Blackbeard’s Unusual Branding Strategy
Transcript:
Hi! Welcome to this week’s training. I’m Sherri Wilson, an introverted entrepreneur that trains and empowers other introverted entrepreneurs and business owners in the art of persuasion and influence to communicate your message confidently and create the life and business true to who you are.
Entrepreneur.com defines branding as THE MARKETING PRACTICE OF CREATING A NAME, SYMBOL OR DESIGN THAT IDENTIFIES AND DIFFERNTIATES A PRODUCT FROM OTHER PRODUCTS. But tha’ts actually not a full definition because branding goes beyond your name, symbol or design that makes your product or service different from others.
Instead, think of branding as the PERSONALITY of your business, product or service that FASCINATES, which means TO IRRESTIBLY DRAW THE ATTENTION AND INTEREST OF SOMEONE.
In other words what about you makes you irresistible?
Branding is the PRESENCE you carry ranging from you as a person to the colors and design of your website to your social media presence to your business cards to your personality as a person to your character to your skills and talents.
“Branding is deliberate differentiation. ”
One entrepreneur, who happened to be a pirate--and not just any pirate—but one of the most feared, was genius at branding. I’m referring to Blackbeard, of course!
Before battle, Blackbeard dressed in all black, strapped several pistols to his chest, and donned his large black captains hat. Next he put slow-burning fuses in his hair and beard that constantly sputtered and smoked distorting his image in a greasy fog making him literally LOOK LIKE THE DEVIL HAD STEPPED OUT OF HELL AND ONTO THE SHIP.
The effect?
Most took one look at him and surrendered their cargo rather than fight him.
Blackbeard used intimidation as a business strategy minimizing battles and loss of men plus easy take over of cargo and ships.
Fascination Advantage
Sally Hogshead (by the way her last name is a wine measurement not the actual head of a hog…had no idea) has written a fascinating book called Fascinate.
In it she describes what she calls THE SEVEN FASCINATION ADVANTAGES a system she has developed over the years and using hundreds of hours of research and her expertise as a master marketer. I highly recommend her book and I’ll include the website to find your fascination advantage for free.
The 7 advantages are:
INNOVATION-THE LANGUAGE OF CREATIVITY
PASSION-THE LANGUAGE OF RELATIONSHIP
POWER-THE LANGUAGE OF CONFIDENCE
PRESTIGE-THE LANGUAGE OF EXCELLENCE
TRUST-THE LANGUAGE OF STABILITY
MYSTIQUE-THE LANGUAGE OF LISTENING
ALERT-THE LANGUAGE OF DETAILS
Most are a combination of two. For example, I am a combination of POWER AND TRUST or what Sally calls a GUARDIAN. I am PROMINENT, GENUINE, AND SURE FOOTED.
POWER is the LANGUAGE OF CONFIDENCE. Power always has a plan, moves with purpose, and reaches its goals. Power is ASSERTIVE, GOAL ORIENTED, DECISIVE, PURPOSEFUL, AND OPINIONATED. I don’t THINK. I KNOW. My brand of POWER LEADS THE WAY, TAKES CONTROL (WHEN NEEDED), PURSUES SPECIFIC GOALS, AND I AM AN AUTHORITY IN MY FIELD.
“As a brand marketer, I’m a big believer in ‘branding the customer experience,’ not just selling the service. ”
The TRUST aspect of my advantage means that my clients rely on my ability to be stable, dependable, familiar, comforting, and predictable. I can help innovate and come up with new ideas and strategies but as far as a brand, my clients don’t like surprises. My presence needs to be comforting because I can solve their problems in a decisive manner toward specific goals. I am also going to be genuine—sincere, honest, truthful, straightforward, direct, frank, candid and open.
All of this needs to be in my branding.
Now it doesn’t mean I can use some of the other advantages but my primary content, copy, marketing, and even how I conduct business functions best when I am most true to my POWER PLUS TRUST FASCINATE ADVANTAGE.
What is your fascinate advantage?
What do you have to offer potential customers that sets you apart?
Go to BRANDFASCINATION.COM and find out.
Take that information and go through all of your copy, your social media, your FB ads, and even your product and make sure that you are using the adjectives for your advantage and dominantly staying true who you are and how you help people.
Before we go, I am curious: Off the top of your head, what do you think your FASCINATE ADVANTAGE IS: INNOVATION, PASSION, POWER, PRESTIGE, TRUST, MYSTIQUE OR ALERT?
And that’s it! If you feel this training was helpful, share it with those you care about. You can send them to the blog at sherriannewilson.com/blog. Sherri with an I and Anne with an E or invite them to our private Facebook Group for live FB training each week.
Until next week, be empowered in who you are!