Ask Christina First Amazing Women and Men Of Power

In this episode of Ask Christina 1st we get into the topic of branding. In reality branding is the totality of who you are. How you handle each element of business is an overall result of you, which is your brand. In the elements of business, each aspect is a vital source for the functionality of your company. How do you treat your customers? How much time and attention do you give into marketing, networking and advertising? All of it boils down to who you are as a person and how much energy you put into each thing. From there you can decide if you are a luxury, high end or low end brand? For homework, write down next to each element of business, how you operate in this field. If you're a high end business, you should include things that help explain why this is so. If you are low end, luxury, etc… do the same. Everything that creates your company is your brand, from color to customer service to how you dress. All of these elements create the overall look and feel of your brand. So, what do you do that creates your brand? Is this what you want your brand to be and what are ways you can improve?

In this episode you will learn:

1. The elements of business and how they affect your brand.

2. How to understand the tone and overall feel of your company

3. Ways to help you improve your brand’s impact.

Again, branding is the totality of who you are and the energy you put into it. The way in which people find you, meet and are introduced to you, sets the tone for how they will react to your brand and business. The first steps into improving your brand, is to identify where you are now and where you want to go.

In this episode of Ask Christina 1st, we dig into how to differentiate yourself from your market. The three main suggestions are you are already doing it, your nature and your own bias and lastly company culture. All three of these embody the totality of who you are which create your business. When you first created your company and vision, what were the things that made you different? It’s important to understand that you are already what makes it different. A way to make this process make sense is to do your due diligence. Christina suggests you begin by first finding 10 businesses in your market and area that are similar to yours. Find out what their price points are, what type of company it is and find out the overall culture of the business. The culture of a business boils down to everything you've chosen to include in how your business looks and how it is operated. What is the culture of your company? This is what will set you apart and be the underlying atmosphere of your branding and marketing.

In this episode you will learn:

1. What is company culture and how it affects your branding?

2. Why it’s important to understand the competition in your area.

3. How to fine tune your business so clients will find you amongst others in your field.

Going back to understand your vision is a big part of understanding how to differentiate yourself from your market. Doing this can help you elevate to the next level by simply creating a platform that serves the unique qualities you bring to your market and expertise. Knowing you are already what makes your business different is key, use what makes you different to your advantage.

In this episode of Ask Christina 1st, we dive into the meaning of grass roots networking and why this is a major part in becoming a trusted expert in your field. Networking and marketing can be distributed in many forms like social media and advertising, however there are other ways to truly connect with your community that don’t require you to be in front of a computer. Investing in yourself so that you become a trusted and chosen expert in your field is the meat and bones of grass root networking. It's when you go out and introduce yourself to your community while also investing in becoming an expert in your field. One example Christina focuses on is going to in person meetings. She challenges you to find a meeting in your field of work and attend 4 meetings for a month. You can use sources like meetup.com, eventbrite.com, facebook.com and community calendar. In order for you to be chosen, you have to be an active member in your community. Finding out authentically what people need is another true aspect to grassroots networking. It’s not about selling something, it's about filling some of the holes in a person's life. Ask questions and inquire deeply into if someone could genuinely benefit from having you in their lives.

In this episode you will learn:

1. What is grass root networking and how you can benefit from it.

2. Ways in which you can become a trusted expert in your field and within your community.

3. Why it’s important to be authentic and caring when people are potentially looking for your services.

What do you do for marketing your business? What materials do you invest in that help you get the word out? In this episode of Ask Christina First, we again focus on marketing as marketing is a necessity if you want to continue running your business. There are different ways that you can market your business/product and that can depend on what you price your product at. Some lower priced products for example, can benefit tremendously from using a platform like yelp, while higher priced products can rely heavily on referrals. Either way, the marketing material you use is essential in being found. Some marketing tactics require you to physically be present. Christna believes that for her, networking is one of the best forms of marketing. This can be attending events, speaking on panels, etc… Becoming recognized as an expert in your field is another great way to market your business. This can be done by contributing your work to magazines, blogs and those of the like. Not being afraid to share with the world how you can help people is key.

In this episode you will learn:

Various types of marketing materials that can help you get the word out.
How to transform one form of marketing into another.
Understand the significance of in person marketing.

As Christina continues to focus on marketing, you will see the importance of making what you do known to the public. If you are someone that doesn't agree with one form of marketing, it’s okay to try another. What will work for someone else may not work for you. The key is to find what is right for you so that replacing your clients and maintaining cash flow has a positive impact on your business.

Are you a small business owner that shies away from marketing? Do you feel like marketing to any capacity is salesy? This mindset can actually negatively affect your business. Of the 4 cornerstones to running a business, marketing is one of the most important. The term marketing gets a bad rap because it was easily associated with a salesman whose primary job is to sell you something you probably didn't need. Now as an existing small business owner, this concept can leave a bad taste in your mouth, making marketing one of the more difficult parts of running a business. In this episode, Christina breaks down why good hearted business marketing is key to keeping your business successful. Once you take away the old concept of forcing people to buy things, you will soon realize how important it is to market your business in a way that suits you and your needs as an entrepreneur. Christina helps us understand what true marketing is and ways in which you can do this without the worry and judgement you may feel when it comes to marketing. You can do this kind of marketing by going to events, signing up to your local chamber of commerce, or even creating meaningful products to pass out to people. There are tons of ways to do marketing that don’t require you to feel ashamed or embarrassed.

In this episode you will learn:

Ways to market that aren't salesy?
Why marketing is a crucial aspect to any business.
How to let go of the negative concept that marketing is bad.

Christina gives some amazing advice on how to change the way we think about marketing. The goal for starting a business is for it to be successful, but without marketing your chances of that happening are slim. Marketing can be a fun and positive way to keep you heading in the right direction.

In this episode of Ask Christina 1st, Christina focuses on being the good hearted business owner and how it affects your customer service. Sometimes in being a good hearted business owner, pricing your product properly to include time spent on customer service may be overlooked. Determining if you’re a high or low priced product should be the first step. This will help you figure out how much customer service is necessary for each product you offer. Christina shares an example about a time where she was on a phone call with a client at 8:30 at night while her family just arrived at their hotel room while traveling. Christina’s husband asked her why, and she replied that it's because that particular client pays for a higher priced product which gains them more access to her customer service. Differently priced products provide different levels of customer service.

In this episode you will learn:

1. How to determine where you should price your product?

2. The level of customer service that should be included in each of those products.

3. How much does it cost you to service this product?

A product is also a service. If you can spend the time determining all the points made above, you will have a better understanding of where your customer service should go. It doesn't mean that a lower priced product deserves less customer service, however it does play a role in how much of your time and money you are spending.