Brand Building for a Solopreneur Consultant: Case Study for Klara Denzin
How to build your brand in a focused and consistent way as a cross cultural consultant solopreneur?
Reading time: 5 minutes
Needs & Challenges
- Clarify the Essence and Benefits of Cross-Cultural Consulting
- Differentiate the Personal Brand from Other Types of Consultants
- Increase Visibility to Ideal Client Base
Goals
- Craft Tailored Communication Strategy
- Define Brand Identity with Values, Style and Tone of Voice
- Formulate Brand Messages Resonating with the Target Audience
- Enhance Visual Identity Fitting to the Brand Personality
- Develop the Website with a Clear Structure and New Messaging
My Role
- Consultant for Brand Positioning and Communication Strategy
- Facilitator for Brand Personality and Messaging Definition
- Briefing and Reviewing Consultant for Visual Identity Development
- Project Manager for Website Revamp
Duration
- Summer 2021: Market Analysis, Strategic Planning
- Fall 2021: Brand Identity and Messaging Development
- Winter-Spring 2022: Brand Visual and Website Development
- Summer 2022: Consultancy Sessions, Wrap-up
1. About the Industry
Klara Denzin comes from the industry of consultants where there is a big noise. Therefore, for solopreneurs in this field it is crucial to build a strong personal brand that stands out in a crowded market. It’s not only about being visible; it’s about being seen as professional, reliable, and above all, capable of helping people with expertise.
This is why for solopreneurs like Klara Denzin is worthwhile to invest in their brand’s positioning and communication.
2. Duration of Joint Work
Our collaboration started in the summer of 2021. Klara was expecting from our joint work a clear pathway, where and how to start her brand building as a solopreneur. What is the best way to be visible for her ideal clients and how to reach them in a most self-identified way. We were working together for a year, until the summer of 2022.
3. Purpose of Joint Work
The primary goal of our partnership was brand building for Klara’s cross-cultural consultancy business who aimed to confidently navigate on the complex spectrum on brand communication, find her focuses, voice with style in the online world, and to enhance her visibility on the most suitable channels. This collaboration needed a comprehensive approach, systematic consultations involving the development of Klara’s brand communication strategy with positioning, clarification of her brand personality, and establishment of her clear brand messages.
4. About the Process
Our collaboration unfolded through a series of strategically planned steps:
Developing Brand Positioning and Communication Strategy
Market Research and Competitor Analysis
The first step was a thorough market research and competitor analysis. This stage involved observing how competitors positioned themselves, their pricing strategies, and their methods of communication. It highlighted what they talked about their business, where they were present and how they engaged with their audience. Such insights are crucial; they serve how to differentiate your brand.
This was followed by the segmentation, identification and description of B2B target groups covering their problems, needs, industries, locations, sizes, decision makers, influencers, channels etc., which all was crucial for developing a focused and effective communication strategy, as well as for formulating key messages resonating with them.
Short, Medium, and Long-term Strategies
Klara’s communication strategy was aligned with her business goals across different timelines. This alignment took the product and pricing strategies into consideration and tailored specifically to each target group. Such a holistic approach ensures that the communication strategy is not just a set of isolated tactics but a coherent narrative that evolves with the brand and business.
Brand Identity and Messages
Crafting the Brand Personality
The formulation of brand personality and messaging was a collaborative process and started by the definition of core values, purpose, mission and vision. These are the basis of brand messages and essential steps to building an authentic brand.
Other key messages are value proposition (one-sentence summary), problem-solution-benefit statements which reflect Klara’s offerings. By focusing on the problems faced by her target groups, Klara was able to articulate solutions that were not only beneficial but also emphasized her necessity in the market. The process of identifying these statements were followed by distinguishing and credibility points which are important to highlight her uniqueness. And all in all, formulating these brand and key messages and the application guidance on it was critical to ensure the consistency for Klara’s brand.
This phase of our process was covering the brand’s character, too, including the style, tone of voice, and overall communication approach, ensuring they were in harmony with Klara’s personal style and resonated with her audience.
Not only for solopreneurs, but also for everyone, who have a personal brand and a company brand, alignment is critical, emphasizing the individual behind the brand and fostering a deeper connection with the target audience.
Visual Identity and Website Setups
The last step was to refresh Klara’s digital presence. After connecting her with a graphic designer, we developed the elements of her visual identity and her brand book that visually represented the essence of Klara’s brand. This impacted her existing website’s renewal. Together, we agreed on the design, and also restructured the site to reflect the newly established brand strategy, incorporating key messages and ensuring the brand’s values were communicated effectively. My role extended to fine-tuning the website’s content and layout, providing every element aligned seamlessly with our strategic goals.
Click on the image to see the whole website
5. What Was the End Result?
A Targeted Approach
For Klara, we identified B2B target groups segmented by location and company size. However, the true art lies in prioritizing these groups to build a focused and step-by-step approach to engagement. This minimizes dispersion and maximizes impact. For each target group, defining a clear value proposition was key, not only for brand messaging but as a core element of the overall strategy.
Mix of PR and Marketing
An important aspect of Klara’s strategy was the integration of PR from the outset.
Here I would like to highlight: It’s not coincidental that I always write communication strategy not marketing strategy. Because I always take the big picture into consideration and suggest the most relevant marketing and PR tools for my clients.
An important aspect of Klara’s strategy was the integration of PR from the outset. This wasn’t only a supplement to marketing but one of the core components of her communication mix. In recent world, PR plays still a useful role in building trust and credibility, aspects that are the bedrock of successful brands.
Consistency from All Angles
At the end of Klara’s strategic journey was the renewal of her all channels: website and social media pages. This was about consistently representing the brand’s values, messages, and personality incl. visual aspects in every way, ensuring that every visitor could experience the same brand on all touch points.
6. Client Feedback
“During my repositioning I worked with Enikő very intensively. She was very consistent and conscientious during the market positioning and the formulation of my brand messages. As an organizational consultant, I’m aware of how difficult is to maintain focus permanently during a change process. She mastered this skilfully. What distinguishes her from many other brand building consultants is that additionally to her perseverance and absolute expertise, she brings creative ideas to the process, her horizon is very broad, and she can always keep the big picture in mind. All contexts in my cross-border activity have really come to fruition and I have achieved goals that I didn’t even think were imaginable at the beginning.”
7. My Reflection on the Project
Reflecting on the collaboration with Klara, a solopreneur with a rich international background, brings a sense of fulfilment. The process of defining her focuses, clarifying her brand identity, and witnessing her growing confidence in her business is very rewarding.
Having lived in multiple countries and immersing herself in various cultures, Klara brought a unique perspective to our collaboration. This international exposure was not just a background detail; it was an essential thread that appeared in every phase of our brand building efforts.
A particular aspect of our work that really resonated with me was the precision and thoroughness in our approach. Klara brought this perspective to every discussion, every decision. This common way of working with precision and accuracy allowed us to work easily together on brand building.
