If I were to ask you what your brand personality is, could you tell me? Many business owners cannot. Sometimes we even have a hard time describing our own personality, let alone our brand personality. But in order for you to stand out and create a name for your business, your personality needs to shine through in every touchpoint of your brand.

Adobe describes a brand personality like this…

It's the set of human characteristics that your brand represents, and is expressed through your tone of voice, core values, beliefs, and visual identity.

So for the purpose of walking you through the process of designing your own brand’s personality, we are going to use a very specific client example that we recently developed this for. The name of the company is protected by anonymity.

Let’s dive in…

Step 1: Define your Foundational Values

Vishen Lakhiani, the author of The Buddha and the Badass, describes your foundational values as the soul of your company. These values are developed by the founder(s) and are often born from painful life experiences that have shaped your core being.

When I did the exercise of defining our core values, I scanned my life and all of the events that made a mark on me. It was crystal clear that my company is built on heart, communication, inclusivity and growth.

Our Client Example Foundational Values:

Empowerment

Our goal is to empower women to create the life they want, in alignment with their morals and values, free from societal, familial, or religious constraints.

Consent

We support your bodily autonomy, boundaries, and the right to say no, knowing that true transformation can only come from individuals consenting to it.

Agency to Act

We honor your agency to choose your own path, breaking free from external expectations and generational traumas, past and present.

Limitlessness

We believe when you choose to accept the limitlessness of who you are, you can do anything you set your mind to.

Oneness

We believe in the power of oneness and celebrate the infinite independence and interconnectedness of all beings with a community rooted in solidarity, connection, and inclusivity.

Education

Every woman should be able to know themselves to heal themselves. It’s our honor to gift you with tools that allow you to do that, and more.

Community

Community is the cornerstone of our brand. With us, you will always find a supportive space, rooted in deep friendships, where you are accepted as you are, without any judgment.

Step 2: Develop Your Vision Statement

Your vision statement is a declaration of your business purpose and guides the strategic direction of your business.

What does your business bring to the world that no one does?
What goals do you have for your business in the next 5-10 years?
What actions do you want to achieve with your business?
Why do you do what you do?

All of these questions should guide your vision statement. Think simple but broad.

Our Client Example Vision Statement:

An empowered world where every person is free to embody their fullest potential.

Step 3: Articulate Your Mission Statement

Your mission statement is different from your vision statement. Your mission statement is what your business is doing right now while your mission statement is what you hope to accomplish in the future.

Often, brands treat their mission statement as one more box to tick without giving much thought to what it really means. But that doesn't fly in 2024. People are no longer satisfied with hollow statements and superficial commitments. They want to see you walk the talk. They want to invest in brands making an impact in the world. Today, it’s about embodying your mission in every facet of your company.

You do that by:

Using your mission to guide your (and your team’s) decisions.
Making sure you’re always working towards the same goal.
Ensuring your mission accurately reflects your vision, values, and goals and resonates with your ideal audience.
Making your mission clear and concise. Your audience should instantly understand what you stand for.

Our Client Example Mission Statement:

Our mission is to help you feel whole again with complementary and holistic practices designed to help you reclaim your power, embrace your authenticity, and deepen your connection to self and spirit.

Step 4: State Your Brand Promise

According to Mailchimp, they describe a brand promise like this.

A brand promise is a commitment made by a company to its customers that outlines the value and brand experience they can expect when using its products or services. It serves as the foundation for a company's brand identity and helps shape the overall brand strategy.

Our Client Example Brand Promise:

We promise to provide a safe, empowering, and ethical space for your spiritual journey. We invest in extensive protection work to ensure your well-being. We affirm that our community is a place where you're free to come and go as you please, taking what resonates with you and leaving the rest.

Ethics guide everything we do. We focus on feminist practices and prioritize honoring the divine, heritage, and diverse identities. We recognize the importance of acknowledging diverse perspectives and histories. Our personal practice is our priority, and we live what we teach.

We understand the power of surrounding yourself with supportive individuals. Our community is sovereign, built on love, respect, and camaraderie. We foster a culture of acceptance, appropriate behavior, and healthy boundaries so everyone can be in the energy of peace, joy, friendship and feel perfectly accomplished, even in their tears and inner battles.

Step 5: Describe Your Tone of Voice

Your tone of voice is a set of personality characteristics that define how you speak, how you write and how you behave. Your entire brand should embody these characteristics.

If you have no idea where to begin with this process, it can be helpful to take a brand archetype quiz. One of my favorites is Big Bam. It will give you your primary and secondary archetype.

