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[00:00:00] Are you ready to scale your business in a way that's aligned with your soul and profitable? I'm KcRossi, a business and leadership coach. I've been a full-time entrepreneur for 30 years and love business. I help conscious leaders increase their impact and optimize their lives. Join me each week for tips and deep conversations on cultivating confidence, increasing your visible.
[00:00:28] Elevating your vibration and leading with purpose without burning out.
[00:00:36] Hello. Welcome. Welcome back to the show. I'm really excited to personally be back behind the mic because as many of you know, I took a little digital detox. It was originally going to be a two week pause at the end of the year to just clear my head. Regroup, fill my cup and all of that good stuff. And that went very smooth.
[00:01:01] And then I ended up getting the flu for a week, which extended the digital detox to three weeks. So it's given me an, a big opportunity to pause, get clear and really almost Reese. My mindset, especially when it comes to social media, content creation, and also being very aware of falling down, unnecessary rabbit holes with spending excessive time on the social media apps, and really being honest with myself of what is the great benefit.
[00:01:38] Of all of this time and how can I be more purposeful with content and time management moving into this new year? So that's a little bit of the behind the scenes of what's going on over here, but today I'm really excited about getting into seven ways to instantly elevate your brand. And they're simple.
[00:02:01] And that's, what's most exciting. So a simple, not that it's going to be fast to implement all of these, but it's something that with time you can chip away at the list and in that way, it's going to be simple. As you know, I am a fan of the Kaizen philosophy, which is the Japanese theory of continuous never-ending improvement.
[00:02:26] And that's what I feel now more than ever we're is what it's going to take to be successful in our own personal brands. And that's for a lot of reasons, as you know, times are changing times have changed and they're continuing to change. And competition is increasing in every category of business and that's for a lot of different reasons.
[00:02:52] One of them is due to the great resignation where many people, we saw a huge increase of people, all walks of life, all ages, all. Types of employment, whether it was teenagers and a working a fast food shop all the way up to senior level leaders and managers that just said, I'm done, I'm going to find a different way.
[00:03:15] And people are looking for greater meaning post all of these COVID disruptions. And I've often heard this great resignation being called the great restaurant. And I think that's a really appropriate term because we are seeing, and maybe even personally experiencing a strong reshuffle and it truly is prompting more people in the workforce to try their hand at entrepreneurship for the obvious benefits of freedom.
[00:03:48] Flexibility to work at home not being buried under corporate obligations, avoiding these mandates that may be out of alignment to someone's core values. So there's a lot of shifts going on. And in that as CEOs of our company, as leaders, as people that are committed, To a sustainable, profitable and successful business.
[00:04:15] It is such a wonderful time to look at our company with fresh. Now I'm recording this in January, 2022, January is such a beautiful month. It's got a lot of global energy behind it for updates and looking at things with fresh eyes and optimizing and tweaking and, you know, really kind of putting in some people do resolutions.
[00:04:43] Some people have a word for the year. There's so many different ways that we can reset. And I think, especially in 2022, we're looking for. Reset. We're looking for hope and something. That's going to be fresh and exciting and have unlimited possibilities in front of us. So whether or not you are listening to this in January when it's being recorded or months later on the replay, it's always a great time to look at ways that you can elevate your brand.
[00:05:19] And what that really means is just taking it to the next level. Making something impressive. That's actually one of the technical definitions of the word elevate and to raise or lift something. And again, we're doing this to cut through the noise, to stand out in the crowded marketplace. And I think the other really strong side effects.
[00:05:44] Which is a huge benefit that I think is often overlooked is when we put the time in to get our brand on point and elevate it, it also allows more flow as the CEO. It makes things easier. In the long haul and that is often due to structure and discipline, breeding, security, and comfort. So when we put these frameworks in for ourself and it's frameworks that we're designing because as the entrepreneur, CEO and leader of our company, we get to architect our day in a way that's going to work for our personality.
[00:06:24] So. That's always been such an exciting draw to business ownership. And in that when we can add additional structure and discipline and some of the other things we're going to get into for these ways to elevate our brand, it's actually going to make it easier for us. It's going to come down our popcorn brain.
