Branding And How It’s Hurting Your Business! with Maria Platusic

Episode Summary

Maria Platusic gives us real sage advice on branding. This isn’t your regular branding conversation. No theory here, just solid takeaways!

Learn
-when you should do something about your branding and why!
-what the most common symptoms are for needing a rebrand.
-how you’re getting in your own way and hurting your brand and your business.

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You can find Maria Platusic at:
Website: http://platusicdesign.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/maria.platusic
Email: platusicdesign@gmail.com
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/maria-platusic-platusicdesigncreativestudio

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Maria Platusic Podcast

[00:00:00]Kris Ward: Yeah, luckily I just hit record cause we would’ve done the second time with no recording. Okay.

[00:00:10] Your timer gallery view, screen YouTube. 

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START[00:00:27]Kris Ward: Hey, everyone. Welcome to another episode of Win The Hour, Win The Day. I am your host, Kris Ward, and I have Maria Platusic in the house. Maria is a branding strategist, and she’s  going to talk to us today about rebranding, but listen. That sounds, I think more of a transformation thing and less of a tactical thing, but you know me, I’m all about getting to your next win quickly.

[00:00:51] Get to your next win now. So hear me out because we’re going to dive into some really practical stuff that I’m sure we’ve all experienced I know I have, when it comes to do, I need to rebrand and oh, by the way, it’s not nearly as heavier, complicated as we’re making it all sound. Welcome to the show. 

[00:01:11]Maria Platusic: Thank you, Kris. Thanks so much for having me. I’m happy to be here.

[00:01:14]Kris Ward: Thank you. So, all right. We talk about rebranding. That always sounds heavy and old Coca-Cola and, you know, be costly and all this other stuff. And when is the time? So let’s get down to it, you know, no nonsense. Tell me when you think is that, you know, when you should sort of really think about, do I need to rebrand and understanding that rebranding is not as daunting as it sounds.

[00:01:37]Maria Platusic: Absolutely. Yes. So overall, for my branding clients, the main feeling that we kind of determine is that when you’re trying to get to that next level, and you feel like something is holding you back or keeping you stuck to getting onto that new level or that new platform. That’s kind of that overall feeling that you have.

[00:01:59] But I know that there are three main signs that I’ve kind of narrowed it down to. There’s a lot of tells and a lot of signs, but these are the most common ones that I know my clients through and list those for you as well. 

[00:02:11]Kris Ward: Okay, let’s go. 

[00:02:12]Maria Platusic: All right. So the first item is, and it’s one of these items that most of my clients don’t like to admit to, but they are embarrassed to showcase their brand.

[00:02:21] They’re currently not proud to share their website or their social media pages with potential customers, for their feeling that their branding is either visually unprofessional or at Pierce stated or simply doesn’t light them up anymore. And it’s one of those things that it’s when you appear not completely present or all in, it definitely shows up in your business for sure.

[00:02:45]Kris Ward: Okay. So that’s like, okay, I have a meeting, I’m all excited. Things are going along. Hey. Right. I’m feeling the connection and this looks like a potential client. And then you say something like, you know what? That sounds really great. I wanted to get more information for my team or what have you, what’s your website and then, oh, I get a little deflated.

[00:03:01] I’m a little like, I’m going to show you my tattered shoes or something. And so if we have anything less than big enthusiasm, then we know that’s a tell, that’s a sign, correct? 

[00:03:17]Maria Platusic: Yes, absolutely. You want to appear all in, super excited, ready to showcase proudly your brand and your website and everything else. That you can present to the potential client without hesitation agreed fully.

[00:03:31]Kris Ward: That makes sense. Because when I was writing my book, Win The Hour, Win The Day, and it’s all about  how to create your W.I.N Team and all these other things like people, productivity, whatever. And when I was writing it, you’re writing this book that you don’t know, even if your mother’s gonna read, right?

[00:03:44] Like you’re putting all your eggs in one basket. And then when it came time for the cover. There’s different price points for that. And there’s a joke now that I’ve written a book that you hear when, from authors, like,  anyone that said you never judge a book by its cover, never tried to sell a book.

[00:04:01] Right. So, you know, I paid for a higher end cover. I really. And there’s this whole covers for Kindle are different than in the bookstores, the different… like there’s this whole niche thing about covers. And I spent the top dollar, but I was in the higher end of this, how much I’m going to spend on my cover, which again was such an investment when no one’s read the book yet, but now I stand so proudly and people commented all the time and they’re like, oh, that book looks interesting and judging a book by its cover.

