Communicating Effectively When Representing Yourself and Your Brand

I have been contemplating how I should put together my own marketing products over the last few months. I love words and linking them into meaningful strings. I have been focusing on getting the words right in order to get my business message across. I was brainstorming all the steps to communicate effectively in and out of business, as well as the potential barriers to communicating effectively with my clients. Would you like to read on and see what I've come up with? Please do.

Listening

We need to listen to what our Facebook Fans, our Twitter Followers, our Blog Readers and our clients who we meet face-to-face are saying (verbally and non-verbally). Our businesses are fueled by our clients. Without them, who are we providing a service for? Listening means you are open to opinion, feedback, new ideas, support and new channels of communication.

Respond, Don't Ignore

You hand out a brochure to another small business owner at your local mall. Two weeks later, you get a negatively-charged email asking when was a good time to contact you about your service as you still haven't replied to the first email sent. Respond in a timely manner to your clients, using appropriate language. Don't ignore issues they feel are necessary to address. If your clients are picking up on issues in your print or online material, you have skimmed too lightly over the fine details of your business material. Ignoring issues and client queries closes the two-way channel of communication and can make clients feel neglected and less inclined to keep you a resource.

Ask Questions

Ask for clarification or further explanation. It shows you are in tune with the feedback your clients are providing you with. It shows you are open minded. Feedback allows you to improve on the relevant aspects of your business and the ways in which you present your business messages to the public.

Combine Methods of Communication

There are hundreds of different types of communication out there. Email your clients, send them direct mail, respond to Facebook posts, reply to Tweets, note comments on your blog, keep communicating. Not enough communication with your clients is a big problem. Just know which type of communication will effectively reach your clients and tap into forming a professional bond with them. Different type of business documents will be given to different clients- the language and wording needs to target the individual or specific business. It needs to be personalized. So if one means of communication doesn't engage your client, try another.

Focus on Providing Exceptional Service

Clients remember what you say and what you do. Never create business documents in a rush to meet deadlines. There is no excuse for poorly edited text in business today, with the variety of spell checking and thesaurus-type tools at your fingertips. If you can't find the words to convey your message, ask for help (ask Little Red Writing Solutions!) Exceptional service means your client will remember you for a long time, will you refer your service to others, will provide you with the highest quality feedback and will no doubt be highly impressed with the work you have created for them.

Make Use of Feedback

Utilize feedback in a positive way. All criticism is a necessary part of improving your work and doesn't mean you are failing. Use the positive to motivate you to soar to new heights and reach a new part of your potential and use the negative to reassess your goals, business message and who you are targeting your work towards and why.

Be Clear

Use clear, simple language. Language that is universal will be understood by the majority and less time will be wasted on clarifying meanings. No two people or perceptions are the same and words clearly mean different things to different people in different situations. Make use of appropriate tone in the language you use and avoid things like contractions (YOU ARE instead of YOU'RE) when writing formally. Again, I can't stress the need to PROOF READ, EDIT and SPELL CHECK enough.

With all this in mind, you can provide a focused message or set of ideas ad your mind will be open to feedback.

When it comes to barriers to communication, there are a few to consider when communicating formally, informally, from business to business and from business to community.

Always view your work from your client's point of view, especially in the editing phases. Communication, in particular the written form, must be pertinent to your client and their needs and must always reflect your business ideals.

Be courteous and use your manners. You would think this would be common place in business dealings between adults but this isn't always the case. Some people respond hastily and nastily to criticism, especially when it comes to work they are proud of and spent a great deal of their time on.

Your clients will appreciate good communication skills and timely responses to their inquiries. By keeping your clients informed (by emailing, tweeting, using Facebook updates, blog posts and direct mail), they will understand where your business is at and will be more inclined to engage with you and your service. Effective communication in all forms is a cornerstone of small business through the use of marketing and PR skills and it is important to invest time and money (where appropriate) into this kind of connection with your clients.

It is also important to make sure that clients have access to all the information they need about your service. You can provide written and verbal information to them about your service but more often than not, the written documents will be the "saving grace" when it comes to retaining clients. Well written documents clients can refer to will bond you professionally in the long-term.

The majority of formal communication in business is written and requires the transmission of detailed information between businesses, to clients or to a targeted population. The majority of business letters are marketing tools in nature, whereas the bulk of a small business owner's informal communication with clients and the community are opportunities to spread word of your business via word of mouth. In saying this, as a small business owner, you still need to be articulate, relate to your clients and convey your business message.

Finally, I find it helpful to believe that all assumptions I make in business (and in everyday life) are false so that you can then determine how valid they are before you can anticipate questions from your clients, encourage conversation about your products and or service you provide. Just be prepared and rehearse your answers! If you have little to no belief in yourself or the words you have written, you may not be able to make your intended point clear enough. You will lose confidence in your service and so will your clients.

Be humble, honest and accurate in your communication with other small businesses, your local community and your clients and you'll be one step ahead.

