Female entrepreneurs are growing in number every single day. According to the National Association of Women Business Owners, more than 11 million businesses are owned by women, employing nearly 9 million people, and generating $1.7 trillion in sales as of 2017.
However, women face unique challenges when it comes to starting, growing, and scaling a brand. Women-owned businesses are still in the minority and there is a multitude of challenges not experienced by our male counterparts. Women often face difficulties in overcoming social barriers, accessing funding, building a support network, balancing home and family responsibilities, as well as learning to overcome our own mindset obstacles such as fear.
Taking these challenges into consideration makes building a brand even more important. But I think we have a unique advantage.
Women are wired for connection, social cognition, and verbal communication– all crucial in the work of building a brand.
Women tend to be more empathetic, collaborative and nurturing in their leadership style, which can translate into creating more authentic and meaningful connections with customers. Women are often more attuned to the needs and values of their target audience, which can lead to more effective communication and messaging. By leveraging these unique strengths, female-led businesses can build strong and loyal communities that propel their brand to success. As more and more women enter the business world, we can expect to see a shift towards a more compassionate and inclusive approach to brand building that benefits both businesses and their customers.
Here are a few tips for female-led businesses on how they can lean in and leverage their unique and innate attributes to build a wildly successful business and brand.
The Power of Empathy
Leveraging the power of empathy is a critical way for women to build a brand that truly connects with their audience. By putting yourself in your customers’ shoes, you can better understand their needs, values, and pain points. This understanding can help you develop messaging, branding, and content that truly resonates with your target audience, and creates a sense of emotional connection that builds trust and loyalty. By leveraging empathy, you can also create a brand identity that reflects the values and beliefs of your target audience, and positions your brand as a trusted and respected partner.
The Power of Collaboration and Community
By prioritizing relationships and community-building, female-led businesses can create a brand identity that resonates with their target audience on a deeper level. Collaboration is essential to building relationships with customers, as well as with partners and influencers who can help spread the word about your brand. By working together with others, you can create a sense of community around your brand that fosters loyalty and trust. This will help you stand out in today’s competitive marketplace.
The Power of Authenticity
Authenticity is perhaps the most important factor in building a successful brand, as it helps to create a genuine connection with your audience. By being transparent about your values and beliefs, and sharing the stories behind your brand, you can create a sense of authenticity that builds trust and sets you apart from the competition. Additionally, emphasizing social responsibility and giving back to the community can help build a brand identity that aligns with the values of today’s socially conscious consumers.
Even though women tend to arrive at empathy, collaboration, and authenticity with more ease and flow, we still have to build those pieces of our brand with intention and strategy. Here are the crucial parts of brand strategy that are needed in order to leverage your innate capacity for branding.
Define Your Brand Values
Your brand values are the guiding principles that define your business. They are the foundation for your brand and should be reflected in everything you do. These create connection with your ideal customers and communicate that they can trust you because you’re like-minded and care about the same things they do. There’s a tendency for businesses to write off brand values as a formality, but they have an immense amount of power and when used correctly can magnetize the right people to your brand.
Craft Your Messaging
Your messaging should be clear, concise, and compelling. It should communicate why you’re different from your competitors and should resonate with your audience. The consistency of your messaging across multiple platforms will ensure your brand stands out and grabs attention.
Develop Your Brand Personality
Your brand personality is the human characteristic that you want to associate with your brand. It’s how you want people to feel when they interact with your business. Are you fun and quirky or serious and professional? Do you want to be seen as approachable and friendly or authoritative and knowledgeable? Think about your target audience and what type of personality would resonate with them.
If you want to be successful, you need to focus on writing and craft unique content that is unlike your competitors’. Your posts should be engaging all the time. If not, then you will find it difficult to stand out.
Consistent Engagement and Activation
Building a strong brand doesn’t mean anything if you don’t execute and activate that brand in the market. Consistency is key. Make sure your visual identity, messaging, and overall brand experience are consistent across all touchpoints. This will help build trust and recognition with your customers. Building a strong brand is an ongoing process. Engage with your audience on social media, respond to customer feedback, and be transparent about your business practices. This will help build a connection with your audience and foster loyalty over time.
Women are entering entrepreneurship every day and more and more women are building businesses and crafting brands that rank among some of the most well-loved and well-recognized. While there are still hurdles to overcome, challenges to meet, and growth to embrace, I believe that women are uniquely positioned to build massive brands by embracing the very things that we’ve been told are limitations. Turns out they’ve been our superpower all along.