[00:04:33] And I’m really proud of it where I’ve seen other authors I’m sure, even though I get a lot of praise for how tactical my book is, how easy to learn, how easy it is to read, but I’m sure there’s a lot of great books out there. And there’s people where they’re not as proud as showing it off.

[00:04:52] Right. So then they lose out on that traffic and it really does. The book’s been out like two years now. It really does make a difference when I put my shoulders back and get all excited like, yeah, see this. It looks professional. It looks like everything I wanted. I wanted you to have a feeling when you touched it and they still stand by that.

[00:05:10] So it really does create an energy and a momentum and confidence. And so what you’re saying is when you lack any bit of that confidence or there’s any kind of hesitancy that’s when we know you need to upgrade the brand, correct?

[00:05:25]Maria Platusic:  Yes, absolutely.

[00:05:27]Kris Ward: Okay.

[00:05:31]Maria Platusic:   And yeah, and that’s one of the main signs and that’s kind of the one we start with.

Cause that’s the most common one.And then the next sign is that, something that actually continues to happen for a lot of my clients, but they didn’t realize why. And it’s that you’re not attracting your ideal audience, the audience that you want to work with or a new audience, a new ideal client avatar, ICA. You need to ensure everything is in alignment to attract the right people, but you’re finding it hard to isolate or rectify this ongoing problem.

[00:06:02] So when you create a post or list an item for sale, the wrong people are paying attention. And that happens for a reason, that happens because there’s a misalignment via the visuals that you’re putting out there and the messaging that you’re presenting to that audience. So for example, if you are a florist who originally worked with budget rise and budget couples, but now you want to be serving the high end luxury weddings or corporate events, your messaging and visuals do not reflect that at all. 

And that’s a big tell that you should pay attention to. So you’re trying to take your current branding efforts and bring them to that higher luxury level, but realize that your brand can not support you at that level any further. So that’s this.

 [00:06:47]Kris Ward: So now my mind is going to give you a little pushback as a marketing strategist and say, a lot of that could be your messaging as well. But as I argued with myself, while you’re speaking, I was listening and arguing with myself. As I argued with myself, I was realizing, yeah, but visuals really are the things to stop the scroll.

[00:07:05] Right. So as much as messaging is a lot in the title, hook really matters and all that stuff, but the visuals really do stop the scroll. So what you’re saying is, okay, You started out doing one thing and you may still be doing the same product or service and all that stuff, but now you’re attracting a different level of.. you’d punch a potential client or a different level of experience or a different price point.

[00:07:29] And so you want to make sure that you’re upgrading your brands and your visuals to go with that, correct? 

[00:07:36]Maria Platusic: Yes. 

[00:07:40]Kris Ward: Okay. All right. Two for two, we’ve all experienced that. What’s another one that we should be concerned with? 

[00:07:47]Maria Platusic: So this one is something that I think we’ve all experienced in recent times, but the original product or service that you were selling has changed over time.

[00:07:57] So if the product or service has pivoted and you don’t offer that same service or product from when you first opened shop. So, like for example, you offered one-to-one coaching, but now you only offer group coaching or masterminds. Okay. Then once again, the messaging and visuals of the overall brand will not reflect that pivot.

[00:08:16] And that changed what you’re actually taking right now. And this can cause a lot of issues for your business, if you don’t take care of it. So it’s one of those other things that we’ve witnessed in recent times that we’ve all pivoted, but you think that that brand that you originally created will support you in this new pivot when they’re not even created for the same reason anymore.

[00:08:36] Right? So that’s kind of where you’re left with. Okay. I know that something is out of alignment. What do I need to do to take care of this? Right? 

[00:08:45]Kris Ward: Yeah. That’s a good point. Like I know for us, when we do one-on-one coaching and group coaching, but our group coaching is like one to three people, right? Cause there’s some power and learning there, but I don’t know if I’d call it a group, it’s a mini group or whatever.

[00:08:58] So when we’re dealing with those clients, as far as helping them create their W.I.N Team, their ‘what is next team’ and our whole backbone is stopping entrepreneurs from working so hard. When we’re doing that, those clients usually have been in business at least five years. They’re a service-based industry and all that stuff.

[00:09:13] And they’ve got some experience. We don’t work with new entrepreneurs and that capacity. However, we are now starting what we call a ‘winners circle masterclass’, and it is going to be a full-on group. And it’s going to be, going to have hot seats and Q and A, we’re going to show you behind the scenes and how to hire and onboard and all this amazing stuff.

