You know how some dog owners have a close resemblance to their dog/s? Well, as business owners, we’ve discovered that we have a close resemblance to R86. We haven’t started dressing like the product label, so we guess it’s okay, right? Before you get creeped out, let us explain.
Last year, we decided we needed help with our brand. We were disillusioned by the fact that R86 sales were doing so well in 2017 thru 2019, that we didn’t spend any time on marketing. Sales increased steadily year over year, and we sailed into 2020…then the world changed. Because we didn’t communicate with our customers, we discovered they had no reason to be loyal to us or our brand. We had taken them for granted. Sales declined and we were forced to reevaluate.
We started working with a “brand evangelist” who wasn’t interested in creating a brand for us, but instead, was interested in discovering who we were as people. She pointed out that it’s impossible to separate the core values and guiding principles of a brand’s owners from the brand itself. Basically, if we were unable to understand our own motivations for starting a business and selling products we believed in, why would anyone else? What were we doing it for? Where were we going with it? Why did it matter?
Upon our own self-reflection, this is what we rediscovered about our brand/selves:
- It’s okay to ask for help!
- Versatility allows for efficiency.
- It’s good to have options, but just the right amount.
- Simple doesn’t mean naïve, it means elegant.
- Something can be strong and gentle at the same time.
- Authenticity is found through brutal honesty.
- Sometimes it’s hard to do the right thing.
- Extreme opposites can produce the best harmony.
- Harmony is found in natural things.
We’re still trying to figure out the whole marketing thing, but at least we have a much better understanding that we and our business move step-in-step. Pretending to be something we’re not comes off as disingenuous and gets sniffed out immediately by potential customers. Not everyone will agree with our brand, and that’s okay. There’s always someone else who will. 😊
