Why Brand Coaching Is Something All Entrepreneurs Need

Your unique branding strategy is the backbone of your business. It’s the story your business tells, using color, visuals, voice, messaging, and every piece of content you put out there into the world.

Your brand strategy creates a familiarity that encourages your customers to stay loyal. And a finely tuned strategy keeps your entire business aligned, from the marketing department and customer support, to your sales reps and HR team.

Without a strong, distinctive, clear brand strategy, businesses get lost in the noise. That’s where an expert brand coach comes in.

A brand coach, also called a branding coach, brand strategist, or brand designer, works directly with entrepreneurs and business owners to create a cohesive brand that resonates with your audience, stands out from the crowd, and helps your business succeed.

If you’re curious about what a brand coach can do for you, read on! We’ll be covering:

• Why brand coaching matters
• How the process works
• What brand coaching costs
• What to expect when you engage a brand coach
• Why it’s worth the work to develop your personal brand too

You may feel overwhelmed by the thought of branding. But rest assured, with a branding coach by your side who's an expert in the branding space, you can build a brand that resonates.

Everything you need to know about brand coaching

Did you know a person has to see your brand at least five to seven times before it becomes familiar to them? And not just in the same place over and over. The strongest brand recognition is built by being discoverable in multiple places, like on social media, a podcast ad, a billboard, and a mailer.

Brand coaching is effective because it helps you create a brand strategy that resonates, then puts that brand out in front of your ideal customers. It’s a two-part process that combines brand development with suggestions for showcasing your brand. The result? Greater brand awareness, a unified look and sound, and a growing base of loyal customers.

1. Why brand coaching is important

The long-term success of your business largely depends on the brand you create around it. Your brand strategy serves as the foundation of your business. It’s a roadmap made up of your goals, differentiators, ideal customers, and brand identity that guides every decision you make.

2. Branding coaches help business owners communicate their message in a way that their target audience can understand.

Remember, personal brands that speak to the audience in a way they understand, those are the brands that stand out.

Many business owners have been involved in their industry for so long that they’ve forgotten how to explain their products and services clearly and effectively. A brand coach offers a unique outside perspective, backed by real research and data, to help experts communicate their brand in a meaningful, relatable way.

While there are many benefits to brand coaching, this fresh perspective on your company is one of the most important.

3. How brand coaching works

Your brand is about more than just the products or services you offer. It’s about your values, behaviors, visuals, voice, and so much more.

You and your branding coach will work together to develop a strategy and branding style that’s based on four main inputs:

1. Your vision. These are the core values, mission, and vision that guide your business. And they’re at the very heart of your brand.
2. Your positioning. This is how you show up to the market. Are you the luxury brand? The cost-effective brand? The eco-friendly brand? Your positioning guides the brand strategy you and your brand coach will develop.
3. Your audience. Who are you selling to? What do they think, want, and do? Successful brands speak directly (and narrowly) to the specific audience they want to reach— and no one else.
4. The culture. Your brand isn’t separate from the world. It’s right in the middle of it. This input considers how culture impacts your brand— and how your brand impacts culture.

Throughout your one-on-one sessions, you and your coach will work through these big questions, sifting your unique, distinctive brand out of the answers.

By the time you’re done, you’ll have a fully-functional brand strategy you can use to align every aspect of your business. Whether you're a thriving creative business, a lifestyle brand, a coaching business, or an everyday business person, our coaches have helped countless brands stand out from the competition— and they can help you too.

4. How much does brand coaching cost?

The cost to work with a brand coach varies widely. At ZeBrand, our Premium Plan branding users get access to a monthly one-on-one brand coaching session as part of their robust membership benefits. That membership starts at just $600 per month.

On the higher end of the spectrum, in-depth brand coaching can run as high as $600 or more per hour, with well-known coaches charging as much as $1000 an hour for their services.

In short, your personal cost varies based on the type of coaching business you hire, the coaching style you’re looking for, and where you find your coach. At ZeBrand, our expert coaches are active in their field, adding to their industry knowledge every single day. Other full-time coaches may have an impressive roster of clients, but have been out of the field for some time.