[00:06:47] It's going to soothe all of those little thoughts and ideas of fear of missing out. Or we see some other really amazing hot strategy or hot topic that we want to jump to. And that can often lead to feeling scattered, being off message possibly having. You know, a tangent to our brand pillars. And we don't want that because again, now more than ever, we have to be so focused motto focused on narrowing our niche and having it be so clear and specific of who we are, who we help and how we help them.
[00:07:25] So some of the things I've been doing in my. Businesses I'm looking at things are, is like just asking myself three questions, three questions. Why. Why me and why now. So think about those. They're so simple, but they're very powerful. And if you can answer those with everything that you're doing, and I'm going to get deeper into some examples in just a second, it's going to very much clarify your position on the map and have no gray blurry areas for attractive.
[00:07:59] Clients, because if we're not clear, then, you know, our message is confusion, confusing to. Prospective clients. And we know that we will lose them if we confuse them. So that's something super easy to remember. Okay. So let's get into it. Let's talk about the seven ways to instantly elevate your brand. The very first one is our customer experience because we have to be.
[00:08:31] So customer centric, this has to be the priority. It, it really, it has the full merit to be in that first slide. On the list and that's for a couple of different reasons. One, we want to always be so clear on who we're serving. What is our ideal client avatar, struggling with? What does she really, really want?
[00:08:56] And. Staying right in her journey of like, what would she need right now? Now whether that's seasonal, whether that's day of the week just kind of getting into her head is going to very much help you curate a system to deliver. Your clients and look at every interaction that you have with the ideal client avatar on their buyer's journey.
[00:09:21] If buyer's journey is new terminology, I will link one of my YouTube episodes talking about the buyer's journey, but we are right now talking about curating. Customer experience as the first way to elevate our brand. How do we keep it simple? How do we keep our systems seamless? How do we have a very classy approach?
[00:09:44] These are going to be questions that when they're answered, it will be extremely apparent to any customers or perspective customers that we have a very thoughtful. Buyer's journey experience. And it really comes all the way down to even the small details, because, you know, even some of these subtle things that we're going to be talking about, make a big difference, and sometimes it can make the difference between a customer taking a step to you.
[00:10:17] Or maybe being rubbed slightly the wrong way, or they, you know, they have a very high attention to detail. And if the bottom of your copyright on your homepage says 2017, that could throw the. That little simple thing could be like, oh, you know what? They're just, they don't have attention to detail.
[00:10:33] There's it there, it's a really interesting thing. And it's not to get so picky or to trip over yourself because you're aiming for perfection. It's just to take a pause and really fine tooth comb, the details of your business step outside of it. Because many times we're so very close to the things that we see and even say, Every single day.
[00:10:59] So it's nice to kind of get a fresh, clean slate in your mind. Take a deep breath approach, this Kaizen philosophy with curiosity and fun and play versus, oh gosh. What are the tedious details that I've got to like dig through now? So that's my invitation for you on that. Very first thing is, think about your customer's experience first.
[00:11:25] How can you keep it so very simple for them to take steps towards you, whether it's opting in, on your website, which we're going to talk about a little bit later, whether it is finding how to contact. Very quickly or being able to get replies to emails in a really personal way. So again, these high touch points, which is, I think very much coming back on trend versus the canned template auto replies or quick language in email that kind of resembles a text really ask yourself is.
[00:12:03] Way I want my brand to be presented or represented. So all of those little things, when you think of a company that impresses you ask yourself, what are they doing that stood out in your mind? 'cause I know for myself, like when I have excellent customer service, in fact, I I'll give you an example. My best friend purchased a bag for me that that was really beautiful for my birthday last may.
[00:12:33] And it was so pretty. In fact, I didn't even want to undo it from its little bag. Cause it was just so gorgeous. So I left it in the bag for a couple of months and then finally I was like, you know what? I have to use this let's let's go for it. And I used it for a couple of months and some of the paint started coming.
[00:12:51] And I was like, oh, so I went on the website, I looked at their warranty and they said like normal wear and tear, you know, it's natural, it's handmade. There could be some imperfections and dah, dah, dah. So I really wasn't even going to follow up on it, but I was like, well, it was an expensive bag, was a couple hundred dollars.
[00:13:06] And I thought, okay, well that that's actually worth following up on this company has gone. Above and beyond you would have thought that I spent $20,000 on that bag with the level of care customer service follow up resolution. It's been absolutely incredible. And they're doing it with a smile and you can hear that smile, you know, right through the phone.
