Chapter 6
A Life and Business That's Carefully Crafted
I want to tell you about a really valuable skill set you have but that you might be fumbling around with.
You may not realize this, but every Matriarch has experience in “brand development.” People pay experts tens of thousands of dollars for brand development services and you, my friend, DIY'd it! Now, while you have in fact done this yourself, I'm not quite sure you were strategic or deliberate about it. But the good news is, it's not too late to change that!
Let me explain. Branding is the practice of strategically building a company's value proposition and reputation. A value proposition is a cleverly designed description of how your product or service is uniquely superior to other brands who sell similar things. A brand's reputation is based on the quality of its products or services, how it makes others feel, how it interacts, how it behaves, what it stands for and believes in, and whether or not it is aesthetically pleasing.
Being deliberate about creating your brand allows you to thoughtfully consider what you want to be known for. Once you know what that is, you can work backward from there to establish it. A Matriarch doesn't just hope for the best, she consciously designs her brand and she is perceived the way she intends to be.
A brand's message is conveyed in a multitude of ways, and whether it's business branding or personal branding, it should always be done purposefully.
Branding: Just Do It
Let's look at a brand like Nike. Nike is an American multinational corporation. They are the world's largest supplier and manufacturer of athletic shoes, apparel, and other sports equipment. The name itself originates from Greek Mythology. “Nike” was the Goddess of speed, strength, and victory. That's kind of sexy if you ask me.
But let's focus on their tagline for a minute since it's so iconic and speaks so loudly to the person Nike hopes to attract. Nike tells us to, “Just Do It.” It's an anchor in their brand's message. It ties us as consumers to the brand. Nike seeks to attract athletes, right? And athletes don't whine and complain. They … Just Do It. The brand makes sense to the person Nike seeks to attract; it speaks their language.
But even wiser, Nike knows that with this message, they will also attract those who want to … Just Do It. Expressing this brand message so clearly to the world has been a key element to the company's success. Add to it exceptional customer service, a comfortable price point, and positive messaging that supports this kick-ass tagline, and we have ourselves an athletic brand of great speed and incredible strength that is victorious in the marketplace!
Nike cleverly tied this message to an onomatopoeia; Swoosh. Their logo alone, the iconic Swoosh symbol, intentionally inspires movement, and stimulates the message of get up and go. Or simply put … Just Do It.
People Are Their Own Brands
The interactions we have with other people convey messages about who we are. And while we are not businesses (we are individual people) and those we interact with are not customers (they are neighbors, family members, friends, and acquaintances), we are making an impression on them. That impression will empower their decision to keep us around or kick us to the curb. I'd like to be kept around.
Clearly, there are parallels between building a personal brand, and a business building its brand.
IT SETS US APART
Branding is important because it's how we define what is unique about us. It's what differentiates us from others and it's what enables people to know what they can expect from us. It helps them anticipate how we will respond or react; it's how we become predictable in the minds of others. When we are somewhat predictable, people feel safer connecting with us.
MEET THE ROCK 'N' ROLL DOULA
I'll use myself as an example. I love rock 'n' roll. My whole life, rock 'n' roll has been playing in the background. As a small child, I remember going to festivals with my hippie parents. I was maybe six or seven years old. I'd be wearing cut-off shorts and my mom would take a red bandana, fold it into a triangle and tie it around me as a shirt. My dad made braided leather headbands and my long curly hair would be parted in the middle and flowing freely with one of those headbands across my forehead and tied around the back of my head. The spirit of rock 'n' roll filled my soul.
My family was involved in the music business. My aunt and uncle opened a record store in the early 1980s and, soon after, started managing some heavy metal bands. I found myself as a 14-year-old girl in the company of bands like Metallica and Anthrax on a pretty regular basis. My parents got involved and were responsible for the arts and graphics for some pretty legendary album covers. Every weekend was a different show at a different venue, and it was not uncommon for them to take me out of school on a Friday to go help set up for an event. Music has always been a priority and it is a deeply rooted part of who I am.
