Branding for Business Coaches and Advisors
Are you a business coach trying to stand apart from the competition? How exactly does one brand themselves as being an optimum solution to their target audience, while selling a service such as coaching or advising?
Business coaching has become more prominent with the growth of the internet, and people are seeking out coaches regularly. The question becomes, how will a potential client know that your coaching process is right for their needs?
Here are some areas you’ll want to focus on when branding your coaching or advising business:
What is your niche?
Do you have a niche within a niche/or a specialty?
What is your background (educational and experience)?
What is your process like?
Who or what type of client do you work with?
Do you have testimonials or proven results you can share?
When we speak of niche, or a niche within a niche, it comes down to being specific. Without narrowing down who you work with, it can be hard for somebody to know if you’re the right fit for them. Let’s say you work with business people in the corporate environment, that’s still a wide span of people. And unfortunately, there are a lot of different needs that these people will have. They may look beyond your services as too generalized.
Now, say you work with top executives, this helps pinpoint who your ideal client is. Maybe you work with underdeveloped professionals who are looking to advance their careers, and if this is the case, say so. This way the right people will seek out your services.
Maybe you work with a faith-based angle or help clients who feel unmotivated or unorganized at work and need extra guidance. The more you narrow your niche, the stronger you’ll be.
How is that possible? If you only offer a very general service, there will be mismatches in the process, expectations won’t be met with such a varied group, and you won’t become known for anything. When you are known for a specific niche, you easily become the go-to, because people know exactly what you do and who you can help.
Social Proof, Testimonials, and Credibility
It should go without saying that focusing on your client, rather than on, you will make the biggest impact in your career. When you can serve your clients what they need, they in turn are happy and satisfied. Word of mouth is the best advertising, but when that doesn’t happen, rely on meters of success such as testimonials, social proof, and credibility.
Showcase results and wins on social media
Ask happy clients to offer a testimonial for your website
Show that you’re an authority in your field
Highlight your training and education, along with your experience
This helps people recognize your credibility quickly and easily.
Offer free consultation and let potential clients know what your process is like. This can help cement a contract when they see that you have a system that’s worked for others, and you’re not a fly-by-night figure it out as you go coach.
Branding and Logos for Business Coaches and Advisors
When you’re a business coach, you have the additional challenge of showing people who you are and what you do, while not having a product to highlight or a specific symbol that’s universally known to represent business coaches. So, what do you do?
One area you can focus on is your typography. What does it say about you? A delicate script says elegant, where a clean, bold sans-serif may say strength and no-nonsense. Is it curved around a logo, straight and clean beneath an image?
Think of the way you want to present yourself. For example, using a playful font like Walt Disney does for their amusement parks isn’t going to install confidence in a top executive who works in a financial field. Or maybe that stiff, uptight serif font you chose won’t speak well to somebody who works within a fun, childhood gaming division. A graphic designer can help you understand typography and the many fonts that work well alone or in combination.
Is your logo polished or playful?
What imagery are you using?
What font and typography work best to represent your ideal client?
Remember, this is about drawing a certain client to you. Have you ever gone to an ice cream shop and there were twenty different flavors? You were immediately drawn to one, just like your friend might have been drawn to another. We like what we like, and we all seek out things that we identify with. So, a woman who is looking to fast-track her career in the world of corporate leadership most likely won’t be drawn to a logo with a Comic Sans font and the picture of scissors. Speak to the client you want.
If you’d like to discuss this further, please be sure to reach out and contact me. I’d love to help you get started on your new logo, or help you design an overall brand whether you’re new to business or looking for a new feel to an existing business.
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