[00:13:30] Those types of things stand out. And that's a company that I will, you know, go back to. I will repurchase, I will think of them for gifts in the future. So you want to be asking yourself how do customers and clients feel when they come into your world when their current client. And how do they even feel after their engagement is over?
[00:13:53] And this is something again that I think is often overlooked, but it is so very important. Do you drop them like a hot potato when your auto pay you know, membership has its final install. 'cause I think a lot of people do. I know for myself, I've had coaches for years. There are very few that kind of keep you in the loop or even reach out and say, Hey, how are you doing?
[00:14:18] Or, or even send you a handwritten note or a happy new year's card. So all of those little details go a very long way because it is about relationship and connection. That fosters this experience and brings you sustainable success. All right. I went a little long on that first point, but it is so very crucial to be thinking about our clients and customers first and not only their experience in the beginning, but all three of the products.
[00:14:50] In the beginning and the middle, you know, at the end, and really think about how you even onboard them, you know, is it simple? Is it professional? Do you have contracts in place in the middle? Do you have a midway feedback form set up now? That's something you could set up on automation, you know, where you're creating it, whether you're doing it in dub Sato, or you're doing an you know, a scheduled auto reply.
[00:15:15] So many months into their contract, but that's really great. Don't wait until the end to ask for feedback because you want to be able to tweak again, we're talking about kite Zen philosophy, never-ending improvement, and you need to have space and. To improve. And that is not at the end of your contracts.
[00:15:36] So stay writing, communication. How can I serve you better? What would you like to see differently and all of those types of things, right. Until how you close it out and continuing to foster that network relationship. Okay. The second point is, are your offerings in alignment with who you are right now?
[00:15:59] And are you in love with those offerings? Because I think sometimes we create things and then they just sit there collecting digital dust, or they just sit there and there's real. No, there's no life in the offering. It's something that we created, but never went back and looked at. And it maybe isn't even in alignment, it may be doesn't even juice us up anymore to.
[00:16:24] Work on that particular offering. So I would definitely recommend looking at your offerings and even just doing a gut check, like whether you have one offering or 10 offerings, depending on what your product is and write down that one, offering. And look at it and just feel like, how do I feel about this?
[00:16:44] And I excited about this. Can I talk about this for days? Am I committed to the transformation that I'm promising here? And if you don't get like heck yeses all the way down, then maybe you need to either retire that offering and archive it or tweak it. So it is more in Alliance. 'cause if you don't love what you're selling, your perspective, clients and customers are going to feel that vibration and they're not going to be pulled to love it either.
[00:17:17] So, absolutely take a review of your offerings. Ask yourself if you're excited about. Do they make sense right now for you and your company? Is it something that your client still wants? Because again, we've had some massive global shifts. There may be things that are outdated. Perfect example. I created a beautiful seven module business program called thrive business thrive, and I used to sell that as a standalone, but now I personally feel not that the information is in great because it is, but.
[00:17:53] It's overwhelming right now I have put everything and the kitchen sink in that program from trademarking to copywriting, to how to write an about page all the way down to how to do a sales call. And right now in the current climate, I don't feel that that is an appropriate offering. People want a smaller course with shorter modules so they can have these quick wins.
[00:18:20] And get to the finish line. So sometimes despite the amount of time and effort and money that you've put into creating something, whether it's an online course or a three hour workshop that you maybe you used to do in person and don't have as many opportunities or not, sometimes we just have to make those hard decisions.
[00:18:40] And archive or tweak. It doesn't mean you can't repurpose that content. It just means you have to do it in a way that's going to be digested right now in the current climate in order for it to be successful. Okay. Number three is all about copy. And I think that this is such a brilliant way to elevate your brand.
[00:19:04] And I feel like copy is going to be what continues to separate. Amateurs and smaller companies to professional companies that have put the time and energy in and the market research to understand who they're helping and they're avatar's pain points and do it in a way that actually has your authentic voice in it.
[00:19:29] So does your copywriting reflect your own personal evolution? Because we, like I said, are constantly changing. Our cells are regenerating. Our minds are continually going through massive amount of inputs, which really kind of re shifts everything in our system from a cellular level all the way through.