As my life evolved and I became a doula, it wasn't long before I took on the persona of the “Rock 'n' Roll Doula.” The Rock 'n' Roll Doula is my personal brand. It encompasses everything I stand for and believe in. The rock 'n' roll attitude is one of rebellion, freedom: it's having a fierce presence without fear of judgment. It's emotional and real and it's worn on the sleeve of a black leather jacket.
As a doula, I enable the empowerment that comes with the rock 'n' roll spirit in the clients that I work with. I help them face their fears and find their fierce. My personal brand speaks loudly and clearly. You can see it when you look at me and you can feel it in my space. I breathe it into others the way Robert Plant did (look him up) when he stepped up to the mic.
NOW, MEET YOURSELF
It's your turn! Over the next couple of days, I want you to ask the people in your life to describe you. Ask specifically what they would say about you if they were describing you to someone else. Encourage them to move quickly past the part about your height, weight, and hair color, and get to the good stuff: how they describe your personality. What character traits stand out to them. What they would say you rally for or believe in. Don't lead them. Just keep saying, “Tell me more.” As a self-awareness exercise, you should also take some time to write down what you anticipate them saying. See if you're accurate about how you are perceived.
Now, you may hear what those people say and think, yes, that is exactly what I intend for people to think of me. It may define you to a T and you may be super proud of yourself at the end of the exercise. If that's the case, that's awesome and this next section won't apply to you.
But if you found a big disconnect between what they said about you and what you expected, or what you hoped they would say, well, then you've got some work to do, and I'm gonna help you. I'll show you exactly how to create a personal brand that connects who you are on the outside to the extraordinary Matriarch on the inside who's just dying to get out!
Rebuilding Your Brand Based on Your Authentic Self
Ok, so you did my little exercise and what you found is that what others likely perceive about you is nothing like who you actually are, or what you necessarily want associated with your brand.
Maybe what you heard was something like, “She's really nice; sweet. She prioritizes others but always seems a bit frazzled. She's always in a hurry but will stop and chat for hours. She volunteers a ton of time but says she can't afford to participate in events that cost money. She loves her family but is sarcastic when talking about them …”
Maybe after hearing this, you decide … Wait a minute! That's not the impression I want people to have of me.
Well, girl, don't worry! A Matriarch starts anew. She leaves the past behind her and she recognizes each day as an opportunity to lead the life she always wanted. So if you are not pleased, you will simply take a new action. Let's get started on that now.
This deliberate brand that you are about to build is to only be based on your authentic self. Do you understand me? That means you will have to release yourself of the chains that have been placed on you by the expectations of others, now and in the past. You will have to give yourself permission to mentally tell those people to fuck off and break out of the box they have placed you in. That's not gonna be easy because their voices have been cultivating you and shaping you your whole life. But today, you take that power back.
You're gonna have to dig deep and find the authentic voice that lives within you. The one that the people in your life have been trying to silence by telling you to be more like this or more like that. Less of this and less of that … Girl, let me be clear, no matter how loud those voices are or have been in the past, no matter what direction they come at you from, they can never remove who you actually are deep down inside.
So let's not concern ourselves with what others think we should be, or what they express they want for us, and instead, focus on bringing exactly who we are to the surface.
SCHEDULE YOUR DISCOVERY SESSION NOW!
A discovery session is a brainstorming opportunity to design and develop a solid “image” for a brand. In this case, I am encouraging you to use it as a personal-evaluation process to create a clear interpretation of who you are. This will help you to become more comfortable in your own skin and give others an accurate perception of you. It will also lead you to personal fulfillment, which happens to be the real prize you're after here anyway, my friend.
Keep in mind that the reason this is so important is because if you don't express who you authentically are and what your true message is, you will seem less impressive than you actually are. By not giving others the opportunity to know your true self, you are removing the chances of them falling wildly in love with you.
The world wants to know who the fuck you are. So take some history changing actions that give them that opportunity, OK?!
Do this by yourself or work together with some other soon-to-be-Matriarchs. By the way, if you choose the latter, wine and chocolate will enhance this experience immensely. You may also want to have a box of tissues handy. Just sayin'.
Let's begin. Allow yourself to read deep into the following questions while feeling the thoughts and emotions they each inspire. How you feel as you explore your responses is more valuable than what you think. Thus, the reason for the tissues.
