At ConvergenceCoaching, we often find that our clients feel they have completed their brand development because they have created a logo and incorporated it in their letterhead, business cards, and such. But your firm’s brand identity – or how your partners, staff, and products are viewed in the marketplace – is much more than your logo, tagline, and colors, which are simply the physical manifestations that signify your brand to others. You have truly defined your brand in its entirety when you have written your firm’s “story.”

Your story defines the very essence of your organization, including what it is committed to, what it values, and the difference it is committed to making. To create a brand that truly embodies these things, we recommend you take a holistic approach.

First define, or refine, your firm’s mission, vision, and values. Work with the key leaders in your firm, and potentially an outside facilitator, to answer the following questions:

• What is your firm’s reason for being?
• What difference do you make in the lives of your clients and/or staff?
• What values are you willing to make known and be accountable to?

Then, solicit feedback from your entire staff on your answers to these questions. Each member of your firm is ultimately responsible for fulfilling on your brand, and it is critical to have their perspective, buy in, and, ultimately, their belief in the brand you create.

The next step in creating your brand and writing your story is defining your unique differentiators. How do you fulfill on your mission and vision? What sets you apart from your competitors? How are you positioned in terms of product/service mix, pricing, and value compared to others? Consider your team, your culture, the services you provide, your methodology, your unique combination of experiences, and your approach all as possible ways that position you as different and make a difference in the lives of your clients.

Then, you’re ready to write your firm’s story. When doing so, be sure to cover key areas about your firm, including:

• Who you are – a brief description and history of your firm
• Your mission, vision, and values – what you stand for and your reason for being
• Your team – who they are and why they are different
• Your clients – your ideal client defined by demographics and also culture, values, and goals
• Your products and services – what you offer that your target clients need
• Careers – what sets your firm apart as an employer in terms of culture, benefits, etc.

Once you have written your firm’s story, you can then drill down and create “mini stories” for your key niche initiatives, products, and services that you want to promote independently, using a similar format.

Fulfilling on your brand identity, or story, makes this much more than a marketing concept. Educate every partner and staff person to gain their buy-in to your brand positioning and aid them in understanding how they can personally fulfill on that brand in each client, prospect, or public interaction. Your brand promise will only be as good as the people who deliver and back your products and services.

In our next article, we’ll discuss some tips that will help you consistently promote your brand in your market and elicit the feelings, beliefs, and perceptions you want known about your firm.

Jennifer Wilson is co-founder and owner of ConvergenceCoaching, LLC, a leadership and marketing consulting and coaching firm that specializes in helping CPA and IT firms achieve success. Learn more about her company at www.convergencecoaching.com.