“Hey, everyone. Our company and products are the absolute best!” Promoting your business in this way won’t win most people over. If anything, it sounds empty and arrogant. You’re not backing your claims up with facts or substance. Plus, you’re not telling your brand’s story in a way that will resonate with and inspire your audience.
While you and your team might have good reason to think you’re the “best,” there are more effective ways to communicate your business’s achievements. The key is to strike a balance between being too humble and coming across as merely boastful. So, how do you say you’re the cream of the crop without alienating your audience? Here’s what I’ve learned in my years as a business owner and entrepreneur.
Emphasize The Ways Your Company Creates Value
Think about why people choose one brand over the other. It’s usually because Brand A can highlight its unique value. Not that they say this flat out — there’s a story there that emphasizes what the business does for others. Such companies find a way of saying how they create value while showcasing how their success meets a collective need.
Maybe your business has achieved great things by solving clients’ problems or creating opportunities in the community. Highlighting examples through case studies and including the people your company has served in your story will pack more of a punch. Whether that means having a “tactical about page,” compelling customer reviews, success stories, or something else entirely, showcasing the tangible impact your products or services have had on real customers provides the credibility and proof that mere self-praise lacks. That way you’re not just blowing your own trumpet, which can feel off-putting if you lean toward the humble side.
In fact, emphasizing their achievements is difficult for many of the business owners I speak to. While we choose to work with really great people who tend to be humble, this quality can create barriers to business success. They’re reluctant to highlight all the good things their company does for clients and their team. This can have negative impacts on business, such as potentially losing customers — or employees — to a competitor because these individuals feel the other company must be more successful.
That’s why your digital presence needs to exhibit your achievements as a company. Feature those glowing testimonials and successful case studies on your website. Don’t be afraid to share how your company benefits the community and how this value relates to your business’s mission. Your audience needs to see the impact of your team’s work.
Give Credit Where Credit Is Due
When people give a speech because they’ve won a prestigious award, what do they typically do? They go through a laundry list of the people who helped them get to where they are. It shows they know they’re not solely responsible for their success. While they might be the ones in the spotlight, those speeches shine a bit of it on those behind the scenes.
You can do the same when you’re spreading good news about your company’s achievements. Give others credit. Showcasing how awesome your own work is is one thing. But when you’re expressing how proud you are of the people you work with, it’s more genuine.
In your communication, provide specifics on your team members’ contributions. Another authentic approach is to let your employees tell their own stories about your company’s accomplishments. Having team members who are proud of their work and the way they’re treated — and are eager to tell the world — is beyond valuable.
Leave Your Ego At The Door
There’s a reason branding with words like “best” and “number one” doesn’t stand out. These words scream “ego.” Plus, anyone can say they’re the best, but it doesn’t mean they are. There’s no proof in the pudding there.
Companies that actually are the best don’t say that, and their leaders don’t, either. Great leaders understand that they serve as the enablers of innovation and the catalysts of others’ success. Leaders can create opportunities and open doors that others can’t, so they need to embrace that. Remember, you are a vehicle for your company — it’s not about you.
I’ve worked with enough people on branding to sense who is doing it for their ego and who is doing it to be a good leader. When you’re communicating about successes, it’s important to use wording that has the most value for the company, not yourself.
Promoting Business Success The Right Way
The fear of sounding pompous is what holds some business leaders back from touting their company’s accomplishments. At the other end of the spectrum are those who constantly need validation. They seek it by using empty words to elevate their business achievements. A different way to approach it is to shift the focus from you and make those successes a collective story. When you emphasize value, give credit, and forget about serving your ego, your audience will be happy to clap along.
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