[00:09:32] And it’s a much lower price point, but for those, it might be, yeah, you could be new in business. You know, and be on board with that. We will work with you in that capacity. So that’s very interesting. So I want to be really purposeful as I put that message out. Over here, I am only working with entrepreneurs that have been in business for at least five years. Over here,

[00:09:52] yes. You can come and play and  nothing against anyone who’s new to the entrepreneurial journey. It’s just our services were geared to some of the more experienced previously. So you want to be mindful of the separation or the evolution, or the options of your brand. Okay.

[00:10:10]Maria Platusic: Absolutely. It’s one of those things when I develop your creative brand.

[00:10:15] All of my brands will always have like these key indicators that go underneath that you can call ‘your tagline, highlight words, whatever you want to call it’. But it’s one of those things that just gives you that distinction and lets people know exactly who you are, who you serve and what you do in that short minimal timeframe that we have.

[00:10:36] And a lot of times you might’ve been labeled whatever it is that your audience… Dubsado Specialists, for example, but now you’re working with something completely different, your title will change, right? So that’s something they pay attention to. And then the original logo and colors and established, all those things come into play when you’re developing a new brand or rebranding, and you want to pay attention to where you’re at and where you want to be and where you want to go.

[00:11:05]Kris Ward: So when we talk about rebranding, that always can sound like, oh, I’m so busy doing so many other things. Like I need one more thing. I try to keep up as it is. Now I need to go back and sort of redecorate the whole house, but really can it be like adding it, a new chair to a room or a new top to an outfit or something like that? Like it doesn’t have to be this insane overhaul. Am I correct?

[00:11:30]Maria Platusic: The difference between that one would I would determine or call a brand refresh. So that’s kind of like adding a new layer of paint to the furniture or adding a new outfit. The rebrand is actually repositioning the foundational pieces.

[00:11:44] So it’s taking a deeper dive into your ideal clients, your ICA, cause that might be different now. It’s taking a deeper dive into your car.

[00:11:52]Kris Ward: Hold on one sec. ICA is? Just so everybody out there understands what ICA is. 

[00:11:56]Maria Platusic: Ideal client avatar. So the target audience that you want to work with is moving. Then it’s taking a deeper dive into the overall brand strategy things like building a foundation via the brand strategy, checking out your competition, but not your competition right now, the future competition of where you aspire to be.

[00:12:16] And it’s the messaging. So what is it now that you are the specialist or the expert at, because if you have pivoted via the audience or via the service or product you’re offering, what do you want to be known for? And when I say messaging, it’s like, when such, when should someone drop your name down, on an in search of a post, right?

[00:12:36] Like when should they call you out in your business and what do you want to be known for? So it’s really fine tuning that brand. Strategy first off and then making sure the visuals are supporting that plan. And the main item that you should pay attention to is your future goals. So where do you foresee your business?

[00:12:57] You know, two years from now, five years from now, even 10 years from now. If you can think that far. Where do you see this business going? And then everything you create should be on path and on target to hit those future goals. 

[00:13:10]Kris Ward: Okay. So first of all, I didn’t give you a little pushback. Heaven knows where we’re all being 10 years.

You think, you know, you have no idea what the entrepreneurial world and all that’s happening. That’s just, you might as well say what, where will I be in 50 years? But I think too, for me, I know when I wrote my book ‘Win The Hour, Win The Day’, and one of the things they really wanted is: people get, so the clients that I work with, they get a lot done in a day, but yet they’re still working too many hours: 5, 6, 7 years in.

[00:13:38] And they thought that would be very different than when they started. Like when they started, they’re all about the grind, which I believe is a big fat lie. That’s fine. You’re working against yourself. That’s another story for another day, but I wanted my book cover to be, like if you look at it closely, there’s this softness of yellow, that lights up in the middle of it.

[00:13:54] It’s like a new day, a new hope. And I really wanted to not be like this heaviness or even associated with productivity in any way. Cause it just gets cumbersome and calendars and it’s boring, right? Like it’s clock accounting. And so I wanted it to be hopeful and refreshing, and I was very purposeful about that and it really paid off for me.

[00:14:15] But one of the mistakes I often see people make as a marketing strategist, it flirts with branding a lot as well. And one of the mistakes I see people make is looking to their competition and think, oh, I want to be like that company. And they’re doing really well or they’re who I want to emulate. And they use a lot of red.

[00:14:31] So I’m going to really do that. And you don’t realize it. Maybe you do, maybe you don’t, sometimes people do it subconsciously. Sometimes they do it deliberately and you’re like,that can’t be you. You have to find what makes you different and that’s your selling feature. But I’ve seen that over and over again where entrepreneurs will say, oh, well, I was checking out the competition and it’s not like copying through, just inspired by it.

