persona branding

Today, we have a special treat for you as we dive into the world of personal branding from a different angle with the incredible Sandy Grisby, a multi-talented photographer, and personal branding expert. 

In our efforts to develop our personal brand, we must acknowledge that we live in a world where image and perception matter. And like with work on our brand strategy, also with our image it's easy to fall into the trap of creating a fictional character to please others. However, Sandy urges her clients to understand their target audience without sacrificing their genuine identity.

By striking a delicate balance between audience perception and personal authenticity, individuals can develop a personal brand that resonates deeply with their key stakeholders. Sandy's own journey in personal branding showcases the power of being genuine - a key aspect that has helped her connect with clients worldwide.

So, let's explore the significance of authenticity, the power of natural photos, and the art of personal branding that stands out from the crowd.

Find out more about Sandy's services here -> https://www.sandyinfocus.com/

Corey Quinn, CMO at Scorpion, jumps right into explaining marketing jargon and why understanding the difference between B2C and B2B marketing is crucial.

With B2C marketing you think of companies that sell soda, mobile apps, and cars.

B2B marketing is not something you typically see on TV or on the radio and is often promoting products or services like software, consulting, or home services like landscaping or plumbing. Another major difference is that it often involves a longer buying and selling cycle than B2C.

The Cycle of Buying

This cycle has different stages that the consumer or business goes through before buying a product or service: researching, analyzing, and then making the purchase decision.

Corey shares how Scorpion works to understand the process that their target customer or business goes through so that they can market well and be discoverable in their buyer’s journey.

Customer Research

"In order to cut through the noise, you need to do the extra research on who you’re selling to so that when they hear your message they will feel like you understand them."

Once they do the customer research to understand who the customer is, they are able move onto persona development. Corey shares that this is where they create an idealized version of their buyer, including their pain points, background, education level, information sources, and communication habits. From there, Scorpion orients their clients marketing to that ideal customer or business.

At Scorpion, they understand their buyer by doing interviews and asking questions like:
What were you doing before you started marketing with Scorpion?
What made you know that you needed to make a shift?

Other ways you can compile that customer research include online research and surveys, but Corey emphasizes the value of interviewing the people you want to sell to.

Targeting Leads

Now that you have your customer research and know what messages they need to hear and when, it’s time to create content marketing that is problem and solution focused.

Corey shares how connecting to the challenges and pain points that your ideal customer or business is experiencing allows your business to grow in authority, trust, and revenue.

"If you want to drive the performance of your business, if you’re dedicated to growing your business, doing the persona research will translate into more leads and a better economy of leads, a better cost per lead, which will lead to ultimately a better bottom line for your business."