WHAT MATTERS MOST TO YOU?
What thoughts never seem to go away for you? If you continuously focus on education, perhaps personal growth is something that matters most to you. Ask yourself what you fear most. When you fear losing someone, it is a clear indication that that person really matters to you. If you have trouble sorting out the things that matter most to you, explore some of your fears and ask yourself why you fear them. What would you regret not doing or investing in?
WHAT WORRIES YOU?
What, if anything, keeps you up at night with worry? Is it related to finances? Health? Relationships? Age? Work? This is closely related to what matters most to you and getting to the bottom of it will really give you a direction for your energy and focus.
WHAT, IF ANYTHING, ARE YOU PASSIONATE ABOUT?
What do you constantly read, research, and talk about? If you were given the world's microphone for 60 seconds, what message would you want to convey right now? I say “right now” because this can change. What we are passionate about in our 20s verses our 50s may be different. In fact, it likely will be. Today, focus on today, OK? What would you be doing today if you could be doing absolutely anything in the world?
If this question has you stumped, you may want to start broadening your horizons. Do this by first searching the back corners of your mind for something in your past that you loved. Maybe as a child you had an experience that was amazing and your passion lies somewhere within that experience. If your memories still leave you without a direction, take a class. Join a club. Try something new. You could be missing out on something you might really enjoy.
HOW DO YOU WANT OTHER PEOPLE TO FEEL AFTER SPENDING TIME IN YOUR PRESENCE?
This question is here because you have a choice about how people feel after interacting with you and what they walk away with is part of your brand message. How do you want them to feel? What three adjectives do you want them to use to describe you? You can start by thinking about opposites. Here are some examples: radical or conservative, serious or silly, curious or cautious, organized or careless, cooperative or difficult, energetic or lazy, bold or timid. The list goes on and on.
For each comparison, consider all of the in-betweens. It doesn't have to be an extreme. Perhaps it's a varying degree of one or the other that may best describe you. Do this exercise to determine what adjectives you would feel proud to be associated with.
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE PARTICULAR PRINCIPLES THAT YOU STAND FOR AND BELIEVE IN?
For the purpose of answering this question, I want you to imagine that you have a high-powered position with a very well-known company doing something you absolutely love. Imagine that your salary is upward of $250,000 a year and your benefit package is over-the-top. OK, got it?
Now ask yourself what could happen within this company or what action could this company take that would cause you to walk away from it all. Take your time with this; really think it through. This thought process when done with diligence will likely trigger some emotion. Allow that to happen and use it to affirm your belief system.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS THAT YOUR FRIENDSHIP OFFERS OTHERS?
Are you a good friend? What do you bring to friendship? Don't slip into listing the features of your friendship: “I'm really nice, I'm reliable, I show up.” Instead, get to how your friendship benefits someone else.
Here's an example. I don't know if it applies in your case, but it's a starting point for your exploration. “People benefit from my friendship because I make them a priority. I actively listen to them and work hard to be objective.”
WHERE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF IN 10 YEARS?
This will lead you to creating a vision for your future. I mean, shit, the future is inevitably coming so we might as well have a plan in place, right? Your answer to this question will enable you to see the bigger picture and will help you in creating habits and behaviors that become part of the identity that gets you where you want to be.
WHAT BELIEFS OR PRINCIPLES ARE YOU WILLING TO FIGHT FOR?
First, by “fight” I don't mean like an earrings off, hair in a ponytail, hold my jacket, I'm about to kick this bitch's ass, kind of fight.
What I'm getting at is that when someone threatens or assertively challenges your core values or principles, something deep within you takes over and your adrenaline kicks in. I want you to figure out what core values or principles being challenged would evoke this reaction for you.
WHAT KINDS OF COMPLIMENTS WOULD YOU LIKE TO RECEIVE?
While we should never place too much focus on what others think of us, when we are defining ourselves through personal brand development we have the opportunity to behave in a way that brings us the result we are looking for.
So I ask, what do you want people to say about you? What would be your greatest compliment?
Your Brand Aesthetic: Are You Bland or On Brand?