LEJ

Top 10 Sites for Small Business Owners (July)

I have put together the first of Little Red Writing Solutions Top 10 Sites for Small Business Owners after using these resources frequently in starting up my business.

I found these pages to be informative, easy to navigate and valuable in expanding my business knowledge base. These sites are perfect to use in your daily or weekly research and provide a number of links and downloadable/online guides which would be useful to archive, especially for those putting together technical manuals to support their employees or franchisees.

Each month, a new "Top 10" list of Sites for Small Business Owners will be posted and hopefully, they will become a resource for small business product/service consumers as well as owners. There will be a new focus each month- hopefully you find them as great for your small business as I have for mine.

Australian Taxation Office

Federal Government Business Initiative

Business Victoria

Melbourne Carbon Services Directory

Australian Business Pages Directory

Women in Business

Mum Pages Business Directory

Small Business Mentoring Service

Small Business Ministerial Council

Victorian Small Business Commissioner

Watching Your Small Business Blossom- 14 Fundamental Concepts

Staring at my laptop screen, I was carefully planning how I would tackle starting a small business from the ground up. Having great business-minded friends and family who own successful businesses, I was in the best place possible to being thinking about doing this for myself. The issues were deciding what I wanted to do, the reasons I wanted to do it and what I hope to achieve from the venture. I needed to brainstorm. It took me three days of drawing word maps and jotting down notes before I decided that I was ready to commit.

I came up with 14 individual parts of creating a small business that myself, as well as other new small business developers, should ponder. Each part is a separate concept but is linked in every possible way to the others.

A dream

How will this small business make your future brighter? Will you be achieving your career goals and supporting your family? How long have you been working in roles that you weren't suited to? Shouldn't you be doing something you really love by now?

A pocket full of inspiration

Inspiration is all around you. Your past. Dreams of your future. Your home, your children. Your partner and their life experiences. Your parents and siblings, extended family, friends and ex-classmates. Step out into your local community and breathe it all in. There are just as many people out there who have done what you are about to do as the number of those who are in your shoes right now. What urges you you to be successful? Where do your ideas originate and what gets your motor running? As a woman and mother in business, what inspires you to make the future better for yourself and your children?

Trust not what inspires other members of society to choose a career. Trust what inspires you.

– The Lazy Person’s Guide to Success

(from http://www.oneweekjob.com/blog/2010/11/09/the-50-best-work-and-passion-quotes-of-all-time/#sthash.zHoVbhz5.dpuf)

Passion

We are here for a good time, not a long time. Life is about loving. Love what you do and it will show in every way. Your driving force should come from within. Whether you are working for an employer or working for yourself, you are pushing yourself to succeed and only you can make your dreams a reality. There is nothing better than meeting a business owner who truly loves what they are producing day to day.

Research skills

If you don't have these skills, no matter which industry you stem from, you need to learn them. Researching is a part of every day life and should be a large part of your daily work. What you research depends on your business, but how you research is the same across the board. Scholarly information, recent information, ensure it is relevant and informative. Use a variety of sources. Just make sure they are not Wikipedia!

Work Ethic

You need to be prepared to work. And work hard. Your hours will vary. The time you need to spend on setting up certain aspects of your business will be different from the next small business owner's- they are producing a different product or service for a different market with different experience behind them. Always go the extra mile to show your service is exceptional. Work hard when creating a network. Put the time into researching into your market, your product or service, your clients and where you believe your business will take you.

Resources

Start with who inspires you! You love their work, their ideas, their creative process and ultimately their success, so tap into getting some sort of assistance from them. Trade services where appropriate, go beyond texts and get talking to the people who have made it (or who haven't, it's all valuable discussions to have). Search far and wide for documents, products, services, supports, tools, systems and people who will help create your dream and keep it going in the long run.

Support

Your family, your friends, your colleagues, your online community, your local community, other small business owners. Enough said. Never be afraid to ask for help, a kind word of encouragement or for assistance when it comes to tackling even the smallest or seemingly silliest business issues.

Motivation

There's an underlying reason why you wanted to create your own business, so the motivation is already there. Think about tying it all together and pushing forward. Why are you doing this? Who are you doing it for? What will keep you going and keep that flame alight? Just remember on the bad days, it's just a bad day, not a bad life. Apply it to your business development. You will get there and it will take time. Just keep finding sources of inspiration to spur you on.

Stamina

See Motivation! Just keep going, when you think you can't go any further. And don't give up.

Belief

If you don't believe in yourself, who will? If you don't believe in your product or service, it will show. If you aren't confident, at least act confident. A friendly smile and well constructed and carefully rehearsed sentences may just get you that big lead you were waiting for. As Eleanor Roosevelt so gracefully said- Nobody can make you feel inferior without your consent. Believe in yourself and the belief in your business will follow.

Creativity

Your life experience and personality has set you apart from other small business owners from the outset- no two entrepreneurs are the same. What makes your service your own, even if you are in a franchise situation, is a bubbling flow of creativity. Making ideas your own. Using standards and boundaries and stretching them just a little.

