Build Your Brand: 3 Smart Branding Strategies You Should Try On For Size

Hey, it’s Marie Forleo and you are watching MarieTV, the place to be to create a business and a life that you love. You know, we felt it was about time to bring back one of our favorite segments called Love Your Branding, Baby. Thank you, Zackie. Zach, you can go now.

In this segment we highlight a brand that just gets it, from their design to their messaging, all the way through to the actual product. And today we’re taking a look at Marine Layer, a company who makes absurdly soft and sustainably crafted clothing based in San Francisco.

Now, there’s a lot of things that Marine Layer is doing right, but today we’re going to focus on 3 smart strategies that you can use in your business. Let’s get right into it with strategy number one: be refreshingly real. So what does that mean? It means that you can be quirky, you can be awkward, and flawed, and still have a professional, successful business.

For starters, check out the Our Story page. Here’s the founder, Mike, posing with his merchandise. And the copy says, “Ignore the awkward smile, focus on the shirts.”

That’s letting us in and telling us, hey, we’re a team of regular people led by a regular guy who’s not some camera-ready, born-for-the-spotlight superstar. And then as story continues telling us how they grew from their first tee shirt, it tells us about their first mistake.

“Since then we’ve gotten a bunch of friends to quit their real jobs and help us make some more shirts and open up a few more stores in some places we like to visit. Except for Burlingame. We opened up a shop there and closed that shit down fast. In fact, the only good thing about that store was the opening party we had at Shabu Shabu.”

That’s not just honest, it’s funny and it’s conversational in the way that you don't normally see in business. And the more that you cruise around their site, you’ll see that they’re refreshingly real on every page. So now ask yourself, could you show more of the real you in your business? Are you a little more buttoned up than you need to be? Remember, you don't have to hide who you really are or put on your business voice to be considered professional.

Strategy number two is create trust through transparency. So you've probably heard the saying that in business we like to buy from people we know, like, and trust, and that is so true. And one of the easiest ways to create more trust in your business is to be transparent. So you want to talk about how you run your business and why you make the choices that you make. Now, Marine Layer clearly cares about sustainability and makes a point to talk about how most of their clothing is manufactured in the US.

But check this out, here they say, “Our goal has always been to make the highest quality product for our customers, and after a few years of making pretty expensive outerwear and sweaters that didn't always fit quite right, we went looking for a solution. We happened to find it in Sampran, Thailand at a family-run factory called Palmy. The specialize in technical wear and maintain ethical standards that match ours. Match made in ML heaven? We think so.”

They’re being honest about the fact that sometimes you have to compromise in order to get the right product, and they’re also getting us on board with that compromise instead of trying to sweep it under the rug so we don't see it. Now, that kind of transparency gives us the feeling of, you know what? I know these guys. They’re good guys. I can trust them. So I want you to ask yourself, is there any part of your story or your process that your customers would appreciate hearing more about? Anything that you could share that could help them know, like, and trust you more?

Strategy number three: don't be afraid to sell. Sales are the heartbeat of your business. If you don't have sales, you don't have a business. But so many of us are afraid to put that out there plainly and say, “Hey, I made something awesome. I think you’re gonna love it and I want you to buy it.”

Here’s a few examples of how Marine Layer is doing it right.

On the Our Story page, Mike talks about how he started the company, invites us to come by a store, and says very plainly, “and buy some shirts, please.”

Here’s another example. On the New York City store page, they talk about being the softer side of the concrete jungle and they end by saying, “Come buy some shirts and help us pay the rent.”

There’s nothing pushy or aggressive about it. They are proud of what they do, they care about their customers, and they want their business to thrive. So have a look at your brand and ask yourself, are you too shy to ask your customers to buy? I’m not. Because right now I’ll tell you this, if you want my help to make sure your personality shines through your brand, go buy The Copy Cure.

It’s a writing program that we made, it’s enormously effective, and I really believe you’re gonna love it. You can get it at TheCopyCure.com.

And now let’s put all these great ideas to work because insight without action is worthless. In the comments below tell me this: which one of these 3 smart strategies do you need to focus on the most? And what’s the one action step you can take right now to move yourself ahead?

As always, the best discussions happen after the episode over at MarieForleo.com, so get your buns over there and leave a comment now.

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Stay on your game and keep going for your dreams because the world needs that special gift that only you have. Thank you so much for watching and I’ll catch you next time on MarieTV.