[00:19:55] And so a lot of times we don't just want to stick with the status quo. Especially if we haven't updated in a year or more, I highly recommend that you go through. With fresh eyes with that mindset of, is this copy? Interesting. Does it have some kind of hook that pulls in my ideal client? Will she know that I get her?
[00:20:24] Will she feel like I'm exactly in her head? And that I understand her problems. And does it have a clear path to take a step towards me? Is there a call to action to come closer to me? My world, and one of my freer paid offerings. So that is a huge area. That I think most of us can improve on. And it makes a very big difference when it comes to converting your perspective clients into paid clients.
[00:20:57] If that is an area that you're just like, I have no idea, Casey, I'm not a writer. You have two choices. You can either learn. Right because there's some brilliant, beautiful copywriters Benecchi is my favorite. I'll drop her links. In the show notes, I'd been following her and she gives some beautiful things.
[00:21:16] Has a great blog, has wonderful courses on copywriting, but you can go on YouTube. I mean, there are so many wonderful. Copywriters that give you tips and tricks on how to make your writing interesting, compelling, and pull your audience in. So you can always take some time to learn it. I think that that's a good use of time because we write so much in our personal brand from our newsletter.
[00:21:44] Our articles, our social media posts, our website. Copy. I mean, it is a skill that I feel should be baked in no matter what your industry is, whether you feel you identify as a writer or not copy is so very important. And it's also going to save you a boatload of money to not have to continually hire a professional copywriter.
[00:22:07] For every little thing that you need. However, if you have the budget and you really did test writing, that's always, your second option is really outsource copywriting. So you have effective messaging because it is again, such a big opportunity, often overlooked that instantly elevates your. All right.
[00:22:28] Number four is messaging pillars. So this dovetails into copy, but it also is different enough to hold its own slot. And we're talking about being on brand, having alignment with your core values. Understanding what you're talking about. Right. And this is so very interesting. I've struggled with this one in the past.
[00:22:52] I have to say because I have a lot of interests and I like to talk about them and I get bored easy. And I feel like in order to stimulate creativity and have some kind of like artistic input, I used to really like bouncing around and talking about a lot of different. And I remember I had a coach once that she said, I've looked at your website and I see things about neuroscience.
[00:23:20] I think, see things about aroma therapy. You're talking about, you know, spirituality, personal development, business acceleration. And she said there are so many labels on the outside of your box that I have no clue. What is on the inside of the box. What are you truly going to help? Do and that's that I never forgot that that was years ago.
[00:23:42] And I have to say it's still been this thing that evolves because we are multi-passionate people. And I think that many of us have a lot of different interests, but here's the thing in order to elevate our brands. And this is what I'm going to truly hold me accountable. I'm going to really try to stay focused on my pillars, my kind of main anchor.
[00:24:08] So it's even clear. And I really recommend that you do this too. You can either stay with three main pillars or very popular in the social media world is to do five main pillars. So those are big topics that you're talking about. That are very in alignment with who you are, who you help and how you help them.
[00:24:32] And then under each one of those pillars, you're going to break out three to five subtopics that support that pillar. And this will give you endless content. When you're going to try to make your content calendar for the quarter or for the year. And one of the things to really keep in mind as you're building these messaging pillars, ask yourself, does your voice come through?
[00:24:59] Is there a strong authenticity of who you are? What you stand for, what your brand is all about. Are there stories in there, especially for our personal brands, don't be afraid to let down the mask and have that storytelling communication in there because that's, what's going to make you stand out.
[00:25:23] That's another huge tip to elevate your brand because. We truly don't need more information, right? We do not need more information. Our brains are ready to explode. I mean, that's exactly how I felt mid December before I went to my digital minimalism detox. I just couldn't even take any more information in, I needed to press pause.
[00:25:48] And so I want you to be so aware, is your client avatar feeling. Is she still feeling that right now, like I'm done, I'm spent, I can't take any more if she is, you have to be so very aware of how you communicate. And one of the things that I feel that is going to be even more so on the rise in 2022 is this authentic storytelling piece, because you can have learning lessons, perspective, shifts and aha moments.
