vision, it reminds me what I’m doing and I can benchmark any ideas I’ve had against them to decide whether they’re right for me at this point in time.
It helps me to create new offers
Because I’ve made decisions about who I’m targeting, I can be super clear, not only in talking to them, but with the services I’ve designed for them. I can see opportunities to create new services (gaps in what I do) and understand how to test ideas through research.
I’m a lot more focused with my marketing
My Blueprint helps me to talk about what I stand for and in it, I’ve set out clearly defined themes to talk about within my marketing. It’s given me so much clarity around the right marketing channels for me.
The decision that I made recently to stop planning Instagram content came from the clarity the work on my Blueprint has given me around who my ideal customers are and how to reach them. Also, just generally feeling confident about my value and how I present myself and my business led me to that decision - all coming directly from the big piece of strategic work I did.
I’ve created a better customer experience
Last year I switched to a CRM system and that had me plotting out my processes. I spent a lot of time understanding what my audience needs from me, and at what point… and designed my processes around this. I’ve had MANY comments about my slick proposal and onboarding process which I’m pretty certain has won me clients - no doubt the ones who have asked me about it when we’ve worked together.
Having a great customer experience isn’t something to be forgotten. How do I know? Because I get an awful lot of my work from introductions and referrals and I can guarantee it’s because I’ve spent a lot of time looking after the people I work with and giving them what they expect from me - and more.
I attract my dream customers time and time again
I’m not just saying this - every one of my clients this last year has been my ideal customer. Working on my Blueprint helped me to pinpoint exactly who I love working with and understand how to communicate with them. The result is I’ve been much more clear and focused in how I talk about my business, and as a result I’ve attracted the right people (and no doubt put off the wrong ones).
I’m consistent with my content
Everything that's written in my Blueprint helps me to create that sounds like me, communicates what I stand for and be cohesive with what I’m talking about.
It also keeps me focused on what I’m doing. When I’m lost for ideas for how to promote my business or don’t know what to talk about in my content, I can go to it for ideas - from my customers problems, to the messaging I’ve defined, it’s all in there.
If you've been thinking of working on your brand, beginning with your Blueprint is a great place to start.
If you want to learn more about how your Brand Blueprint can help set a clear focus and direction in your business and bring clarity to you and your team, get in touch and we’ll have a chat.
If you’d like to craft your Blueprint with the support of a group of like-minded business folk, why not join the next cohort of my group programme?