When describing your tone of voice, there are several elements to consider:

Tone of voice
Voice characteristics
Description of characteristic
Do’s and Don’ts of each voice characteristic

Our Client Example Tone of Voice:

Casual
Liberal
Open
Democratic
Enthusiastic

One voice characteristic example:

Characteristic: Playful

Description: We are quirky in our delivery and try to infuse lightness and humor into heavy content. We create a family-like atmosphere with laughter and camaraderie.

Do: Incorporate fun elements into sessions and interactions.

Don’t: Don't trivialize serious topics or neglect the gravity of certain discussions.

Step 6: Identify Your Ideal Client Avatar

You’ve heard this a million times, but that doesn’t mean it’s any less important. When we talk about identifying our ideal client avatar, this is actually a quite deep explorative exercise.

It can’t be as simple as saying your ideal client is a midlife woman. There is so much more to this process. When looking at who you are targeting, the following factors should be considered:

Your ideal client persona - demographics
Your ideal client values - what’s important to them
Your ideal client goals - what do they want to achieve
Your ideal client decision making drivers - needs, pain points, motivations and emotions
Your ideal client language - what words are they using to describe the above
Traits you don’t want in your ideal audience - yes, this is important too

Our Client Example Ideal Client:

Consists of professional women, high achievers, changemakers, and scholars seeking deeper meaning, fulfillment, and empowerment in their lives. Disillusioned with mainstream narratives, they are ready to challenge societal norms, embrace their uniqueness, and seek alternative paths to growth. Despite their achievements, they may grapple with feelings of burnout, disconnection, and uncertainty, trapped in cycles of busyness and overwhelm. They long for a sense of belonging and support that helps them find their inner peace, purpose, and power. They are open to and (and sometimes actively) looking for alternative spiritual practices and teachings that guide them through deep soulful work to achieve lasting change. They recognize that their true worth extends beyond external validation or societal constructs and want to reclaim their power by reconnecting with their inner divinity.

Step 7: Position Yourself in Your Space

There are potentially hundreds or thousands of business owners doing exactly what you do. If you’re very lucky, only a few. That is why it is so important to identify what makes you unique and what differentiates you from everyone else. Besides all of the things that we’ve already talked about, you will want to look at your experience, your unique style and the way you package your offer(s) to set yourself apart.

Do some research on some of the top competitors in your space. Study the way they position themselves. How are you different? Is it your personality? Is your offer unique? Do you have a different background? A unique story? A way that you deliver results that your clients love?

From this information, develop your differentiators. From these differentiators, articulate your differentiator statement. That statement that uniquely describes who you and your brand are, relative to your competition.

Our Client Example Differentiators and Differentiator Statement:

Ability to blend spiritual and realistic worlds
Expertise in various fields
Directness and transparency
An inclusive community
Broad understanding and experience
Successful transition from corporate to spiritual world

Differentiator Statement:

For individuals seeking a transformative journey rooted in authenticity and empowerment, we offer a distinctive blend of spiritual exploration and professional expertise. Founder A’s background as a registered nurse and psychology graduate, combined with Founder B’s extensive studies in religions and philosophies, ensures a holistic approach to personal growth. Unlike traditional practices, we prioritize individual experience over dogma, providing a safe and non-judgmental space for self-exploration and agency. Our commitment lies in equipping clients with tools and guidance to embark on their unique journey towards self-discovery and evolution, fostering a transformative process that is authentic, messy, and empowering.

Step 8: Design Your Brand Aesthetics

Have you ever visited a business’s website or Instagram page and felt immediately drawn to their colors and vibe? Or how about the opposite? You feel confused by their brand design.

When I ask many business owners if they have a brand style guide, they respond with a resounding yes, and then proceed to send me a company logo. Just like your brand personality is so much more than pretty colors, your brand aesthetics are so much more than your logo. They include…

Your logo
Your colors
Your fonts
Your visual vibe (modern and classic, bold and expressive, etc.)
Your photography
Your visual message (upscale, trusting, etc.)

All of these visual aesthetics should be consistent throughout all of your branding elements: website, social content, presentation slides, marketing materials. There should be no mistake who and what your brand is when someone sees you online.

Our Client Example Brand Aesthetics:

There you have it. The eight steps to designing your brand personality. It’s 2024 and you need a plan to stand out and elevate your visibility this year. Let’s start with your brand personality.

If you need a comprehensive brand personality guide, we can help. Contact us today for a free visibility boost call.

Beyond the Pretty Colors: Designing Your Brand Personality