Adaptability

Things just don't always go your way, especially outside of business. We all know that. It's those people who can be flexible in trying circumstances that make their business work for them. If one idea doesn't work, change it up. Head back to the drawing board, brainstorm, use your resources effectively and be open to change. Always be open to the opinions of others. You never know what precious, game-changing information you can get from people in times when you need it most.

Goals

These need to be short term and long term. Make them realistic and make them attainable. Be flexible to the notion of change, as your business direction may change in 6 months and you'll need to reassess where you are headed. Reflect on what has worked for you and what hasn't been achieved. Look at time frames, prioritize your workload and business activities. Most importantly, don't compare yourself to others.

Ideas

Each concept discussed ties naturally into your business ideas. You need motivation to put your ideas into practice. You need goals to make your ideas and dreams a reality. You need inspiration and resources to concoct a fresh batch of thoughts. You need to be creative in your business development and networking or your ideas will become stale, and you won't achieve your goals when you set out to. Believe wholeheartedly in your ideas- they are the heart of your business. Research with focus and utilize your resources effectively when developing/brainstorming your business ideas.

Confidence Gets You Everywhere

As a child, I struggled with a certain lack of confidence and the ability to speak up and out. I wanted to please my parents, grandparents and school teachers but had to do so in relative silence. I was always nervous as a child. I asked questions rarely and when I did, they were something along the lines of "Is this okay?", "Did I do this right?" or "Are you happy with that?". I'm not sure why I felt the need to please others so much, maybe I thought I was a bit different, heading towards being an outsider and needed approval. Maybe it was a way of getting love and feeling loved. My mother assured me I never really needed to seek her approval with anything as she was always watching over me a warm smile or a stern "Here, let me help you" glare. It was different with my father, who shied away from showing any kind of emotional connection with me.

School teachers year after year would write the same words in my report "Lauren is a very quiet shy student who performs exceptionally well in her studies. Confidence, however, is something she lacks and should work on". Once I became a secondary school student, I really had subconsciously set myself at a distance from others, in terms of my sense of humor and what type of things I found funny, my heightened sense of anxiety and worry about everything and anything. I took things quite personally from a very young age. I was easily offended, yet never really let the perpetrator know that I was hurt. I let myself feel different because I had different interests to most teenagers, I spent most of my time in the company of adults and I really preferred it that way. I preferred adult conversation and I was able to be heard when I needed to speak. I felt I wasn't being judged on some strange level.

I enrolled in my first university degree and soon realized that I really was just another number in the world, a quirky kind of number and a female in a predominantly male environment, but just another number all the same. I began to confuse feeling different from people my age with feeling misunderstood. I tried for a few months to fit in with certain groups but realized that our interests were just too polar opposite and I had nothing in common with the majority. I became content with spending my time alone: on the train, studying, free periods, weekends and week nights.

It wasn't until I commenced in my second degree (and the degree which I should have started straight from school) that something clicked. I'm not sure what happened. I suddenly spoke up in class. I argued my point in a concise, simple manner. I made other students laugh. I started looking at myself differently and I think those around me noticed. This small stream of confidence in myself and in my strengths started bubbling away. I felt more at ease with public speaking engagements and was taking less to heart. I could stand in front of a group of people and discuss my favourite issues, contemporary issues that were at the forefront of everyone's minds. The difference being I was suddenly not looked upon as different or quirky. People noticed my new found spirit. People were listening to me. They didn't have to agree, they just listened. I was enjoying what I was learning and it was all "clicking" without me having to ask too many questions, having to study too much or ending up leaving class more puzzled than when I entered.

In my first few casual employment situations that I was in whilst I studied, I was known as a push over. I'd agree to things because I didn't like to say no. I still have that problem, but as an adult and more so as a mother, I'm slowly learning the benefit that word can bring when used appropriately. When I entered the workforce in my chosen field, I realized that again, I was just another number but this time I had more influence on the lives of other people without the judgement I felt in my early years. I came to the conclusion that I really did critique myself quite harshly and didn't allow myself to be who I was, entirely out of the fear of being cross examined.

When I look back on my life up until this point, the only time I have felt untouched, pure and myself has been when I've been writing. Blogs, stories, journals, speeches, reports, social media updates, letters, proposals. Writing gives me a voice I could never project without letting go of a few insecurities and flaws I've gathered along the way to becoming the person I am right now. I feel confident because I've learnt to let go of whatever little things were holding me back- my fear of judgement, my fear of being wrong, my fear of losing the approval of people I love and associate with. I feel happy when my words are read and when my words are heard. But I feel happiest just knowing my words are free from me and out there. Whether people that hear or read them agree with the content, context or meanings behind the carefully constructed sentences and highly sensitive and emotional undertones, or not, my words are out there in the atmosphere. To me, that is a very satisfying feeling and makes me, in all my quirkiness, feel powerful. Despite my shyness and introverted nature, I've become content with who I've morphed into over the years and it's writing with belief in myself that has got me here.

LEJ

Exciting Times Ahead