Her genuine and infectious energy is Sofia’s business card.
She’s got the drive, the patience, and the precision. Her secret S-factor. ”I get up in the morning to elevate companies and people. To inspire others and help them understand, expand, and rise to their own potential – as humans on an individual level and together as a business. We need companies to succeed and bring their valuable competence and outcomes for the greater societal benefit. That’s my purpose in my professional life. My purpose – and my impact.” Sofia has proven her magic for over two decades – she tweaks success stories for the better, the secret ingredient for a Michelin star brand being her input: the S-factor. See or be seen. Succeed or be succeeded. The choice is yours.
Just like Mary Poppins, she brings good vibes and change-thinking to those around her. Unlike the fantasy character though, Sofia boosts companies, not families – and the umbrella that guides her in the collaborative quest for successful brand building is nothing less than 23 years of experience.
What is it all about?
Sofia’s hands make energetic, targeted movements upwards when she pinpoints the name of the game: understanding and elevating a business. On her agenda is nothing less than facilitating change-thinking. “I learned a long time ago the brilliant saying from my brand guru Marty Neumeier: ‘A brand is the gut feeling somebody has towards you’.” A warm smile, then she adds: “Should feel. And that’s where the foundational truth kicks in if you have a business, you will have a brand. Whether you want it or not. Or think about it or not. The question is whether you decide to control the creation of your brand and design it yourself – or just accept it being formed by others. As a bystander.”
Whilst the first option is strategic and promising, the latter is risky and unpredictable, barely an alternative: If a brand is differently perceived by consumers or employees than what you intended it to be, you lose not only control over the brand image but also over the interactions that individuals have with your brand. The ‘customer experience’ that has become something like a buzzword today.
Translating the senses of how a brand should look, sound, and feel - how it should be experienced in every touchpoint - into a watertight strategy and plan means delivering on the brand promise. Only if you deliver, to customers and employees alike, you convince. And to convince, you must know what the human experience is that you wish to convey. Spontaneously but quite descriptively Sofia says:
“If the brand is the vehicle, experience is the fuel.”
Why, and why now?
Sofia worked long enough for global companies and start-ups of all sizes to know when the pain point is irreversible: “Businesses should not hesitate. A (brand) strategy simply means to have an idea that creates an advantage to win. Or as my fellow brand warrior Andy Starr from LevelC would say:
‘Strategy is the art of designing advantage, and brand
strategy is a long-term plan to outmaneuver the competition
and conditions using radical differentiation’.”
She can’t recommend hoping for a brand to establish itself or postponing working on a strategy ‘once the business is up and running’. Unfortunately, it is a common misconception that brand building is not directly related to business success. The contrary is true: The earlier the individual advantage of a brand is worked out, the better – because without a strategic decision and plan on the elements you wish your brand to create, your business isn’t going to necessarily drive in the direction you had in mind. Or it won’t kick off in the first place. A brand without the ability to create a passion for the people (meaning customers as well as your crew across the company) is not a great brand. Maybe an OK brand. But is OK good enough? Pushing crucial brand-building aspects such as customer and employee experience further down the agenda can ultimately lead to missed opportunities and decreased competitiveness.
A thought-through brand experience is the driver of a resilient foundational and compelling organizational culture. A convincing brand experience must hence be embedded in all communications across company culture, strategy, leadership, and daily operations alike. That’s why you must integrate the human experiences of your brand into the business equation early on. Startups have a great advantage as they are most susceptible to mapping, understanding, and optimizing the human experience you aim for. Without major headaches, lengthy adjustment processes, or excessive costs involved.
By all logic, the bigger a company gets, the harder it is to implement change. – especially when it comes to calibrating the true brand strategy, internal culture, and expected experiences. Mid-sized companies are still in a good place to embrace improvements if their culture is open to change, with agile processes and a leadership that is committed to integrating branding and experience thinking into their strategy.
“No need to know the specific route. You tell me where you are
and what your north star is – and I tell you which path to choose.