[00:14:58] And they think like, I don’t know if everybody, all the lawyers go to court and they wear blue jackets. Maybe I shouldn’t wear a red one. I see their logic, but I find it works against them. 

[00:15:10]Maria Platusic: And I agree with that. And that’s why we check out your competition. So I’m actually on the opposing end as well, where it’s you don’t want to blend in, blending in is not an option.

[00:15:20] So one of the powerful things that I do is I like to scope out the competition because I want you to fit into that category. You want to belong and feel like you belong in this category, but you don’t want to blend in that you just get overlooked and mesh in with everyone else. And to just give a quick little example of that, I had a property management company from the east coast and they were looking for a logo icon and they wanted a house icon.

[00:15:45] How cliche. When I did a Google search in their geographic area, a populated 15 house icon appeared. So I did a screen grab and I sent it to them and I said, this is why you’re not getting a house icon for your logo, because I want you to fit here, but I don’t want you to blend in. So indirectly I gave them a lighthouse, they’re on the east coast and the lighthouse is a beacon, a guide to protect her, all of these wonderful things.

[00:16:08] And they’re the only ones that have a lighthouse. So when you scroll, they fit in the category, but they also stand out. So that’s the key with checking the competition out and I look at that script too. It’s just you can be inspired by. You don’t have to feel like you have to be the same as everyone else.

[00:16:27] You can definitely be your own unique person and your own brand. And when you base it off core values and this is one that I kind of dive in. Brand values, core values with them. When you base your brand off of that. It does not falter over time because those are things that you kind of keep with you, kind of forever. So that’s one of the main things that we build brands off of as well. 

[00:16:44]Kris Ward: Yeah, you’re right. Because you know, life is a journey of getting to know yourself. That’s one thing, right. Somehow I know, I thought, well, that’s different in business. Cause I thought I really knew who I was in business. Cause I always.. At my first job I always did really well.

[00:16:59] I was a very hard worker. I was all these things, you know? And so then you don’t really understand how your identity impacts your work. Like again, I showed up in the beginning years and I’d have, whatever I was doing, business meetings, I showed up in business jackets and I didn’t like wearing them. That wasn’t my style. I felt very restricted in them. They didn’t. 

But I just thought that was my professional uniform. I wanted to look, “Look mom, I’m all grown up.” And I showed up in a meeting and they were wearing a jacket and it just wasn’t at all how I would express myself. I wouldn’t use the word fashion cause I like to wear sports clothes a lot.

[00:17:36] So fashion might be an overused word for me, but I can see now how I presented myself in my business following suit pun intended. So it’s really easy to do that. Then when you have all these visuals coming at you online and your slate is blank or needs a refresh and you’re like, you don’t even realize how influenced you are by what you see.

[00:17:58] So really just trying to be who you are. And expressing that through your work  is really the key.

[00:18:09]Maria Platusic: Absolutely. Yes. We want to capture your essence. We want to capture your USP – your unique selling proposition. What makes you magical and your process on whatever it is that you do?

[00:18:21] And we want to bring that to the forefront for everyone to see. So that’s essentially what your branding does. It brings your strengths and brings them to the forefront and just really highlights your expertise, but keeps it simplified. So that just everything makes sense and feels in alignment with your path to get to your future goals.

[00:18:41]Kris Ward: Makes sense. Makes sense. All right, Maria, we’ve got a couple minutes left. What would..what one other thing you just don’t want to leave today without sort of pointing that out to, so we’re really aware of this?

[00:18:52]Maria Platusic: Yeah. So the main message here is: so if you’re experiencing any of these signs, you should definitely pay attention to them.

[00:19:00]Kris Ward: And yeah, it sounds like a heart attack warning. If you’re experiencing any of these signs, please call up a professional right away. Now, in this case, it’s not a medical professional, but please call a professional right away. Okay. You’re experiencing any of these signs. Okay. Continue experiencing any of these signs?

[00:19:16]Maria Platusic: Definitely seek help from an expert. This is the flow we’re going with. I’m going to go because you don’t want to flatline your business, right? You want to keep going right to succeed. You basically pumped back life into it and you want it to invigorate you once again and being empowered and the bigger rated and lit up once again and standing a hundred percent behind your brand.

[00:19:45] That’s what rebranding does. It just gives you that confidence boost and it gives you that extra piece, but also gives you that focus and clarity that you need moving forward. So you don’t have to be- a right or left. You stay on your path and it just becomes so much easier for you to reach your future goals.

