Lesson 3 of 5
A brand for a business of one to ten people: promise, proof, voice
One promise, real proof, and a voice people recognise
The idea
Two hairdressers charge the same. You've heard good things about one of them, and you know what to expect there. That's the one you book. The difference is the brand.
Coming to mind
- When they need it, they think of you
- Built by being seen often, the same way
Easy to find
- When they look, you're there
- A clear website, a profile, an easy way to book
Some things help people remember you. Keep them the same for years. Changing them every season is like changing your name.
A colour
The same one everywhere
A phrase
The line people repeat
A look
A photo style people know before they read your name
A face
Often the owner's
Promise, proof, voice
Promise
What you always deliver, from your sentence in Module 2
Proof
What a stranger can check: your work, named clients, reviews
Voice
How you sound, in three words, each with a do and a don't
In a small business the owner is often the brand. People like buying from a person, and that's something a big company can't copy.
Today, with AI
AI made content cheap, so feeds are full of polished posts that all sound alike. A voice people recognise and proof they can check stand out more than ever.
AI assistants also describe your brand from what others write about you, so your reviews are part of your brand now.
What AI does well
Keeping twenty drafts in one tone once your voice is written down, and keeping pictures in your colours.
Where it goes wrong
Empty words like “innovative” and “passionate”, and proof that sounds real but isn't. The team writes from your facts, so give it real proof.
What stays yours
The promise you can keep, and the proof only you have.
Check yourself
Do it in the studio
Try it here first
Your brand card
Four lines you could fit on one card. Use it in the steps below.
Yours
We promise brand films and photos from one small team. Proof: our work, with clients named by permission. We sound plain, warm, exact, and we never say “innovative”.
- 01
Open Your report → Documents and Read Brand voice. Fix any line that doesn't sound like you with Edit this section, then Save this section.
free - 02
Do the same for Design guide: your colours, fonts and rules for pictures.
free - 03
In Visual bank → Brand kit, check the palette, logo and fonts.
free - 04
List three pieces of proof a stranger can check. Add each on Your report → Facts with its source.
free - 05
Put the words you always or never use in In your own words → Always say, never say. Then press Save — the team reads it from now on.
free
Done when Your brand fits on one card: the promise, three pieces of proof, and three voice words with a do and a don't.
Go deeper
University courses on the same topic, if you want to go further.
Imperial College Business School
How Brands Grow, and Why They Decline! (BUSI70065)Why some brands grow and others fade
London School of Economics
Brand Strategy (MG4J6)Building a brand for the long run