And how!”
Sofia and her S-factor will provide the insights and guidance you need to ensure that once your business is tanked, you can set off and focus on scaling the company. Into the right direction, with the collective personal experiences that match your brand promise and ultimately define your true brand.
How to go about this?
By sitting down with her, face to face. To discuss and learn, from another and with another. To think and rethink the heartbeat of your company. In close and open collaboration. To ultimately come up with understandable, concrete steps and sound suggestions for a new level of the brand. A level that makes consumers and employees feel what your business truly is about.
Sofia offers nothing more or less than driving a holistic business transformation.
As long as you are willing to see the value of a well-built brand strategy, and are hungry to learn, you are good to go: Sofia is awake, alert – and fast. She can ask the right questions to get down to the gist of it all, with an incredible amount of attentiveness and curiosity. She can grasp the bigger picture and map out the details, picking up loose threads and turning them into a powerful formation. Into a shape that convinces.
Her specialization is closing the gap between expected and perceived brand experience. And she can zoom in and out, shed light into the corners of an idea with a vision that has been her driver for over two decades:
bringing human experience (back) into the business equation.
“It’s not about taking anything away – just adding something on top of what you have.”
With her natural excitement for both the bigger picture and concrete details, she constantly seeks to inspire. And she understands her role as an external facilitator of trust, dedicated and equipped to close gaps, connect dots, and translate success. She comes in – understands and fixes – and goes out. And will happily come back for something new that she can help with.
Why her?
It is hard to decide whether Sofia is better at listening or speaking. Sofia is not only incredibly energetic but also demanding and ambitious in her voice and body language: it is her passion to bring maturity to a business. Full stop. When she speaks about her decades of professional experiences and constant self-study, her hands form into powerful fists that grab something imaginary, lifting it with determination and precision:
“I help businesses understand the tremendous value and impact they have
if they take the human experience of their brand seriously
– and to translate that brand power into concrete steps forward.”
Yet Sofia has also a calm side. Her presence creates an immediate feeling of being able to open up, to dare think out loud without being judged. The S-factor that she brings to the table is a mix of her unique perspective and precious attitude that combines attentiveness, passion, and wisdom.
With her strengths of being a powerful communicator and an engaged listener, she invites you to dare to challenge your ideas.
Her eyes are smiling just as her mouth does when she engages with others, her hands and body presence are representative of the enormous added value she brings along, no matter where she goes. “I care. I truly, honestly care – all I want to do is bring joy, inject energy, and boost inspiration! And get amazing things done!” Her right hand often touches the spot in the middle of the upper chest when she explains her recent career choice to become an independent experience-driven brand consultant; there, where all energy of the human body comes together. The place that allows us to receive and give freely.
“I have so much to give. And when it comes to brand strategy, I can give A LOT!” Her voice is firm and her laughter warm and genuine when she feels she can make a difference. Sofia helps polish your visions to become clear and sharp and uplifts you to start believing in yourself – if only you care about your brand as much as you should. Genuinely, honestly care about the power a well-built brand experience can have. Just like Sofia:
“It may sound selfish, but I seek the moment of awakening. The moment
where a customer realizes that creating a collective brand experience
is the key to success – that’s all I need.”
When the light bulbs go on, Sofia experiences a moment of pure happiness and peace - and kicks into the next gear with an inspiring and result-driven touch. Now it’s a simple matter of process mapping, making plans and roadmaps, and organizing the implementation of change. Putting a bullet-proof brand vision into practice. Empowering teams and providing tools and OKRs.
And once the magic is done, Sofia packs her S-factor and turns toward the next challenges and success story in the making. Offers her time and devotion to yet another customer who is eager to create the advantage of their brand early on. And when it comes to her customers she eagerly waits for the moment when the next growth phase or change is needed, ready to step in and continue doing her magic.
Disclaimer
Sofia leaves not only a transformed business behind, but also the inspiration to impact human experience, and the energy to bring people and passion together. Her S-factor is truly infectious.
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