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What are the three words that you believe describe your brand best?
Who are your customers and community? It’s often helpful to make archetypes of these people and imagine you’re speaking right to them.
What does your company stand for?
Core Principles: what is most important to you as a business owner? These concepts direct the decision making in your business.
Examples:
Quality - accuracy, attention to detail, consistency, craftsmanship, excellence, expertise, precision, etc.
Service - accessibility, approachability, care, communication, customer-centric, dependability, empathy, etc.
Coke Products example-
Leadership. Courage to shape a better future.
Collaboration. Leverage collective genius.
Integrity. Be real.
Accountability: If it is to be, it’s up to me
Passion: Committed in heart and mind
Diversity: As inclusive as our brands
Quality: What we do, we do well
How do you want your customers to think about your company?
If they left a descriptive 5-star review, what things would they say?
Can you describe your company in 3–5 adjectives, with clarification as to what your company is not?
Example: confident, but not cheeky; high-class, but not snooty; scholarly, but not stale
Why are you offering services, producing content, and contributing to the conversation in your industry?
You probably started your business for a reason besides making money... what is the WHY that keeps you persevering?
Examples: To delight, engage, inform, inspire, curate, provoke
What perspective and message do you want to add to the conversation?
What is different about what you do and the way you do it? What is the unique selling point for your brand?
Try this template:
[Your business] provides [your services/products] for [your ideal client] because [the problem you are solving or the gap in the market are you filling].
Who is your business? Who are you at an organizational level?
Conveying the overall personality of your brand is often how your clients may describe interactions with you.
Examples: Warm, intelligent, funny, motivative, professional, empathetic, educated
Are there any brands that have a similar personality to yours? Why are they similar?
If your brand were a person, what kind of personality would he or she have?
As that person, what would their relationship be to the customer? (e.g. a coach, best friend, or guardian angel)
If you could assign any celebrity as a spokesperson or muse for your brand, who would it be, and why?
How do you speak on your channels?
On a contextual level, your tone conveys mood. It's the way you speak – the attitude with which you convey your values and beliefs.
Example: Slack's Brand Tone
Here's what we are (and aren't):
• Confident (never cocky)
• Witty (but never silly)
• Conversational (but always appropriate and respectful)
• Intelligent (and we always treat our users as intelligent too)
• Friendly (but not ingratiating)
• Helpful (never overbearing)
• Clear, concise and human
We are characterful. But we never let character overwhelm content. What we have to say is infinitely more important than being admired for the way we say it. If people can't see the substance for the style, we've gone wrong.
In writing, we value perspicuity above all. Be clear, be concise, omit unnecessary words, make sure that whatever you say has purpose, but don't be robotic. Contractions are your friend.
We don't use cheap words that recall the failures of those companies that have gone before us, and we don't use Silicon Valley clichés and jargon. We would only describe people as ninjas or rock stars if they were actually those things for a living. We don't lean on pop culture references or things that feel exclusionary.
We are considerate and intentional with the words we use.
We recognize and appreciate the power of language, and use it with eloquence and elegance (while never getting carried away with ourselves).
What is your elevator pitch?
You have 30 seconds in an elevator to tell someone about your business, what you do and who its for. In 1-3 sentences, describe your specialty concisely and clearly:
What words, phrases, and terms do you use to communicate about your products, services, and ethos?
This is your particular slang, jargon, and syntax.
– Do you use capitals or all lowercase?
– If you don't use your customer's first name, what do you call them?
– Are there specific terms you prefer to use over others in your industry? (ie: always "massage therapist," never "masseuse")
– Look through your communications (email, comments, posts) to see what words come up most often!
– And, & or +? Don't or do not? Y'all, you guys, our clients? We value our customers, or We love our clients?
What words, phrases and terms are NEVER ok to use in your marketing, copy and communications?
