2103: Airline Miles and a Good Lesson About Ease AND Branding From the Inside Out by Michael Piperno on Business Identity

[00:00:00] Heat up your 4th of July at The Home Depot with our wide variety of grills under $300 and make every gathering one to remember. Give your outdoor space a glow up, whatever your budget is, with savings on seasonal plants starting at $5. With the grill fired up and your backyard set to perfection, you'll be able to invite friends and family over to kick off the party. Start celebrating with low prices guaranteed at The Home Depot. Prices may vary by store, exclusions apply. See homedepot.com slash price match for details.

[00:00:31] This episode is brought to you by Google Chrome. You think you know a browser, but Gemini and Chrome? That's new. It can help you with practically anything on the web, like restoring a vintage motorcycle from a 50-page restoration block, or finally break down that long article you've had open for weeks. Gemini and Chrome is here for it. Ready to make anything online make sense? There's no place like Chrome. Check responses set up required, compatibility and availability varies 18+.

[00:00:54] This is Optimal Work Daily, Airline Miles, and a Good Lesson About Ease by Michael Piperno of MichaelPiperno.com The hardest and most important aspect of good communication is making sure the human on the other side can understand it. Actually, not only understand, but relate to it.

[00:01:17] At Imbue, one of the most satisfying times we experience is when we see the faces of our clients light up after we nail the words and visuals that tell their brand's story with extreme clarity. Clarity that is often so simple, it seems like it should have been obvious to everyone all along. When that happens, we know we've made it easier for them to tell their story, and we've made it even easier for their best audiences to want to join them on their journey.

[00:01:43] I think about the subject of ease all the time when it comes to communication. Our audiences won't spend time trying to decipher messages. We can't make it hard, whether we're communicating with colleagues, clients, or customers. We must be direct, honest, clear, empathetic, and often creative when we are trying to be heard as individuals and brands. Furthermore, we need to be sure that we don't mislead anyone along the way.

[00:02:09] This topic came to mind because last night I tried to book airline award travel with one of the largest airlines in the United States. The airline always touts that with just 25,000 miles, you can get a free flight within the continental U.S. Great, I've got over 100,000 points to use. Surely my partner and I can fly to California with coach-class seats for less than 100,000 miles, right? Well, sort of.

[00:02:33] In order to travel at a reasonable hour and only connect once each way, we actually needed 120,000 miles, 60,000 each. However, if we were willing to leave on a different day of the week, fly overnight, and connect through two different airports each way, I could have covered the trip with miles. I was frustrated, not only with the empty promise of being able to use miles on flights I would actually want to take,

[00:02:58] but also with a clunky user experience on the airline's website that made trying to figure out how to calculate and book award travel a chore. So, here's an important reminder about ease for everyone in business. If you make it hard, your prospects will move on. If you make things difficult, your colleagues will either get frustrated with you or simply tune you out. If you mislead people, your credibility will suffer.

[00:03:22] Make it easy on yourself and others by taking the time to make things as easy and clear as possible. And remember, sometimes you need an outsider's perspective to ensure what you think seems easy actually is. Try it. Reread a few emails or texts today and think about how you could have made your communications more tailored to the needs of the recipient so he or she could have processed and responded to you with greater ease. Could they have been shorter? Maybe they needed more context.

[00:03:51] Perhaps some of your messages were just too rushed, or you made too many assumptions based on your state of mind. As opposed to the potential state of mind of whomever was getting the message. If you're in the design or development world, try to take yourself out of the role of creator and look at your work as someone inexperienced with your brand or product. Have you made the path to completion or comprehension as easy and frictionless as possible?

[00:04:20] Branding from the Inside Out by Michael Piperno of michaelpaperno.com All brands start with an idea. When that idea is something that can help or inspire others, it has the potential to be a brand. At Imbue, we spend a lot of time working to understand the true essence of a brand so we can help tell its story in a way that connects with the right people. In some cases, brands that are growing fast begin to fragment

[00:04:46] because they try to broaden their reach rather than focus on the one thing they really do best. In other words, we see a lot of organizations try to help everyone rather than focusing on the ones they set out to help from the start. That's noble. You've got a great product or service that can help almost everyone. Why not tell everyone about it? Here's why. 1. You're more likely to see how your product or service can help the masses because you see the potential, but the general public doesn't. Yet.

[00:05:15] 2. You likely can't afford to tell everyone. 3. You'll waste a lot of time and money talking to people who really aren't the right fit or aren't ready for a conversation with your brand. And 4. When you try to talk to too many audiences, you risk confusing the one you really should be speaking to with great clarity. Whether we're talking about a personal brand or a company or organization, focus on what's inside first. Why was the brand established? Who was it created to help?

[00:05:44] What does the brand stand for in the hearts and minds of the people who created it and work for it? With those questions answered and with everyone aligned internally, you'll be better positioned to tell a clear and powerful story to the people you want to serve. And remember, focusing on what your brand means to you right now doesn't mean it can't change later. Brands evolve as audiences change, competition grows, and new products or services are launched. However, focusing on what the brand means internally

[00:06:13] and precisely who it helps right now is the first step in engaging with a real person who will feel it matters to them today. You just listened to the posts titled Airline Miles and a Good Lesson About Ease and Branding from the Inside Out, both by Michael Piperno of MichaelPiperno.com. Google is offering free AI training and tools to U.S. small businesses

[00:06:41] so they can innovate in ways both big and small. Built by Google experts, the Google AI Professional Certificate equips small businesses with practical AI skills. Through hands-on projects, they can start using AI to get more done and unlock new opportunities for their business. This is a new era of American innovation. Find out more at grow.google.com. Good sleep is everything.

[00:07:09] That's why Oli's science back support is made with a blend of melatonin and L-theanine for both kiddos and grownups. So when your mind won't switch off, you've got something that can help. Erasing thoughts and restless nights won't stand a chance. Find Oli's sleep solutions for the whole family at oli.com. That's O-L-L-Y.com. And a big thank you to Michael for letting us share today's post. He's a leadership communication coach and workplace relationships consultant.

[00:07:39] Through coaching, consulting, and group training programs, he helps professionals communicate clearly, speak and present more effectively, build and maintain positive and healthy business relationships, refine their personal brands, and lead with confidence. He also helps teams prepare to present at high-stakes meetings, and he's a skilled advisor to teams with communication problems that impact internal dynamics, relationships, and culture. So come on and check out more of his great articles and content.

[00:08:07] You can find it all at michaelpiperno.com. But that is it for today. I thank you for listening, and I'll catch you back here tomorrow for the Sunday show, where your optimal life awaits.