Branding for Health Coaches
Branding refers to how other people perceive you and your business. One of my favourite definitions of what a brand is comes from Marty Neumeier. According to him, a brand is "a person's gut feeling about a product, service, or company."
In other words, your brand is your reputation, and it's defined by your people: your clients, audience members (e.g. email subscribers), and people who refer you or that you partner with.
You can think of your brand as the idea or image people have in mind when they think of what you offer - both in a practical way (e.g. "health coaching for weight loss") and in an emotional way (e.g. "she/he makes me feel heard and understood"). It's not just about the 'what' of what you actually do, but also the feelings that clients develop towards you and your services.
Have you ever come across a business or someone's website, and just fell in love with what they stood for and their overall "vibe"? That's their brand.
Your brand is your business' personality. Each brand is unique in its personality and traits. Those traits are like keywords and a guiding light for you to help you make decisions, for example when it comes to marketing strategies and choosing what's best for your coaching business.
When we build a brand and a website, we're strategic about it. We decide who you want to work with and what resonates with that group of people, how you would like to be perceived, what kind of feelings you want to evoke in your clients and the people that come across you. Based on this 'brand strategy' we can determine what colours, fonts, etc. will help us bring that feeling across.
Why does a brand matter?
- We want your ideal client to recognise your brand and associate it with what they need. We want to uncover opportunities to position yourself as the go-to health coach for that person. Having a strong brand will help you stand out.
- It helps you attract the right clients, people you really love to work with and who light you up, and people who you can serve and help really well.
- A strong brand also helps you charge the prices you want to charge. It makes it clear what you're about and what you can do, and what you can't or won't do. It lets you be the boss in your own business, and allows you to run your business intentionally.
- It also helps you build a reputation and get referrals as your brand awareness grows.
- Having a clear brand will shape your marketing message and approach. Once you know your brand, what you stand for and how to communicate that, you can align your marketing strategies with who you are and how you work best. It helps you make clear decisions on what to focus on and what actions are aligned with your values, so you feel excited and empowered as you build your client base.
How do we build a health coaching brand?
A brand weaves together so many aspects. Because every brand is unique (just like every body is unique), it's important to look at all the different aspects that make up your health coaching brand.
Your voice, your story, your vision, your goals, your experience, your coaching style, your strengths, your values, what you do, how you do it, why you do it. We also consider your peers and what makes your approach and business different. We then integrate your dream clients, and align their values, their struggles and their visions with who you are. So it's a blend and a partnership of you AND your dream clients.
The reason it's important to consider your ideal clients is because they are the people you want to attract after all. The people that you'd just LOVE to work with, that really light you up, who leave you feeling inspired and energised after every coaching session, and who help you become a better person and coach.
I really want to emphasise how important it is for you to get to know your dream clients. Not just theoretically or hypothetically, or in your own head or imagination, but really speaking to them and getting to know them. It doesn't have to be complicated - just schedule a few calls with current/previous clients and talk to them. Listen to the words they use to describe their pain and vision.
I'd be doing you a disservice by not mentioning this, because ultimately you don't just want your brand and website to look pretty and to make you feel good, but you want it to help you get clients.
In summary, when we create a health coaching brand we consider your ideal clients and their deeper values, and combine those with who you are at heart. We then translate all those aspects into something tangible that your ideal clients can see, read, feel, and that encourages and inspires them to take action and to connect with you.
When we do all of that and weave all those strings together, we create a brand that is based on purpose and comes from genuine insight.
Ultimately, your brand should support you and help make your business experience easier, more aligned, and more joyful.