So that was the first step. And it was a pretty gnarly step at that. Hopefully you took a lot away from it and learned a great deal about yourself.
Now we have to think about this brand's aesthetic. What does it look like? In business branding, the next step would be to start designing a logo, choosing fonts, and picking colors. But you are not a business; you are a person. So in this case, we're gonna focus on your personal appearance and how it connects you to your brand identity.
If we learned that your brand is outgoing and sassy with a splash of feminist views, a dash of higher education, and a pinch of yogi, would I know that from looking at you? Would I see you at a yoga class and think, “Wow, there's something about this chick. I want more of her in my life.” Or would I inadvertently not notice you and miss out on what could have been an incredible friend opportunity? The question really is, are you bland or are you on brand?
Part of being carefully crafted is adorning yourself in a way that aligns with who you are. But you must also consider that part of feeling and conveying confidence is looking like the best version of who you are.
If you're smart, do you look smart? If you love nature and the great outdoors, does it show up in your personal appearance? Your clothes? The car you drive? The bag you carry? What message is your personal appearance conveying? Now don't confuse this with simple vanity. This is about conveying a strong and authentic message about who you are. This is not about being vain or shallow. It is actually quite deep and identifying.
Now that you have a clearer understanding of your brand, when you are out shopping and you see something and think, hmmm … that's cute. Stop for a moment and think to yourself, does this item represent me? The me that I am on the inside and the me that I want others to see? Is this something that will contribute to defining my brand?
You can recognize something as cute and think, that screams “Debbie's brand,” but if it doesn't even whisper yours, either leave it on the rack or buy it for Debbie.
I'm not saying you have to go spend thousands of dollars on a new wardrobe or buy yourself the most expensive haircut in town. You don't have to go buy a new car or get a new bag. I mean if you want to, I'm certainly not going to be the one to stop you, but don't misunderstand what I'm saying here.
All I want is for you to be deliberate about it when you do. When you go buy a new shirt, buy one that looks like a smart, sassy, outdoorsy yogi would wear it. They come in all price points so there is no reason for you not to. Not quite sure how to choose one? There's a resource for that, Matriarch. We call it, Pinterest!
STEP UP TO THE MIC
The next question is, what is this brand's voice? As the Rock 'n' Roll Doula, my words are powerful and fierce – sometimes a bit shocking and rebellious (as you may have noticed) – but also empowering and uplifting. Rock 'n' roll is edgy, and my brand's voice speaks that.
Let's look at a different brand's voice. Take the Demur Doctor. She's polished and crisp. She's playful but sophisticated. She's prompt and courteous. She's cautiously adventurous, careful, and calculated. And for these reasons, she speaks slowly and meticulously. She's conscientious and thorough in her explanations, always asking specifically about each member of a friend's family and following up on the events in each of their lives. She remembers important things with astounding detail. She is authentic and that is evident to others.
Take a mental pause from time to time and ask yourself if your words and tone are really yours. Are you mimicking others, or are you being authentic to your own brand's voice? You can be inspired by others, and likely will be, but remember to stay true to yourself.
Whatever you do, just be careful you're not trying to morph into that cool chick in the corner sipping a latte. What you see as cool about her is a whole package; it's an entire brand. You can't just slap the same badass hat on your head that she's wearing and share her cool. You'll look like an asshole. It's not the hat that's making her cool; it's the confidence she walks in when she wears it. She's confident because she built an authentic brand, and that hat is just part of its aesthetic.
MARTINIS, SKI RESORTS, AND DOUCHEBAGS: HOW NOT TO FIND YOURSELF
Don't take any of this lightly. This is a powerful personal exercise and doing it will enable you to have a deeper understanding of how to build a business brand now or in the future. If you don't take care of this now, it could seriously fuck you up later.
Have you ever met someone who hasn't ever sorted this stuff out? I bet you have. She's the woman that ends up feeling absolutely desperate to “find herself,” which leads to her insatiable need to run: to go and “search for who she is.”
When a woman makes a decision to leave her partner and her kids out of desperation, thinking it's how she will find herself, she accepts reckless abandon as her next step. Imagine the desperation associated with that decision. It comes from letting life just happen to you.
