Create a Vision for Your Brand: Day 2 of 21 Days to Build a Better Brand

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Welcome to Day 2 of 21 Days to Build a Better Brand. I hope you’re excited to start taking action to build a better brand! Today you are going to create a vision for your brand. If you want to get somewhere, you have to have a very clear idea of where you want to go. Read on to learn why creating a vision for your brand is the crucial first step in building a more remarkable brand.

Where are you going?

I grew up in Southern California and every summer when I was a kid we would go on a family vacation. We would pack up the family station wagon and head off to some exotic faraway land like San Diego, San Francisco, or Lake Tahoe. In order to end up at the right place, my dad would get out a map and figure out the best route to take. This was back in the days before the Internet and Google maps, so yes, I’m old.

The point is that in order to get to our destination my dad had to look at a map and figure out where we were, then find the exact place on the map we wanted to go. Once he knew that he could figure out the best way to get there (and all the cool places we could stop along the way!).

This same principle applies to you and your brand. If you want to be successful, you need to have a clear idea of what success will look like for you. As a brand, you need to know where you are today and where you’re trying to go.

How do you define success?

Success is a very personal thing; it can look very different to each of us. Do you want 20 new clients over the next 12 months? Would you like to open a second location in 3 years? Is increasing sales by 10% each month your main objective? You need to create a crystal clear vision of where you want to go as a brand and then set S.M.A.R.T. goals (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound) to make sure you get there.

Your Brand Snapshot

Before you get started setting goals and creating a big, bold vision for your brand you need to know where you right now. Start by taking a quick inventory or snapshot of what your brand looks like today.

How’s business today? Are your sales numbers where you want them to be? How many locations do you have? How many employees currently work for you? How does your brand look, sound, and feel to the outside world? What’s the story you are telling? Who is your customer and what do you know about them? What brand assets do you currently need or need to update? Your brand assets are things like your logo, website, advertising campaigns, social media accounts,  marketing campaigns, printed marketing materials, etc. The idea is to just take a quick look at where you are right now. This will act as your starting point as you move forward.

Create a Vision for Your Brand

Now that you know where you are, you need to decide where you want to go. This is a big and powerful first step for you and your brand if you want to build something truly remarkable.

I’m going to give you permission to think BIG when creating your brand vision. Here’s a great question you can ask yourself: If you could wave a magic wand and have the business of your dreams right now, what would that look like? What would you be doing? Who would you be helping? What would a day in your life look like? What would your sales numbers be like? Would you have more than one location? How many employees would you need? What’s the story you really want to tell? What does your customer look like?

Paint a clear and detailed picture of what your life and your brand would look like. Pay special attention to how all of this makes you feel. Is this the life you want for yourself? It really should be! There’s something very powerful about creating your vision and knowing exactly where you want to go. After all, if you don’t know where you’re going you’ll never be able to get there.

Day 2 Action Item – Create a Vision for Your Brand

Go somewhere where you won’t be distracted and where you can focus. This could be your front porch, your office, a quiet corner of your house, or the local coffee shop. Grab a notebook or your 21 Days to Build a Better Brand Workbook, a pen or pencil, and just start writing.

Take a quick snapshot of where you are today as a brand. Be honest about where you are right now in this moment. It’s OK that you don’t have everything sorted, you’ll get there soon enough.

Next, get crystal clear about where you want to be in the future. Be sure to include plenty of S.M.A.R.T. goals and some solid timelines for reaching those goals. Where do you want to be by the end of this series, in three week’s time? Where do you hope to be in six months, or one year, or five years? Paint a big, bold, beautiful vision for yourself and your brand.

Coming up: Tomorrow you’ll identify what’s most important to you as a brand and create your brand manifesto.

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