Branding. Marketing. What’s the Difference? What Do We Need to Know About the Difference?

Sharing is caring!

I’m so excited. I have a cool conversation about what is branding with my friend and branding expert, Tiffany Scott, to share today!

Tiffany Scott is founder of the You Me She Collective in Los Angeles.

Tiffany’s passion is to empower and inspire women. Through her own journey she has become a huge advocate for women rising to the top – what ever their ‘top’ might be. Tiffany says:

We need to stand together unite and support each other so we can realize our dreams and let nothing stand in our way. No boundaries allowed here!

Cynthia Trevino: Hi Tiffany! Thanks for doing this Q & A for my blog! When we met recently at the event in Los Angeles, I immediately loved your ideas, creativity and energy around branding!

Tiffany Scott: Hi Cynthia! I’m glad to do this!

CT: As an Evolutionary Entrepreneur focused on working with women to grow their businesses—I know the topic of branding is key. ‘What is branding’ brings up a ginormous basket of questions.

Branding’s hugely important…and wildly misunderstood!

My superpowers are: helping women entrepreneurs get clarity on their perfect customers, their customers top 5 core problems and how to determine the kinds of content that will help your perfect customers find you!

So, while there are 100’s of definitions of marketing, here’s mine:

Marketing is the foundation for your business + how you find your perfect customers.

Marketing is getting clarity about exactly what you do best and who is the person you serve best.

Who is your perfect customer, exactly?

Know everything about him or her. Not just their gender, age, income, job role and other demographics. Know your perfect customers as well as you know your family.

Know their top 5 core problems or aspirations. What are the headaches they’ll pay anything to solve?

What are the goals they want to achieve now!

Next, it’s time to do the math.

• Your skills + your customer’s needs + your branding = Your Fabulous Business

What is branding?

CT: Here are my branding questions, because your superpowers are hugely in BRANDING. First, what is branding (really)?

TS: Branding is the way you ‘SHOW UP’ in every facet of your business. A brand is about being seen and being heard in a bigger, bolder way. It’s an identity that you carry with you.

CT: How do women entrepreneurs who have branding ‘all dialed in’ do it?

TS: They own it! They are consistent in the way they speak, dress, blog, tweet, post – they show up uniquely and in a way that demands attention.

CT: Can you do branding alone? I mean, for yourself?

TS: Hell No! You can’t see the forest through the trees (as my Dad says). You need support, someone that helps your best attributes shine and reminds you how your uniqueness builds a brand.

CT: What are the misperceptions women business owners have about branding?

TS: That a logo or a website is a brand. Blaaaa, makes me so mad. Grrrrrrrr. It’s soooooo much more than that. You need to be congruent in every way. A logo and a website are only the surface.

CT: What are the glaring branding mistakes we, as women entrepreneurs, can avoid?

TS: Speak your truth and stand by it. And be consistent, consistency is key!

CT: How?

TS: Start with the foundational pieces and build from there. Branding takes time, you have to get to know yourself and what drives you – truly. It can take some soul searching – just like being an entrepreneur does. People don’t like to hear it but a true brand takes time to build. In a quick fix world the ones that last are the ones that build, build, build.

CT: What are the key questions a woman can ask herself, to pinpoint where she is on her branding path?

TS: Ask yourself, as a woman entrepreneur, these questions:

1. Are you communicating what you’re passionate about, verbally, visually and written?
2. Do you stand for anything – really?
3. Who are you attracting?
4. Who do you want to attract – are these two in sync?
5. Who are you surrounding yourself with? It all connects!
6. Who inspires you?

CT: Could you share a quick story about a woman entrepreneur you worked with and her branding journey?

TS: Sure! Lets call our entrepreneur, Miss Awesome.

Miss Awesome had a constant flow of business because she was well connected, skilled and very personable. However, she knew she could achieve more and wanted an income that allowed to her travel when and where she wanted, buy nice clothes and get a bigger apartment….amongst other lovely things.

She came to me frustrated that she just couldn’t seem to make that next leap. She was established but not recognized. She wanted to be seen as the expert in her field. She needed to stand out from the crowd.

Her biggest challenge was that Miss Awesome didn’t know how awesome she was! She knew she was experienced and skilled but she didn’t know what her true superpowers were and how she could differentiate from others in her market.

It’s a very common problem with everyone – we just can’t see how amazing we are!

So after some deep dive sessions, story telling and heartfelt conversations we discovered her gifts. It was a journey for her to accept her super powers, owning them and then shouting about them. We built her brand on the business of being her….which is how I build every brand. Everyone is unique and has something amazing to offer.

Within 3 months she saw significant growth in her business and life. She doubled her clients and took her first business class flight to Barcelona. She stepped in to her brand, became an empowered woman and continues to live her dream.

CT: Thanks so much Tiffany! I love this story about Miss Awesome. Thanks again for stopping by my blog!

If you’d like to connect with Tiffany Scott, or learn more about You Me She Collective, visit her website here:

 

Sharing is caring!