So I definitely invite you to pay attention to these branding signs of when it’s time to rebrand and take action on them, for sure. 

[00:20:12]Kris Ward: All right. So for your business health and vitality, we’ve got Dr. Maria in the house. So, all right. So we’ll take your brand pulse before the hour’s up. Alright, Maria. Where can people reach out and find you?

[00:20:26]Maria Platusic: Absolutely. So my website is quick and easy. It’s platusicdesign.com. P L A T U S I C design.com. You can sign up for my freebies on the site. I’d also offer a free brand strategy call for anyone that wants a little more direct one-on-one approach, where I can take a deeper dive into your current business and your current efforts.

[00:20:47] And see what’s holding you back. I’m on Instagram. You can follow me at platusic design as well. I share all of the behind the scenes. And I give my all in content on there as well.

[00:20:57]Kris Ward: All right. Thank you so much. And everyone else until the next episode, we will see you then. Thank you so much. END[00:21:03]

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[00:21:07] All right, Maria, how are you? I am doing okay. I’m glad you were able to get through it without it freezing again. Perfect. Do you have any questions for me? Um, so the only questions I would have, um, are I think air dates, um, and I don’t know it, my team takes care of that. They will let you know in plenty of times, so you’ll get an alert on a Tuesday with all your graphics and stuff, and then they will remind you on the Thursday of that week.

[00:21:35] So you’ll find out the same week. Um, but I don’t know, it would be sometime, um, on my social media platforms as well. That’s okay. For sure. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Any other questions? Um, yeah, I, I think that, um, I have you in mind and I have your stuff on hand. I’m going through all of my stuff right now to try to see what I want to do next steps.

[00:22:03] But, um, I know that. I will definitely froze again. Oh, okay. Am I frozen?

[00:22:17] Hello? Can you hear me? Maybe if I stop my video, are you able to hear me still?

[00:22:33] Can you hear me? I can now. Yeah. Okay. I just stopped my video. Like I said, I apologize. I have three kids doing online learning and they are wifi suckers. I told them to stop any streaming. That’s what I texted them earlier. Um, but, uh, It’s an well, we got through it, but I would definitely figure it out because I know lots of people.

[00:22:53] If you just dropped the call the first time, like some people I’m smart with my time. So I know not to book it that close, but other people would, you would have just lost your time because they would have been booked so tight. Oh, Yeah. Yeah. I mean, we get it. You’re like I get it. Who has three kids at home doing school on a computer, which by the way, it’s ridiculous.

[00:23:13] I love when somebody does virtual kindergarten, but anyhow, um, so just figure that out. Sorry. And you were saying you were, you were saying something, sorry. I was saying yes, I have. Um, she got the package that you gave me. Um, oh, I see. Okay. Of the, of the group and it sounds very intriguing and it’s something that I know.

[00:23:34] It’s definitely on my next two dues. Um, exactly. When I don’t have a timeline right now, like I said, I’m just starting this mastermind, um, coming up next. Week. And I just want to get the groundwork and understand what this mastermind is going to entail because it’s six months long. And then once I have that kind of established, then we’ll see where I fall and what I can, any explanation of what I would say to you.

[00:23:59] Honestly, if you’re not hungry to work with me, you’re probably not my ideal client. That’s how we go. Like, I really feed off that energy. If you aren’t excited and hungry to work with me, then you really just don’t see the potential. And I don’t mean this in a mean way. I mean this with warmth, you don’t see the potential of your business or what, you know, how you can leverage your time and really take off.

[00:24:21] So I need you to be standing beside me with that same vision. So you, you never owed me any, any explanation at all at all, because really it’s almost like that pulsing. You talked about the doctor thing, you know, uh, if your heart isn’t racing and you almost can’t control yourself, Then it’s not the time for you.

[00:24:40] Understood understood. Yeah. Yeah. Fair enough. Yeah, we move fast and we get stuff done. So you got to show up excited, hungry, ready to go and like guns, ablazing. And if you’re, you know, still in the neutral stage, you’re not, it’s not time for you to get. Gotcha. Gotcha. Yeah. Yeah, no, I’m just, for me, it’s more confusion and trying to figure things out.

[00:25:01] Sure. That’s where I’m at, but I know there’s a need for everything that you offer for sure. Um, but yeah, so that’s, that’s where I’m at right now. So I just wanted to let you know that’s all. Yeah, sure. No problem. When the student’s ready, the teacher will come. Absolutely. All right. Thank you so much, Maria.

[00:25:20] Thank you. Have a blast and my team will be in touch. Perfect. Have a wonderful day. Thanks. Bye. Bye.

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