[00:26:21] Without feeling like it's work when you're listening to a story. Right. And, and when you think back, you know, years and years and years ago, that is how so much of our learning happened through the generations was through storytelling. So I highly recommend getting super clear on your messaging. Making them on brand, staying consistent, using your authentic voice and bringing in more pieces of your story, your why, you know, why are you doing what you're doing?
[00:26:54] And, you know, just either. Real life examples, and they don't have to be all Pollyanna. In fact, I don't recommend that they are because that's not life bring in the bumps and, and the winds, right. Because that's what we're looking for. And especially in these times, it's going to bring such a high level of relation to you when you share all of those pieces of who you are.
[00:27:20] Because I'll be able to relate to you when I hear certain things, whether you spilled your coffee or, you know, whatever, whatever mundane thing, right. That we can all really, really relate to. And then I'm going to not feel that I'm behind the eight ball, or why does this only happen to me? So we're looking for connection points.
[00:27:41] And to me, those connection points hold a tremendous opportunity for healing on both. Healing to share our story and healing to the person who's receiving our story. So there's a big amount of space to elevate our brand. When we have very clear messaging pillars with those other couple of things sprinkled in.
[00:28:08] All right. Number five. Number five is really all about looking at our current brand assets, which a lot of times when people hear brand, they're really just thinking about. Colors fonts, logo. Boom. But everything that I'm talking about today is your brand. From the experience to your offers, to your copywriting, to your messaging pillars, these are all aspects of your brand as well.
[00:28:35] So don't shortchange yourself by thinking that your brand is only your logo. Now, that being said, I want you to take a look at your logo. Does it look modern? I'm not saying you have to do a full. You know, redo on it. We're not talking about that, but does it look modern? Does it reflect who you are? Is it upscale?
[00:28:56] Sometimes you can basically just take away a few things and get a higher level or a higher. Look a more upscale look and that's what I did. So I had my brand professionally developed by a graphic artist a couple of years ago, and I think there was like six or seven different colors in the palette that she provided me.
[00:29:22] And in the beginning I used to use all of those. There was Navy, there was dark teal, there was light teal. There was a wine color. There was a yellow in there and it looked really beautiful. And I think for. The intention at the time, it felt like it really was going to suit my brand. As I have personally leaned more into minimalism white space and a more of a streamlined color palette.
[00:29:48] I have slowly been shifting into not using the wine color, not using the yellow in that pallet that was provided for me. And it's feeling more calm to my system, which as we know, like begets like, and so that's one thing I want you to take a look. Could you streamline your color palette in your brand?
[00:30:09] Would it look more upscale if it was a little bit more monochromatic or if you only used a pop of color for your call to action buttons? So that's something to kind of think about. The other thing is I have been really enjoying some interior design shows on YouTube and one of the rules that they were talking about to create a very soothing.
[00:30:31] Static in your home space is using the 60, 30, 10 popular rule when it comes to color. So 60% of your room is one color and in a, in a room mainly that's your. 30% is kind of a variation of that color. So it's very soothing and again, kind of more monochromatic and 10% is an accent. So it was really interesting cause I was looking at my living room and I'm like, oh wow.
[00:30:58] I did that intuitively not even knowing. So I have a very primary, you know, dark brown carpet and then that's 60% of my room, 30%. I have more of kind of like a bronzy. Wall with some tan accents. And then I have like a Mallard blue for the 10%. So. I bring that in because when we're looking at designing and streamlining our color palette, if you have a palette of six to 10 colors, it's going to be noisy in my opinion.
[00:31:30] And I also think that it's going to be more difficult to stand out. And one of the things with brand is we want to easily be recognizable by the public. So I feel that's a space for us to easily. Elevate our brand by removing something, not necessarily adding. Okay. Number six is upleveling your graphics.
[00:31:55] So if you're using the same Canva template it may be looking outdated. So it might serve you to get a few new modern assets. Now, whether you hire a professional graphic artists to bring in some elevated looks, or you go on creative market.com and bring in a new. Maybe font for your visual stories on social, it's totally up to you.
[00:32:21] Side note is typically we want to stay very consistent that's with our logo, our color scheme and our fonts, but for certain playful things like stories, I think it's fun to do a modern handwritten script font, something that is just slightly different. That is a little bit of a pattern disrupt, but I'm saying.