What the fuck?! You're going to Maine to sit in a ski lodge and drink a martini with some douchebag because you need someone to tell you you're pretty and you need to feel alive again? You will never feel more alive than when you're living in your truest and most authentic self, and I am here to tell you that that is not at a ski lodge with some douchebag drinking a martini.
Girl, I don't want you to find yourself there, and I don't think you do either. In fact, that is how you lose yourself, NOT find yourself.
Your Personal Style Guide
Let me show you how this branding thing worked for a woman named Rachael. Rachael and I were working to create her business's brand, but I suggested that we start with her personal brand first. I knew that before she could really step into this entrepreneurial role, she had to understand and embody the fullness of her own personal brand.
Individual people run small businesses, and a personal brand matters to the success of any small business.
I could see Rachael's brand a mile away, but she hadn't seen it and she certainly hadn't learned to bring it to life yet. She hired me as her “wise counsel” to basically spray the Windex on the window into herself and wipe it clean so that she could clearly see what she was missing.
What Rachael needed to develop was “a personal style guide” that would give her a reference point for clarity and for making decisions that would enable brand alignment. Here are some things you should know about Racheal. She's earthy. She's deliberate. She chooses every word with precision. She can see inside the mind and soul of the people around her and then put those insights into crystal clear words.
She uses words to lift others up. She chooses hygiene products based on ingredients and always has her nose in a book. She goes nowhere without her leather-bound journal and a pen in every pocket of her low-hanging hip bag. When she's dressed in a flowing pair of patterned palazzo pants with a silk blouse billowing out from under a smart-fitted, tan suede blazer with the sleeves rolled up, all of her gorgeous characteristics are amplified.
When I said the words, “Rachael, you are the Boho Brainiac!” her eyes got wide, her mouth dropped open, and suddenly it all became clear. Just like I'm the Rock 'n' Roll doula – or wife, or mother, or CEO, or business coach, or author – basically, anything I do, I do as the Rock 'n' Roll [woman] … Rachael is the Boho Brainiac [fill in the blank].
WHAT IS YOUR TITLE? AND WHAT STYLE GUIDE GOES WITH IT?
Your branding keeps you on track. It helps you make decisions that are so clear to you that they can become just as clear to your acquaintances or customers. People begin to trust you, and your authenticity is what leads the way.
As you start doing this, your brand will evolve, and this thinking will eventually become second nature. You'll find yourself referencing your Personal Style Guide less and less because your intuition will take the wheel and will never steer you in the wrong direction again.
Your Family Has Also Been Branded
Understanding and developing your personal brand was only the beginning. You, in all of your infinite wisdom or lack thereof, also created a family brand. That is, if you've in fact started a family. The best way I can explain this is by introducing you to the Duchants.
Marie Duchant is a painter and graphic designer. Her husband Charles is an architect, and together they have created the most beautiful, culturally rich home in the neighborhood. A party at the Duchant home is an event that no one is too busy for. You know when you arrive that you'll be treated to great music and artistically decadent food, and you'll be in the presence of inspiring and intellectual people.
Their three sons will be there, pulling out chairs for guests, refreshing drinks, and engaging soulfully in adult conversation. Before the night is through, Miles, their oldest, will captivate partygoers with an original composition on their hand-painted, antique upright Steinway.
You will leave feeling inspired and somehow smarter and more cultured. In fact, the Duchants have this effect on everyone they meet. But if you ran into Marie Duchant on the street and asked her to describe her “family's brand,” she would likely say, “Brand? We don't have a brand.”
The truth is, it's unlikely that Charles and Marie ever sat down to intentionally craft a brand that exudes culture, excellence, and intellect. It's also unlikely that they showed their three boys a PowerPoint presentation on how to be chivalrous and engaging and how to behave in a manner that is in line with their family's brand identity.
The Duchants simply lived in authenticity, and because they did, the family brand that evolved defined them and set them apart from others. And that's exactly what makes a business's brand powerful. It defines the business and sets it apart in their industry. It makes visible their value proposition and it attracts their target market (we'll get to what that means in a minute).
When I start to talk about branding in my business classes, most of the people think we're going to talk about logos, colors, and fonts. They're very surprised when I say that comes a bit later.
