To be remarkable is to be interesting, noteworthy, standing out, fascinating, intriguing, mysterious and exceptional. In other words, remarkable is what it says: Something to remark about.

So if you want to give them something to talk about, here are five standards to set for yourself when REMARKABLE is your goal…

1) Embrace change. If you want to change the result, you have to change the behavior. Trying to be better at the same old tactics may help you to sustain your business, but it won’t position you to excel. Seek inspiration in unlikely sources. Do something new, do something different.

2) Seek your own superlative. To be remarkable often means that you are the most something. You can be the smartest, the funniest, have the most personality, be the most talented or the most likely to succeed – just be at the top of the game in at least one category.

3) Avoid gimmicks and stunts. Gimmicks may get you noticed for a minute, but they won’t get you much farther than that. Stunts are easy to pull off and just as easily forgotten. Don’t sell out to be a flash in the pan, go for the long burn.

4) Be peculiar. In order to be noticed you have to step out of line. Remarkable doesn’t equate to popular right away. Not everyone is going to appreciate your efforts toward becoming remarkable. Your goal isn’t to please everyone, your goal is to impress the trendsetters.

5) Face forward and don’t look back. Complacency and stagnation are the mortal enemies of remarkability. What is en vogue today will be out tomorrow. Refresh, Reinvent, Revive. Stay ahead of the curve.

The First Impression
The Introduction
The Dialogue
The Relationship

The Relationship

Once a relationship has been established, your clients will either be disappointed, satisfied or thrilled. If disappointed, they may seek out an alternative service provider. If satisfied, they may not seek an alternative, but would be open to a more appealing opportunity if one presented itself. If thrilled, they are unlikely to leave and very likely to refer their friends. Essentially, if new clients have good experiences with your firm, they will be confident referring their friends, knowing that those friends will have a similarly positive experience.

Tips for Improvement:

During this maintenance phase, your brand becomes more important than ever. So long as each member of your firm is committed to consistently delivering upon the promise you make your clients, you can be confident that your clients will be happy and your business will thrive.

• Make sure your team is familiar with your brand
• Make sure your client experience is consistent with your brand
• Thrive and grow

The First Impression
The Introduction
The Dialogue
The Relationship

The Dialogue

When you start to get to know someone, what are the details that stand out to you? How quickly your call is returned, if the plans that you made are kept, if details from your conversations and facts about yourself that you’ve shared are remembered? Essentially, as the impressions from the first meeting fade, do people turn out to be who they said they were? This is the stage of seeing if they will put their money where their mouth is, if they will rise to the occasion or turn out to be all talk.

As a business, this is the time when you get to prove yourself and road test your client process. Initial impressions become solid opinions as each interaction that a potential client has with your business is counted as positive, negative or neutral. When you discuss their needs and explain your services, when and how you conduct appointments and how you address their concerns will all form the solid basis for your relationship, be it positive or negative. If you are a business that truly lives up to your brand, this is a stage where you will easily shine.

Tips for Improvement:

An attentively designed client process that adheres to your brand will ensure that you establish a strong and positive relationship with your new client.

• Tone of the conversation is appropriate
• Client’s needs are addressed
• A relationship is established
• Overall experience is positive from the client’s point-of-view

The First Impression
The Introduction
The Dialogue
The Relationship

The Introduction

When you are introduced to new people, what are the things that you notice? Their opening line, their handshake, the tone of their voice, their choice of words, their interest in you, their responses to your questions – your first impression of them is either confirmed or adjusted and you begin to gather facts and information about them to fill out your overall perception. After a few minutes of introductory chit-chat you decide if you’d like to continue the conversation or move on.

In a branding context, your tagline and marketing messages are your introduction to a potential client. Through the written material on your website, brochure or business card the potential client begins to gather facts and information about your business, your philosophy about whether or not you understand and are prepared to meet their needs. Their initial impression of you is either reinforced or reevaluated. They either decide to contact your office for an appointment or continue their search elsewhere.

Tips for Improvement:

A distinctive tagline and brand-focused marketing messages will help you to communicate your unique value during the introductory stages of a new client relationship. They should reflect your unique value and your ability to meet the needs of your potential client.

• Messages should be consistent with your brand
• Your tagline should be distinctive and memorable
• Publish specific, not generic, content

Your brand is a promise and it is developed in the minds of your target audience much like a relationship.

In this series of four blog posts, we’ll identify the aspects of social and professional relationship building that translate into the different facets of your brand and how the quality and durability of your client relationships can be improved by defining and managing your brand.

Brand-Based Relationships, Part 1 of 4

The First Impression
The Introduction
The Dialogue
The Relationship

The first impression

How do you form your first impressions of people? The way they are dressed, the way they carry themselves, the buildings they walk into, the cars they get out of, the people whom they are talking to – all of these elements combine into indefinable first impressions. Right off the bat we have expectations about individuals without any other information.

Your potential clients will similarly form a first impression of you. The name of your business, the person who referred them to you, the style of your logo, the aesthetic of your website – before you even get a chance to communicate any substantive information, your potential client will form an expectation about your firm before they read a single word of your marketing materials.

Tips for improvement:

The easiest way to create a good impression is to develop a design that reflects your brand.  Make sure your design is implemented in all aspects of your company’s appearance, both in person and online.

• Design aspects to address for consistency with your brand:
  • Colors
  • Font
  • Tone
  • Expressions
  • Etc.
• Style your office to support your brand and design:
  • Furniture
  • Décor
  • Employee appearance and attitude
  • Hold music
  • Etc.
• Online appearance and marketing:
  • Tagline
  • Other marketing messages
  • Visual elements and imagery