From a distance, icebergs and ice floes can look similar. Both are gigantic floating pieces of frozen water.

But, say you’re on the stern of an Arctic cruise ship and observe the two chunks of ice with binoculars. After a while, you will find that an iceberg wouldn’t have moved much, despite the mighty currents.  A floe, on the other hand, will have floated far away.

The reason, of course, is that 90 per cent of icebergs are below the water and are more fixed and steady.

Floes are more like ice sheets and are at the behest of the underwater currents.  

Back to the ship.

You’re still on the stern. Then, suddenly, there’s a bang. Out of nowhere, a humpback whale has flicked her tail and put a hole in the hull.  The ship begins to sink.

The captain’s called for help. But, in the meantime, you need to find refuge on something that floats.

As the deck fills with water, you see that on either side of the boat are icebergs.

In a panic, some of the cruise members (who you’ve found insufferable the entire journey) jump onto the one on the starboard side. You follow. But before you jump on, you see that it is not an iceberg but an ice floe.

You take a deep breath and walk to the port side where the other hunk of floating ice is. You assess it and see that, yes, this is, in fact, an iceberg.

Now, you have to choose.

Do you jump on the floe with the others?

Or do you trust your gut and step onto the iceberg?

Ice floe businesses

There are two types of e-commerce businesses right now: The ice floes and the icebergs.

The ice floes are the ones that have no depth. They focus on the surface-level of things and, in turn, are reactive to the market.

C-19 hits. Sales drop. They panic and pay for more Instagram ads, send more promotional emails, have more sales.

This seems to work short term. Customers—who are reactionary as well—jump on board.

But these businesses become vulnerable to the turbulent climate.

They drift and sway, floating around meaninglessly. They try band-aid fix after band-aid fix.

But, eventually, as ice floes do, they dissipate.

And as soon as people finally see that the piece of ice isn’t solid, they jump off as quickly and unthinkingly as they jumped on.

Then there are the iceberg businesses.

Iceberg businesses

Iceberg businesses are interested in building a brand that will be relevant tomorrow, as well as today.

They build the foundations, the 90 per cent below, so they can remain steadfast, instead of reacting to the market. They create marketing strategies steeped in meaningful and cohesive messaging which, over time, builds attention and trust, instead of interrupting more people with shitty ads. 

They become successful because they are adored and respected. 

They build something sustainable, not something seasonal.

As the world becomes more uncertain and as C-19 whales (and other curve balls) put holes in the world’s hull, more and more people will be looking for iceberg businesses. They will be like you on that cruise ship,  seeking something that has stability, something that will be here tomorrow and the next day, not just here in the next five minutes.

In an ideal world, everyone would like to have an iceberg business. But so few people do because so few know how to effectively build that 90 per cent.

How to build an iceberg business

To begin with, there are two main things you need to do:

One

Research and engage with your customers.

This means understanding their desires, pain-points, beliefs and values (psychographics, in other words).

By clarifying such things, you, as a team, can cohesively tailor your marketing accordingly.

But you can also have an insight into what your customers want from you.

This way, you can create stuff people actually want to buy, not just what you want to sell.    

Two

Clarify your identity and messaging.

You can do that by creating:

• A bangin’ one-page origin story, so you can identify your why, how your business has changed, and, more importantly, what are the general threads that remain the same. 

• A set of values. Values remind us of our foundations, unite our efforts, guide us forward, and inspire the best in us, individually and collectively. The value pillars inform the way we are with our audience and with each other. Also, seeing as building a brand means creating a community of like-minded people, your values allow you to discern who and what we choose to invest time and energy into.

• A set of personality archetypes. These archetypes inform the way you communicate. This includes your brand voice, visual identity, the personality of your ads, campaigns and the rest.

• Your superpowers, or your unique selling propositions. These are about aligning your story with your customer’s story, which is about positioning yourself in the market and selling your value to the right people. 

And then what?

If you follow those above steps, you will come out with what I call a Brand Story Guide.

Or, in other words, the 90-per-cent-below-the-water.

The Brand Story Guide allows your marketing (or, in other words, the top-10-per-cent) to be more authentic, effective and, well, just a lot more powerful, really.

With such a guide, you can create an e-commerce strategy that effectively turns prospective customers into loyal followers.

You can create tailored content that attracts better leads to your email list and website.

You can create a more tailored and meaningful email marketing strategy with strategic automated sequences. Not just promotional email blasts.

You can create a better website that tells a bolder story and effectively converts.

And ultimately, you can build a community of repeat customers.

P.S.

If you just said, “I think I need support with creating something like that.”

Then, you’re not alone.

I’ve worked with some of the most brilliant operators in the country: a national strategy consultancy, international swimwear brand, and a publicly listed food brand looking to gain market share among the largest companies in the world—to name a few.

And not even they have been able to create an effective brand story guide.

Why? They have their head in the sand of day-to-day tasks.

And sometimes, you need an expert with a birds-eye view who can effectively draw the dots between your business, customers and market.

So that’s where I come in.

I help you create your own Brand Story Guide.

Agencies also provide this service. But the cost of such a guide starts at $8,000 (or thereabouts), which is not viable for a smaller brand.

I, on the other hand, provide this service starting at $2944.00. But I can’t promise this price will stay this low in the near future.  

The service is a 5-week Intensive. I work closely with you to clarify, reconcile and create that 90 per cent which you can use as a springboard for your direct marketing and brand marketing strategy.

Speaking of, part of that service includes 4 hours of extra side-by-side coaching, so we can use the Brand Story Guide to refine your e-commerce marketing strategy. 

You can stop reacting to the market.

You won’t have to rely on promotional emails, more ads and sales.

Together, we can create something you’re proud of and something your customers connect with.

In turn, you can create a successful brand for today and tomorrow.  

Say hi today HERE. 

Virtual elbow bumps, 

Jayden

If you haven’t already, sign up for a free 5-day email series to: unearth a bolder story, find your unique brand voice and create an on-brand content/ marketing strategy. Click HERE.