But let's look at another example.
The Wedding Therapist: Finding the Starting Point for Her Business's Brand
Glynna grew up in a small town in Texas. She is married to Robert, who is an engineer for a company that manufactures airplane engines. Glynna owns a booming wedding planning business. She's sought after, feverishly referred to, and her name alone says “the perfect wedding” in the small town where she's lived her whole life. Her entire business began when she planned her best friend's wedding right out of high school. The photos of that event moved quickly through social media and her phone started ringing. “I heard you planned Arianna's wedding. Can you help me with mine?” And from there, Glynna built a business based on customer need that grew to four full-time employees and a calendar booked more than a year in advance.
That was until Robert got an offer he couldn't refuse, to transfer to the West Coast making nearly double his current salary. Glynna's whole business revolved around her location. She has an incredible skill set, but her clients came exclusively from word of mouth. The idea of moving to a new area, where her business had no reputation yet, left her paralyzed. So as any good Matriarch would do, Glynna sought wise counsel.
She was desperate to take her experience and expertise with her to the West Coast, where she'd have to start from the beginning and wasn't sure how.
The first thing I helped her do was write a business plan because she needed a road map to get to her business's final destination. Part of writing a business plan is, of course, brand development, and I was excited to tackle that with her.
Glynna understood that her client base in Texas came from her personal connections and referrals, not from deliberately building a brand, marketing it, and attracting clients. She recognized that she had no personal connections where she'd be on the West Coast and that, without them, referrals would be nonexistent. She was confident that once she landed her first client, more would follow, but she also knew that people planning weddings don't walk around in white gowns with signs around their necks that say, “Hey, help me plan my wedding.”
What Glynna needed to do was define who she wanted to serve and build a brand that would attract them. To this Matriarch's advantage, she knew who these people were, inside and out. She knew what gender they were, how old they were, and what mattered most to them. She knew what social media platforms they were seeking inspiration from, and she knew what magazines they were reading. She knew how to ask the right questions to help them develop a vision for their wedding.
People in her town called her “the wedding therapist.” She could get into the head of a bride and pull out her wildest dreams. She had a stop-at-nothing attitude about bringing a woman's biggest wedding wishes to fruition. Whether it was a Cinderella fairy-tale wedding or a sacred campground ceremony, Glynna could create it with style and perfection.
As she and I worked through the branding part of her business plan, the words practically jumped off the paper. Glynna's value proposition as a wedding planner is her ability to bring a fantasy to reality. When I spoke those words to her, her face lit up. It was just like the moment when Rachael realized she was in fact the Boho Brainiac.
At that very moment, “Once Upon a Wedding—Bringing Your Fantasy Wedding to Fruition” was conceptualized. The tagline spoke directly to the target demographic Glynna wanted to serve, in exactly their language.
Now Glynna had a starting point, and around this she could easily build a style guide. She could build a website and marketing materials that would attract the clients she wanted to serve. She could now start meeting with the graphic designer who would develop the aesthetic of this brand.
A Carefully Crafted Matriarch Business
I should tell you that I never, ever imagined myself as a business owner. The idea of creating and operating a business was never part of who I imagined I'd become, but as my life evolved, so did my passions. If you've never considered it, don't rule it out. It just might mean you haven't gotten to that part of your life yet.
Either way, I hope that by now you can see how being the Matriarch of your life, your home, and your family has prepared you really well for owning a business either now or sometime in the future.
I want you to think carefully about a product or service that you could get excited about selling or providing. Maybe it's hand-crafted soaps or holiday ornaments. Maybe it's baked goods or scented candles. Perhaps you sew, or tutor, or teach dance, or doula, or any number of possibilities that can all become businesses and produce revenue for you.
Now, I want you to think about owning a business around this product or service and who might be interested in buying it.
A MATRIARCH KNOWS HER AUDIENCE AND CRAFTS A BRAND TO SUIT IT
The days of slapping an arbitrary logo on the side of a building and calling it a business are long gone. In this day and age, you must humanize your brand in order to get noticed. Human beings want connection; they want to know who they are contributing to with their hard-earned money. They want to know that you share their values and that you support their causes. And the way they find out is through your brand's message.
