What is your business brand promise?
Do you make the time to revisit your brand promise and its mission, and check its relevance for your current customers? With our ten year anniversary coming up on the 28th November, we encourage you to also think about your business journey and how you want to be.
Back in 2018, we were nominated (and won) the Most Influential Brand Award. I found that completing the application form was a thought-provoking exercise, and because things have changed in so many ways since 2020, it was time to revisit it to check that we were still being true to our band and our customers/clients.
What is “brand” …
"Brand" is integral and key to YTM of Your Time Matters. Branding is the ‘behind the scenes’ core message that sets you apart, and attracts others to work with you, as they understand the breadth and depth of why you do what we do. It impresses on others the importance of taking the opportunity to learn, grow and achieve, and impacts the lives of those around us.
Our branding encourages others to become part of a supportive network, and make a difference to the lives of others through connection. Since 2020, we have taken our events also on-line in order to keep our community connected.
During lockdowns, we provided business focused events, arranged weekly virtual lunch catch-ups, and orchestrated some fun, social evenings to break up the monotony. These included a trivia night, a games night and even a thoughtful art therapy session. While we have cut back on the online sessions, there are at least two per month so men and women can join from near and far and talk with others about business.
Our Brand sets us apart and is strictly unique because we focus on the individual’s needs. It’s our promise that when someone hears or sees “YTM” or Your Time Matters, they know we value their time, and we provide support to help them with strategies to grow their business and to learn, grow and achieve. We all lead full lives, and our clients’ time is precious, so we want to help them make the most of it. Why not make friends with similar interests at the same time as generating leads and sales, and expanding your knowledge?
Recently we had a Halloween themed event, just to mix things up and combine some fun with conversations where tips, tricks and treats were shared.
Having a strong brand is important to me as the founder of YTM. Our business Brand allows us to stand out from traditional and transactional networking groups, and be recognised for the value we provide to business owners, professionals and teams seeking to build bigger and better businesses. We encourage them to create sustainable relationships with suppliers, clients, referrers and friends so they can build the business they desire and experience a sense of belonging. Most of our community work alone, and regularly they share with us, that getting together is just what they need.
Define your brand
How would you describe your brand as a car ?
I was once asked this. Now our other team member, Leigh Powell, loves cars so my response made sense to him…. YTM aligns itself with the various models of cars produced by Audi.
An Audi like YTM, is known for being well above average, provides a welcoming comfortable interior and quality detailing relaxing the passengers so they will enjoy the experience, no matter the model. They provide an exceptional product to suit both the individual or a larger group with ample room to move and adjust to different situations. And, their customer experience, similar to Lindt chocolate rather than Home Brand, is far from ordinary.
Our mission and purpose provides business professionals (men and women together in one space) with opportunities to tap into rich resources like essential knowledge, substantial connections, and a powerful and dynamic community that supports them, as they learn about themselves and others, grow their confidence, their business and their network while achieving what matters to them.
No one achieves anything alone, and support is at hand through YTM as we expand horizons, break down homogenous barriers in the workforce and encourage diverse networking experiences.
Who is your ideal client?
Knowing your ideal client, means you can meet their needs and stand in their shoes.
At YTM our ideal client is a business owner or professional, generally but not exclusively providing services in the B2B space. They value real and authentic relationships, have a desire to continually learn, a willingness to share experiences and knowledge. Our ideal client understands the value of diverse perspectives, and seeks to make a difference to others, focusing on “giving to gain” rather than driven by "what's in it for me". Their values are being part of a community where they can generate leads, explore opportunities and have access to knowledge, experience and support.
Brand mission and purpose
Our brand mission and purpose align with our ideal clients’ needs and desires because we know that running a small business can be very challenging and isolating. Having access to knowledge, support and other like-minded people who share common experiences, helps our clients recognise they are not alone, and that support is available if they know where to look for it. By investing time in building strong relationships, they can grow both personally and professionally.
The reasons our brand is unique and authentic is because:
YTM offers more than traditional networking events. It is a real business community.
The focus is on:
Building sustainable relationships, not just transactions
Learning about yourself and others, and recognising through conversations facilitated by us that, on occasions, others share similar feelings of isolation, overwhelm and frustration
Growing personally and professionally as you expand your network, and learn from diverse perspectives
Gain knowledge and fill gaps by reviewing your systems and processes
Achieving what matters to you through professional development
Enrichment and transformation of thinking as your business evolves over time
How you can help others….not the ‘what’s in it for me’ approach
Four facilitated formats (online and in-person) providing structure to make the most of the time invested when attending events that motivate, inspire and energise you
Tested tools that build confidence, clarify values and determine impact on client
Understanding how others feel having walked in their shoes
YTM has the ability and connections to initiate the right connection, and solve the problem at hand
YTM’s Brand - summed up
Transformational
Brand personality comes to life and to connect
Real photos of team and event participants, members and experiences published on the website and throughout social media, combining both personal and professional lives.
Individual icons have been designed as representative of each event format - showing our unique approach and appealing to individual learning styles
Colours and fonts as per style guide – unisex, vibrant colouring, welcoming and open font
Authentic and real conversations through video interviews with attendees, testimonials, tips on business and networking, and introduction of speakers illustrates our collaborative approach to business building
Articles and blogs encompass insights across a range of business-related issues, strategies and insights that help others learn, grow and achieve in order to build business and network
YTM brand promise
At YTM our brand promise is based on authenticity and honesty. We are always here to support you. We will encourage you to step out of your comfort zone, try new things but also make sure you have the knowledge to be able to make informed decisions.
Our regular participants know they will have better and deeper conversations through our ability to create network synergy for business professionals, groups and teams by initiating purposeful action that accelerates personal and business growth.
We listen carefully to the needs of our community, and ask relevant questions to identify the connections that would be most beneficial to each individual business’s growth. We orchestrate introductions, “matching” our audience appropriately, and also help to identify the best way forward based on individual needs.
There is no cookie cutter approach or rigid agenda to follow or comply with at YTM - relationships are organic.
If you are looking for a rewarding way to grow your business and want to benefit from conversations that help you access the right connections and leverage opportunities, we would love you to come along and experience an event in the near future or perhaps you are interested in sharpening your skills, regularly expanding your knowledge and combining business networking , then check out our YTM Membership and benefits to our community HERE .
Receive a FREE gift of our conversation starters HERE when you subscribe to our event alerts
