YOUR BRAND IS IN THE HEARTS AND MINDS OF PEOPLE AROUND YOU
Definition of Brand:
A brand is a name, sign, symbol, slogan or anything that is used to identify and distinguish a specific product, service, or business
I want you to think about corporate brands like Disney.
When describing Disney, what is the first adjective that comes to your mind?
Family entertainment, fun, holistic and morally acceptable programmes, creative.
Now imagine if Disney gets into adult entertainment!
Wow, lots of reactions, negative publicity, critics, unacceptable, decline in membership and advocates, the list goes on.
Now think of Volvo, the automobile.
What are your first thoughts when this car is mentioned? If someone asks you for a recommendation of a car, what would you say about Volvo?
Safe, tough, hardy, stable, reliable, dependable.
Now what if one day Volvo decides to go into the fast and sporty cars’ segment?
How would you react now?
Unsure, wait and see, not interested, change car.
Now what if one day, a Volvo car got into a car crash and exploded and then, a second and third car had the same problems.
Huge reactions and customers’ concerned queries and calls. Volvo would probably have to implement crisis management systems to prevent the erosion of brand equity (as what was seen of BP).The point is consciously or not, we have come to create a definitive, simple brand statement of the companies which we have come to love. Perhaps, it is due to the Disney’s or Volvo’s effective branding strategies, or perhaps due to our desires for simplistic messages like taglines, USPs.
And the critical point is we identify the brand for what it is and not what it is not!
Authentic branding is about communicating to the people about what the brand truly represents. Likewise, in personal branding, you communicate to the world the best of who you really are. It cannot be faked because it will come out unreal and people will be able to see the contradiction and inconsistency.
The underlying fact is whenever the
* brand messages in our minds have been challenged to accept otherwise, our emotions feel uneasy and uncomfortable, which then lead us to question, inquire and seek confirmation, validation or direction on the next course of action to take.
* Conversely, when the messages in our minds have been reinforced with clarity, consistency and visibility of the brand, our emotions of loyalty and love are being affirmed and strengthened.
How the message is communicated and accepted in our minds has a great impact in the way our hearts feel about the brand
In developing Your Personal Brand, questions to ask:
1. What are people saying about your brand?
2. How best would they describe you?
3. Do they know how to describe you?
When we depend on our friends to refer us for career or business opportunities, do we inquire if they know how to articulate our brands? What happens if they get it wrong?
Steps to developing your Personal Brand, the first step is to uncover what makes you special.
1. Find out what are most people saying about you? Reach 360 is one of the amazing tools you can use.
2. Use the StrengthsFinder 2.0, developed by Gallup to uncover your strengths.
3. Know your strengths and weaknesses and emphasise on your strengths and play down on the weaknesses.
4. Your values which define you as a person and I am not merely talking of spiritual or moral values, but rather those key life values which you hold dearly as an individual. Example, if you value communications strongly, can you see yourself working in an organization where the environment is controlling and intimidating?
5. With the above components done, then your unique personal brand statement is crafted out.
That is the message you want the world to know in their minds, and your name in their hearts.
Remember, you want to develop your personal brand by communicating that authentic, definitive, consistent and compelling message to your employers, peers and people that matter to you.
I will now leave you with a real story of how I was challenged in my brand message.
Last week, I received an inquiry from a senior level executive from India. He wants to relocate to Singapore for a better life for himself and his family. I was approached to help in his development of a personal brand for job search and career development. Unfortunately, his budget was a huge constraint and his request was nothing short of a challenge for me. I thought about it for some time. The tipping point that inspired me to work with him (step by step) was my brand message:
Strengths – Visionary, Futurist, Possibility Thinker
Brand statement – Who creates possible futures with others
Following that, I agreed to work with him on a step by step approach, giving him ideas to work on identifying his target companies here, crafting a template for his resume (need him to uncover his strengths, values) and granting him discounted fees to my consulting work.
Find out how Executives Branding can create the value in your personal brand so that YOU, Inc can generate rewarding benefits resulting from who you are and what you do! (Select your interest here)
or drop me at email at framkie@executivesbranding.com
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