While Glynna had history and a reputation in Texas, it wasn't going with her to the West Coast. She'd have to start from the beginning. The thing about branding, when it comes to a new business, is that the business has no history or reputation. It hasn't yet made any decisions, it doesn't have any values, and it can't draw on its authentic self, because it doesn't yet exist.
What's exciting about this is that you get to create it from scratch. Think of it as a lump of clay that you get to mold and shape into a piece of art that you are proud to stamp your name on. If you're the kind of person who gets a paintbrush and is afraid to make art because you think you'll wreck it, seek wise counsel like Glynna did.
HITTING A BULL'S-EYE
Before you begin branding, you must know who this business of yours seeks to attract. Remember, you started your personal branding process by considering the impression you want to make. In business, it's the same. Only in this case, we seek to make a great impression on a particular audience.
We call them our “target market.” A target market is a group of consumers organized by demographics who are the people most likely to desire and purchase your products or services.
When someone is unfamiliar with this term and I introduce it to them, their first reaction is that it seems exclusionary. I get why they think that, so I explain further. To shoot 100 love-potion-filled arrows in 100 different directions and hope that one of them hits “Mr. Right” would be a complete waste of time and resources. Instead, determine what the term “Mr. Right” means to you. Perhaps in this case, it is a man who is extremely handsome, has a great job, a respect for women, is an exceptional communicator, loves to travel, wants two children and a house on the cape, and is intellectually attractive to you. Now, you can take one arrow, fill it with a potent dose of love potion, draw it back, aim with the utmost precision, and launch it directly into the center of the bull's-eye. That is what understanding your target market offers your business.
After working so intimately with so many brides, Glynna had this part in the bag, so she was ready to start with brand development. If you have a business or you are considering starting one, and you haven't clearly identified your target market, that would be step one.
A MATRIARCH CAREFULLY CRAFTS HER TARGET MARKET AND WE'RE GONNA DO THAT NOW
The following questions will lead you to determining who your target market is or would be. Imagine you are looking for one particular person. This person embodies exactly who you believe can afford your product or service and who will benefit most from it. As you move through the following series of thought-provoking questions, imagine how your perfect customer would answer them.
Know the customer and their needs. Who is the person who can benefit most from what you sell? Are they women? Men? Children? Pets? How old are they? Are they in their teens? 20s? 40s? 60s? Where do they live? Which states? Cities? Communities? Neighborhoods? Do they own a home or do they rent? Do they live in an area you are able to serve? What problem are they seeking to fix, or what part of their life do they wish to improve? Can your product or service fix their problem or improve their life?
Know what their personal preferences and lifestyle choices are. Do they avoid chemicals in hygiene products? Do they eat exclusively organic? Are they athletic? When they travel, do they go to the beach? The city? The mountains? Do they stay in the country or travel abroad? Do they have large families or are they single with no children? Is extended family nearby or have they relocated?
Know their interests. Are they animal lovers? Wine drinkers? Foodies? Do they enjoy the outdoors? Hiking? Camping? Are they readers? TV watchers? Podcast listeners? What magazines do they read? What blogs do they follow?
Know where they shop. Apple? Nike? IKEA? Restoration Hardware? Bed Bath & Beyond? Old Navy? Gap? Coach? Michael Kors? Crate and Barrel? BMW? Ford?
Know what social media platforms they engage in. Facebook? Instagram? LinkedIn? YouTube? Snapchat? Twitter? Pinterest?
Know what their values and virtues are. What matters to them? What do they stand for? What do they value? What type of charities do they support? What do they rally for?
Can they afford your product or service? Are they people who are comfortable with investing in themselves? How do they determine something's value? Are they impulsive? Are they “see it, like it, buy it” people? Or are they researchers who determine value through evidence and credibility?
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When we know the habits of those we seek to attract and we know what they are already attracted to, we can draw on it for inspiration as we build our brand, its aesthetic, and our marketing materials.
Do you see how this exercise can help you determine how to craft a business around your expertise?! You can literally explore your personal skill set and passions, determine if there is a market that will benefit from it, build a business, and go for it!