Shine Bright Like A Diamond
I had a client that once described my coaching process of, "dragging me into and through the deepest darkest caves, only to discover that the light was inside of me all along."
Followed by, "Thanks for helping me pull my diamond out of my pocket".
I've never actually shared that testimonial anywhere before, but when a new connection asked me to share one of the biggest AHA moments a client has had, that immediately came to mind.
So now, I've been thinking about diamonds all day. And the fact that each and every diamond is unique. It made me ask the question, "what makes a diamond unique?" and in my exploration, I came across the 4C's of Diamonds. And there's a HECK of a lot of overlap between selecting a diamond based on, "understanding the unique characteristics of each stone" and branding. So let's have some fun today exploring the similarities!
The First C - Cut
In the diamond trade, "cut measures how well-proportioned a diamond's dimensions are, including the balance and brilliance of it's facets."
Oh, how I love this from the branding perspective 💖
In a business, what would you say the "facets" are?
To me, this shouts PEOPLE.
So let's replace that in the definition to explore, "the balance and brilliance of it's people".
There's two components here to explore:
The BALANCE of a company's people, and
The BRILLIANCE of a company's people.
Balance is defined as, "an even distribution of weight enabling someone or something to remain upright and steady."
So, in a business capacity, we're looking for an, "even distribution of weight" that enables both the team members AND the business to remain steady.
This is something we COULD be looking at every day, although I would say that, sadly, most companies only look at it when the BUSINESS becomes unsteady, and even then, the review is done based on the single facet of revenue.
But keeping your business steady involves keeping your PEOPLE steady. And if you're not willing to invest in that, you're not willing to invest in the most important of the 4C's 💡
And that's only HALF of the most important C 😉
The second piece is Brilliance, which is defined as both an, "intense brightness of light" and "exceptional talent or intelligence".
Each and every person (aka. facet) in your business has a unique brilliance they COULD bring to the table. The problem is, most people emphasize job tasks over unique brilliance, which slowly (or quickly, depending on your culture) begins to dim that unique light. And like with Balance, without a focused intention around supporting individual Brilliance in the organization, your "cut" isn't going to rank very high when looking for the best employees or clients 🤷♀️
The Second C - Color
I'm going to take some liberties with this one, but we are still going to focus on color.
In the diamond trade, the LESS color there is, the higher the grade. But when it comes to branding, the more colorful you are, the more you stand out.
Now, when I say colorful, I don't mean that you need to be using all the colors of the rainbow all the time. What I mean is that you have something that makes your DIFFERENT, and you show people that.
Maybe it's your WHY.
Maybe it's the unique brands of your team members.
Maybe it's your unique perspective on the problem you solve.
On of the definitions for Colorful is being, "full of interest, lively and exciting".
Is your brand full of interest? Lively? Exciting?
If it's not these things INTERNALLY, it's unlikely to be these things externally 💡
The Third C - Clarity
This one's got brand written all over it. Because if you don't have clarity on your brand and what it means to your team internally, just like with the color, it's impossible to bring it to the outside world intentionally.
And while clarity in the diamond trade looks at imperfections, in the human experience there are ALWAYS imperfections. So it's less about trying to be PERFECT, and more about being AUTHENTIC.
Very few businesses have great clarity on what their brand - that experience that other people have of them - is in the market place. The good news is, it's very easy to discover with a little intention.
Take a look at your best clients.
What makes them "the best" in your company's eyes?
What do they love about you?
Why did they choose you over someone else?
There's a lot of information in these questions if you're willing to ask them AND TAKE THE FEEDBACK SERIOUSLY.
P.S. Clarity it NOT just for the upper management team. The more clarity permeates throughout the entire organization, the more the market can have a clear brand experience.
The Fourth C - Carat Weight
Ok, so this doesn't translate directly into branding, but here's what does.
Every brand has a WEIGHT; it's related to a company's influence in the marketplace.
Again. most companies ignore their weight in the marketplace (especially in the digital marketplace) in lieu of VISIBILITY. But visibility alone does NOT drive influence. In fact, it has little to no impact on influence as a stand-alone metric.
Just being in the market with a product, even the BEST product, doesn't create Weight. Just getting more followers doesn't create Weight. Just posting every day doesn't create Weight.
Weight is based on the number of individual humans really KNOWING what you do and why you do it. And in order to drive it, you have to create MEANING.
Meaningful marketing conversations.
Meaningful interactions with team members.
Meaningful solutions to your potential client's problems.
Oh...and the MEANING is actually defined by the RECEIVING party...not you.
That means, just measuring your OUTPUT won't measure Weight 😉
It All Adds Up To Brand Quality
So, what's the quality of YOUR brand?
If you looked today at the Cut, the Color, the Clarity and the Carat Weight of your brand experience, what would it tell you? And would you be happy with the valuation?
The good news is, it's never too late to start making these things a priority. And I'll tell you, when you do decide to drive your Brand Quality higher, it drives everything ELSE higher too...including profits 💞
If you're ready to start making your Brand Quality a priority, let's talk about a Digital Experience Audit.
