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Building an Effective and Memorable Brand as a Coach

Posted by Natalie Jobity | January 21, 2021 | Comments (5)

Branding is a critical component in marketing your coaching business – it shapes your audience’s perceptions of who you are as a coach. An effective and memorable brand is one where your target audience perceives your coaching business exactly how you wish it to be perceived. This takes intentionality, strategy and honoring your signature strengths and brilliance as a coach. When executed masterfully, your coaching business brand will resonate on an emotional level with your target audience, so much so that they are drawn to you and your offerings and become advocates for your brand  

I’ve created the acronym R.E.A.D.Y. as a guide to ensure that the brand you design for your coaching business is wellpositioned for success 

RRelevant 

Many coaches think their brand is all about social media presence and website design. While these are certainly important aspects of marketing and branding, the heart of your brand should be centered around your audience’s needs and what you bring to the table to meet those needsThis involves understanding your target clients with a specificity that enables you to know:  

  1. What their struggles are. 
  2. How those struggles make them feel.
  3. How your coaching services address those struggles tangibly and emotionally.

EEnduring

Your brand should be built on the solid foundation of your business’ values so that the impression you create in your target audience’s mind is indelibleAnd regardless of what trends come and go, your brand identity must have relevancy that stands the test of time. coaching brand that establishes a strong persona – and maintains it consistently over time – develops credibility among its competitors and trust among its clients, positioning it to stand out memorably. 

AAuthentic

Authenticity is one of the hallmarks of a stellar brand. The main goal of branding your coaching business is to market your services to your ideal clients in a way that addresses their challenges while highlighting how you specifically are equipped to solve them. This feat must be accomplished in an authentic way for it to resonate.  

Authenticity matters particularly when you are crafting your brand’s personality. This is how your brand expresses its vibe, energy, persona and other key attributes that reinforce its distinctiveness. These attributes are largely communicated through your logo, website, photos and messaging. For example, a coach targeting Mompreneurs will connect more powerfully with that audience by speaking their language, and demonstrating that their struggles are intimately understood, which casts a realistic vision of how their coaching equips them to launch their business. This credibility translates to a greater likelihood that the coach will connect emotionally with their target audience, gaining their trust and business.    

DDifferentiated

A well-differentiated brand stands out, leaving a memorable, positive impression that makes customers want to engage with it repeatedlyYour differentiation as a coach is an important component of your brand strategy as it showcases why a client would want to do business with you instead of anyone else 

For example, if you are targeting professionals, you’ll want to niche down much further to differentiate yourself from other coaches targeting professionals. If you have experience in the legal field, for example, you can use that to differentiate yourself by targeting legal professionals. You can niche down even further by targeting burnt out legal professionals. The key is to leverage the salient aspects of your experience, interests, passions and skills and demonstrate how you bring them to your coaching business. Doing so will make your coaching practice stand out by speaking directly to what you have to offer your targeted clients.  

YYes Factor

When you offer a good service, you generate customers. But if you build powerful, memorable brand, you generate advocates who not only become loyal customers, but also act as champions for you and your business. This is the Yes Factor that every brand craves because with advocates, you build a community of supporters who also participate in growing your business by driving clients to you. 

The new year is an opportune time to re-examine or develop your coaching brand. When I help coaches with their branding, I start with their why and help them clarify their key points of differentiationThe richness of words and associations that emerge from these sessions are then used as focal points when fleshing out the rest of the brand identity—the look, feel, personality, tone, voicecolorsetc. This is not an overnight process nor a superficial one. It takes intentionality, clarity and strategy. But when you lay a strong foundation for your brand, you are positioned to craft one that is memorable and impactful for your target audience  one with a clear, relevant purpose, a distinct visual identity and one that engenders trust and loyalty.

Headshot of author Natalie Jobity

Natalie Jobity

Natalie Jobity, MBA, CPLC, As "The Brilliance Unveiler," Natalie Jobity leverages more than a decade of experience empowering hundreds of women as an image consultant and now as a leadership and career coach of The Unveiled Way. She works with high-achieving women at career crossroads to unveil their brilliance, so they're positioned to be unstoppable leaders and trailblazers in their arena. Natalie’s second book titled, It’s Your Time to ShinemGirl: Own Your Brilliance, Step into Your Influence, and Lead Like a Trailblazer, will be published in the Fall of 2022.

The views and opinions expressed in guest posts featured on this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of the International Coach Federation (ICF). The publication of a guest post on the ICF Blog does not equate to an ICF endorsement or guarantee of the products or services provided by the author.

Additionally, for the purpose of full disclosure and as a disclaimer of liability, this content was possibly generated using the assistance of an AI program. Its contents, either in whole or in part, have been reviewed and revised by a human. Nevertheless, the reader/user is responsible for verifying the information presented and should not rely upon this article or post as providing any specific professional advice or counsel. Its contents are provided “as is,” and ICF makes no representations or warranties as to its accuracy or completeness and to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law specifically disclaims any and all liability for any damages or injuries resulting from use of or reliance thereupon.

Comments (5)

  1. Elodie says:

    Such helpful and relevant tips – thank you for putting in out there, in such clear manner!

  2. Lucy says:

    Thanks for this great post, I appreciate your content about effective and memorable branding. I have recently started my coaching institute and looking for some brand tips, your post is really helpful. Keep sharing more!

  3. You’re so welcome Lucy! Thank you for reading and commenting. Be sure to check out my other article on Coaching World on Four Strategies to Develop a Brand Voice that Resonates.

  4. You’re so welcome. Thanks so much for reading!

  5. John Carston says:

    I like how you mentioned that if you are a well-differentiated brand, you stand out, leaving a memorable, positive impression that makes consumers want to engage with your business repeatedly. A friend mentioned to me last week about brand identity and asked if I have any idea what is the best option for his brand logo. Thanks to this informative article and I’ll be sure to tell him that he should consult a trusted branding agency as they can answer all his inquiries and provide all his needs for his branding and marketing strategy.

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