[00:32:45] With the caveat that you don't want to go so far away from your brand that they're like, who is this? So just a slight little like hand tweak. If that matches your brand could be a fun way to up-level your graphics. Bring in a little extra pop, or maybe you've never used curated graphics in your stories, and you've just kind of done.
[00:33:07] Swirl pattern that Facebook provides or something, it might be fun to start using your brand palette and logo in a batch of up-level graphics. So another easy way to just stand out and have a little bit more of a polished and pressive look for your personal brand and find it. Number seven is truly bringing it all together.
[00:33:34] This is really taking everything that we talked about. So I'm going to run through the six things first. So you can be kind of making a mental note or jotting it down of how do I update my home on the web? How do I bring in all of these pieces to have a fresh, consistent look? So we're going to be thinking about our customers experience.
[00:33:56] Our, our offerings in alignment. Does our copy reflect who we are right now. Our, our messaging pillars in place on brand and an alignment with our core values. Does our logo look modern? And do we have a streamlined color palette? How do our graphics look? Can I get those little tweaks? So they're slightly elevated and step by step by step.
[00:34:19] We're going to integrate all of that into our home on the web. Couple of things to think about when you were doing some of your web updates, is your navigation experience easy for the user? Are you double checking that everything is responsive, meaning it's mobile friendly because more and more people are taking in content on their phones.
[00:34:43] So absolutely check every page, every button, every alignment on your mobile phone to make sure that that user experience is, is translate. On mobile. Is there an easy way to opt in? Because again, this is about connection. This is about furthering the relationship with that prospective client. Is there an easy way to book a call with you or to reach out and email you through a contact page?
[00:35:12] If they have questions now, I recently heard that. If we think of our content as our storefront, it will transform the way that we do content. And I thought that that was really interesting. They likened it to going to their favorite store in the mall, brick and mortar store and walking in. And if that store only had one or two.
[00:35:39] And a pair of pants, you know, w in, in limited sizes that they probably wouldn't walk back into that store. And to really look at our home on the web, as the store for our prospective client to browse through and get a feel for what they are in for before an actual purchase or enrollment. So when you think of your content like that, do you have consistent, fresh on brand content?
[00:36:08] That you're a buyer or perspective client can kind of sift through just like our regular brick and mortar store and get value, have fun, gain some insight and be excited to take the next step towards. I know that this was a lot of information. The show is transcribed as well. So if you happen to be driving around the treadmill and you don't have access to a pen and paper, no worries.
[00:36:33] I will link the show notes to this, so you can just kind of go through, see what. Standing out for you, right? Maybe you don't have to do all of these. These are just suggestions for you. Or maybe you're somebody like me. That's like, heck yes, I am all about bringing my very best self. To the table and I want to do everything possible and do it in a way that is like systematic.
[00:37:01] Boom. I'm going to look at my buyer's experience first and then really take your time and go through that. This could maybe take you all quarter, right? There is absolutely no rush. The most important thing is just the intention. To elevate and stand out in the marketplace and provide your customers and clients with an outstanding experience.
[00:37:24] That's not only going to delight them, but turn them into referrals for you to continue having bolstered thriving success. All right. So my invitation to you, my friend is what can you do this month to elevate your. All right. Again, whether you're listening to this in January or to the replay months later, it is never too late to bring a new perspective to your company.
[00:37:47] It will re enliven not only you, but any offering that has just sat there or a stale and dusty, right. It really will make a massive difference when you put time and attention into these details. So I would love to know what you're going to take a stab at first out of these seven tips. To elevate your brand.
[00:38:10] Which one are you going to do? First? Let me know. I want to support you and I'm really looking forward to continuing the conversation. So you can always email me at Casey at Casey ROS, osi.com until next week, my friend breathe joy.
[00:38:35] I hope you enjoy today's episode. If so, head on over to love the podcast.com/brilliance to leave your rating and. I wanted to share that Raquel Vasallo from the U S shared with me FiveStars light power, enjoy KC emanates, light, joy and powered for show was a true inspiration. I had the honor of being interviewed by her and we had a profound conversation around what.
[00:39:04] To truly surrender to spiritual guidance and become whom you came here to be. I will put a link to Raquel's episode because if you didn't catch that one, you're absolutely going to want to, again, if you want to leave your feedback about the women developing brilliance podcast, head on over to love the podcast.com/brilliance.
[00:39:26] Thank you.
