Jun 11
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Branding You and Your Legal Nurse Consulting Practice
That being said, I am often amazed when I do a marketing materials review how much mixed information is being given to Legal Nurse Consultants and Life Care Planners about how to market their business. These worlds are so different and the learning curve for both is just as steep. I would never foolishly walk into a hospital and expect to seriously be taken as a Nurse because I said so or because I took a 6 day course. If I handed you my nursing license that I printed at home and my ACLS certification that I created from a quick, cheap and easy online program would you hire me? Would you trust and believe that I can take care of patients at the same level that you can? Experience, reputation and presentation matter in business.
Just because you are a phenomenal Nurse does not guarantee that you will be a phenomenal success in business. But there are some simple things you can do to give yourself a leg up over your competition and bolster your success in the process.
One of the biggest misconceptions I find with Legal Nurse Consultants entering this field or even ones that have been in it for some time do not fully differentiate the concept of “ You are the Brand and the Brand is You.” Just as each Nurse would probably explain the elusive ITP ailment differently to me; every Marketing Consultant has a different take on the Brand is You concept. I am going to explain how I see it to you and how I think reworking some of your LNC practice ideas may benefit from it.
A decade or two ago, consultants didn’t know that they were their own brand. Marketing your services was built on the premise that a consultant should be an invisible extension of the clients they serve– the hidden asset to their success. Well, that changed a bit when people began to realize the value in a person. When the world began to sit up and take notice of the power celebrities could wield simply by their names alone. I encourage you to read what Tom Peters said about this years ago or check out Fast Company’s, The Brand Called You.
The idea for me about being your own is brand is a simple one. As a marketing consultant, I have a brand that I have developed over the years. It’s uniquely me, speaks to what I do and how I can help. “That marketing shoe girl knows what she’s talking about” is one of the finest compliments I receive. You don’t need to know my name or see my face (unless you come to one of my LNC Marketing Workshops) to know that the brand is all things me—all the things I believe in, my personality, my experience and my dedication to helping my clients.
The downfall I often see is when consultants start to believe their own hype. When they start to believe that They are the Brand. To crystalize this example I want to use a very well-known celebrity. I must share my caveats before writing this, however. This article is in no way meant to polarize you one way or the other. Like her or hate her she has accomplished far more than many in her circumstances and I would never want to take that away from her. Secondly, I am using this as an example of how it can go awry. Not to bash her. Those being said, I want to take your attention to the new Oprah Winfrey television project. Oprah is a brand and there is no doubt about that. Upon launching her new television network OWN, she created a maelstrom of controversy over the Oprah brand. One small example of this is the OWN logo.
For those of you who have attended my workshops, sit back, nod you head and grin because you already know what I am getting ready to share with the rest of the class. (Don’t worry, I am not telling them everything.)
A logo is the first and foremost image of a brand. That’s why I stress its importance and its value. I teach you which colors are best and which are worst. Visuals are designed to evoke a response and like it or not someone may choose to do business with you simply by the way you, your website and your logo look. I digress, back to Oprah and the OWN logo.
Original OWN Logo
If you haven’t seen it here it is. After unveiling her new logo, designers, marketing people, public relation firms, her fans and her haters all had something to say. Generally, I believe that buzz is a great thing when it comes to a new launch. Unfortunately, for Ms. Winfrey it has caused major controversy. From what it means to the color choices to the audacity it implies. All of which resulted in a backlash big enough that Ms. O couldn’t help but pay attention and changed the colors. (Well fixing one out of five problems is a start.)
New OWN Logo
In an October 28, 2010 article on CNN’s Marquee blogs had this to say about it.
OWN logo unveiled to negative reviews
The Oprah Winfrey Network doesn’t launch until January 1, but already it’s stirring up controversy. The channel’s official OWN logo was unveiled yesterday to mostly negative reviews.
The neon-sign-like logo is made up of big, bright letters, with a reddish-orange-yellowy “O,” a lime green “W,” and almost glowing purple “N.”
Huffington Post readers commented that the logo resembles an art project crafted by a grammar-school student yet also seems quite appropriate as signage for a Las Vegas strip club.
Meanwhile New York magazine’s Vulture writes, “[It] aggressively eschews primary colors (except for the hint of yellow in that onion of an ‘O’) and embraces serifs, to create a stately fluorescent look that would totally be on the currency of a country started by a gaggle of 9-year-old girls at a slumber party.”