The best brand coach for you is the one who fits your brand style and budget. A coach who can help you plan your brand strategy, create solid guidelines, and teach you how to implement an effective plan is well worth the cost.

5. Working with a brand coach saves you countless hours of research

Your brand coach is an expert in the branding industry and a seasoned strategist. When it comes to nailing down your brand strategy, you may have no clue where to start. But your brand coach knows how to research your industry, find your ideal customer, and test that strategy periodically.

Your personal brand coach takes the guesswork out of building a meaningful brand presence. And they continue to tweak that strategy as your business grows and develops.

6. A brand coach helps entrepreneurs hone their voice

Maybe you’ve got clear branding ideas in your head, but you just can’t articulate them. Or maybe you know the feeling you want your brand to give others, but aren’t sure where to start. You may even be in the middle of a major rebrand, looking for ways to reinvigorate your brand and give your business new life.

Wherever you find yourself, a brand coach is there to help you say what you want to say, better.

What you can expect when you engage a brand coach

Ready to engage a brand coach?

Here’s how we help our clients achieve branding success at ZeBrand:

1. Register for brand coaching
2. Complete a thorough brand survey to help your branding coach learn more about your business
3. Meet your new coach
4. Enjoy monthly one-on-one or on-demand coaching with your personal branding expert!

You can ask your branding coach anything. You can talk about your brand’s story, building an engaged social media community, your ideas for a new logo and visual brand, and even how to help your internal marketing team improve your business communications.

Your coach is a true personal branding expert, there to guide you through every step of the journey, from business creation to rebranding. That’s less Googling or guessing, and more growth.

How many brand coaching sessions does it take to start seeing results?

A branding coach who is well versed in the branding industry can turn your business around in as fast as a single session. In one sitting, your branding coach may unlock new thoughts, ideas, and inspiration you never considered before that can instantly change how you do business.

However, it’s more realistic to expect your brand coaching to take some time. The best brands in the world, the instantly-recognizable, personified brands you know and love, they didn’t happen overnight. Building a successful brand requires careful planning, strategy, implementation, and maintenance.

Branding, like many other kinds of consulting services, takes time to work. Once you start brand coaching, aim to stay consistent for at least six months. This time frame gives you and your team the chance to start building your brand and values, creating compelling marketing materials, researching your target audience, and tweaking the strategy as you find new insights.

Don’t forget to create your own personal brand presence with a branding coach

Personal branding refers to the expertise, leadership, experience, and personality you develop to promote yourself. A quick Google search of your name will show you (for better or for worse!) the state of your current personal branding. If you're a new entrepreneur, you may not have much of a personal brand presence yet. But with a bit of effort, your online brand can be just as robust as that of your own business.

As a business owner, your personal brand is nearly as important as your business’ brand. A personal brand is also mobile. If you build a successful business with a recognizable brand, but later choose to sell that business, the brand goes along with it. But your personal brand is all your own. You create it, you carry it, and you benefit from its success.

How a personal brand improves your business

Your personal brand creates trust and respect with your target audience. And believe us, your target audience is always watching. In fact, a full 82% of buyers are more likely to trust a company if that company’s CEO has an active, positive presence on social media! That's why personal branding has become such an effective tool for entrepreneurs and leaders who want to start multiple companies, launch their own initiatives, and run a profitable business.

The way you present yourself to the world, the way you position yourself within your industry, these are crucial aspects of your personal brand that a branding coach can help you develop. Your personal branding coach will use similar questions and research to help you build a personal brand that’s just as effective as your own business’.

While creating your company’s branding is an impactful step that sets your business up for more growth and more sales, a robust personal brand can have just as large an impression on your target audience. If you’ve never taken the time to craft your own personal brand, it might be time to meet with a personal branding coach to start developing this essential strategy.

Is brand coaching the right next step for you? Our coaches help clients create a brand strategy that works. Grow your business, expand your audience, increase your earnings, and join a vibrant branding community when you engage a branding coach from ZeBrand. With our experts on your side, you can take your business to new heights.

If you want to capture your dream clients and achieve greater business success, let’s chat. ZeBrand can put you in contact with your ideal Brand Coach, sign up today or contact us here!