Your brand is the perception of your value in the marketplace. Savvy marketers know that perception is reality. Potential clients are attracted to their perception of your firm, whatever that may be. Creating a brand is more than images and words—it's creating a clear, compelling message that defines the work you do and the value you provide. When done right, branding can relocate your firm from the land of bland to the land of brand—a far better neighborhood.

Branding Basics

There's a great deal of strategy that goes into building a good brand, but here are some basic questions every advisor should answer:

Does your brand make a clear promise? Your brand is a promise you make to the market. This promise should drive every aspect of your marketing and client experience.

I recently met with a firm that couldn't decide between three brand promises. They wanted to be the premium brand, the professional brand and the personal brand. Being all things to all people is not an effective strategy. I've reviewed at least 50 websites that contain some version of "providing quality wealth management solutions to individuals and families since 1981." The sites then provide a litany of reasons why the firm is great. I suppose the strategy is to overwhelm the reader and create a sense of awe and wonder. But the websites fail to deliver one clear promise and value message, which should drive the content throughout.

Are you listing attributes or describing your value proposition? Attributes are not a brand. When I ask firms what makes them unique, I generally hear: "We care, have integrity and provide great service." Caring, quality and service are attributes, not differentiators. They merely describe the firm's underlying qualities and how they deliver on the brand promise. They are the how, not the what.

The what is the single biggest thing that makes you different. "Innovative" can be a differentiator. "Comprehensive," may differentiate you as a wealth management firm, not just an investment firm. "No one does what we do" is not a differentiator. I've worked with a number of excellent firms, and I can tell you that not one is so vastly superior to the others that the rest should close up shop. Being better isn't the point. The point is to know what makes you different and position your firm that way in the minds of your prospects and clients.

Is your promise client-focused? You've heard it a thousand times: Identify your target clients and focus your message to them. Many advisors suffer from fear of scarcity, believing that if they narrow their focus, they'll get fewer prospects. In my experience, advisors who believe in the law of abundance find that a more focused message leads to a higher quantity and quality of growth opportunities.

Consider Mercedes and BMW. Both carmakers have premium products, but different brand promises aimed at the needs of their target markets. Mercedes' promise is prestige, and BMW's is performance. You purchase a Mercedes when you want luxurious comfort and a BMW when you seek the ultimate driving experience. Both companies have created meaningful brands by aligning their brand promise with what they deliver.

Do you have a concise statement that defines the value you provide in a compelling way? For example, "Knowledge & Experience" doesn't clearly define your value to the client. "Finish Well," one of my favorite value propositions to date, tells the client precisely what value they can anticipate receiving—an added bonus is that the meaning of this brand can be interpreted differently by every client.

Does your brand address key client needs? The underlying premise for your brand is the value clients will receive from working with you. Consider, for example, Bob and Jane Client who are retiring with $800,000 after both having worked for 30 years at Nabisco. They want to know that they won't run out of money before they die. If you know your clients' key needs and motivators, you can clearly address your message to these points.

The Brand Within

Your brand is like a diamond buried in a coal mine. You don't create it, you uncover it from within. In branding, you process the raw stone to ensure that maximum value is received. How you then polish, package and present your diamond determines its worth. It isn't a question of whether you need a brand to succeed-but rather whether your brand maximizes the value of what you have to offer.