Decoding Consumer Perceptions: Are False Warning Signals Damaging Your Brand’s Image?
I haven’t driven a car in years — you don’t need a car in big cities. But I remember the days … and days … of driving cross-country. The car would be packed for a move and sometimes a cat would be yowling nonstop.
And then a light would appear on the dashboard. Was the car about to die in the middle of nowhere? Or was the light a false signal — maybe jolted by a loose cable?
I don’t miss driving. Not one bit. But I thought of this example when I was thinking about hiring a life coach I’d met at a live event, a very long time ago. Let’s call her “Lauren.”
We’d been seated at the same table. Lauren came across as warm, professional, and extremely knowledgeable. I felt I could have talked to her for hours.
I wanted to get to know Lauren better, so I signed up for her mailing list and followed her on social media. And after just a few emails, I started to wonder: would I really want to work with Lauren?
Lauren’s brand was communicated by the content and style of her emails, her stories as well as her social media posts. She had obviously been coached to write frequently and share lots of deeply personal, hard-luck stories.
As a result, Lauren came across as both needy and sales-y. Almost all her emails contained stories about how she had overcome some pretty heavy emotional challenges. As a potential client, I wondered, “Is she sharing this story because she expects her clients to have those challenges?”
Lauren’s audience didn’t get a sense of her own ideas, which were original and intelligent. She needed to ditch the stories about herself and talk about how she worked with clients (which was novel and fascinating).
All too often, as you know, branding focuses on colors and type fonts. The truth is, you’ll be recognized by your colors. But you’ll remembered more for your stories.
Sometimes a story about how you survived your own small and large traumas will resonate with your audience and reinforce your message. Sometimes your audience will be simply turned off. Sometimes you need a story about helping clients … or even a story of far away events.
Lauren’s stories were like the warning light in the car — the kind where the signal malfunctioned but the engine purred along smoothly. She was sending a false signal because she’s really one of a kind who’s way too smart for her (unintentional) message.
For Lauren, her stories were a significant obstacle standing between her and her clients. My consultations are designed to help clients overcome obstacles to achieving their marketing goals — whether they’re related to big-picture strategy (such as strengthening a message) or tactics (such as getting better results from copywriting). Click here to learn more and get started.
You might also like my low-priced course on telling a story that will sell your products and services. Learn how to discover your client’s real problem (the elephant in the room they may not want to talk about!).