What was far more interesting than the post was the hundreds of comments posted from around the world in response to the new logo. I tried to be fair and select five good comments and five bad comments to share but I could barely find five good ones. Here are a few of both so you’ll get an idea of the buzz it created. Check them out yourself if you would like a leave one of your own—ooops.
(I did not fix or alter any of the information, typos or misspellings in the below comments. This is actually how they said what they said.)
“I think it reflects her bright and cherry”
“Oprah has a mega ego which is reflected in this, “I am a self made woman”…..”her I am world” symbol of success. It’s all Oprah……she should have whatever she likes. Oprah has ment so much to so many…..let her be.”
“It all ends with “The color Purple”.
“i have a bigger problem with what it says. dont like the acronym OWN. makes me think of slavery.”
“Looks like they forgot the “C” and the “L” to make it CLOWN network”
“Personally, ever since I’ve learned her network is named “own” it seems to me it’s a backlash, perhaps retaliatory statement, founded in racism, or reverse racism, and a pointed jab at the old, disgusting term “own” with regard to slavery and who owns what/whom. Before you all jump on some bandwagon, know also I would feel this way no matter WHO “owned” this network and logo. There’s an ugly connotation for those of us who are ashamed of the connection. It’s like a lotion selling it’s product by implying you’re gonna be ugly without it (check out Palmer’s Cocoa Butter lotion Angie Everhart commercial). Why perpetuate negative body image on a society that is already drowning in it to the point that young girls want cosmetic surgery and are struggling with BDD? And the logo IS unattractive”
“UGLY…but I would expect this from the woman who thinks it necesary to put her own photo on her monthly issued mag”
“OK, the rainbow flag goes from Orangy-red to bluish-purple… Oprah’s logo is exactly the same. Welcome, Oprah and Gayle. We’ve been patiently waiting for your arrival. Swing open that door and come on OUT!!!”
“When I looked at this logo the first time, something immediatly struck me.I remembered Harpo which really stands for Oprah backwards. Now it is OWN which really stands for NWO( New World Order) I strongly believe Who has an eye let them see!!”
“It is a very unfortunate logo. It says nothing about her strength or influence. In fact, the color choices look juvenile which translates into silliness. I just don’t understand this decision-making here — it was clearly another sad case (and there are many) of a logo created by committee. I’m sure many people were involved in making this and it shows. Nothing good comes from design by committee. It actually looks like the kind of logo people try to make themselves in microsoft Word when they don’t know what they are doing and think each letter should be a different color, just “because”. The only thing missing here is a little cartoon illustration of Oprah and her dogs. That would complete the atrocious look. Good luck, Oprah — next year, when you realize this logo sucks, go for a single color treatment such as a red-brown, and strong typography”
“Plus, it’s the gay flag. She’s a lesbian that has eyes that are WAY too far apart to be human”
As you can see the comments about the visual bring up so many emotions, assumptions and plain ludicrous correlations between WHO Oprah is and WHAT this TV project is all about.
Pay special attention to the one comment that spoke of her need to put her face on everything. I encourage you to be wary of this in your practice as an LNC. Follow the lead of the constituency that you are trying to impress and woo into giving your business. Do you see you potential client’s face on every single piece of mail he sends out? Is it front and foremost on his marketing materials, his website, his letters or emails that he/she sends out daily? I am a believer that subtly is more and unless you have the bone structure of Halle Berry or the beauty of Carrie Underwood no one wants to see your face all the time.
Grandiosity is a slippery slope to believing that You are your brand. The question is…if you suddenly stopped putting your face everywhere would your practice still succeed? Let your brand become about what you do while still embodying the essence of who you are, rather than a billboard for people to talk about YOU as a person and whether they like you or not, whether you believe in slavery or not or for goodness sake whether your eyes are too far apart!
Create a beautiful logo and brand that you can be proud of, that will stand the test of time and visually embodies all that is YOU.
For more information on brand identity, check out some blog articles, sign up for one of our LNC/LCP Practice Marketing Workshops or purchase one of our Legal Nurse Consulting and Life Care Planning Marketing Books. If you would like help in building your own (yes, I did) remarkable practice, email me at info@lncpracticebuilder.com or call 317-426-1170.
Take five minutes and learn a new way to make your practice remarkable!