What is Personal Branding?
Mercedes, McDonalds, Wal-Mart. Like them or not, you probably have an idea of what these companies stand for and what you will get from them. For example, I probably wouldn’t go to Wal-Mart to shop for a suit to wear to my next professional speaking engagement. I would, however, readily head off to Wal-Mart for back-to-school shopping for my elementary-school-age children, and homeware supplies. Upon my arrival I would fully expect to be warmly greeted by a smiling face at the door and to find an ample supply of family necessities at a fair and reasonable price. This is their brand impression.
What is a brand impression? It is the overall impression that a person has of the traits and proficiencies of a company or individual. Corporate brand impression is generally created through advertising, marketing and customer/ user/ personal experience. My interpretation of Wal-Mart was bred from the millions of dollars Wal-Mart spends in marketing and advertising to communicate who they are and what they do in the market place. Depending upon how successful they are in defining and communicating this, you may or may not have the same brand impression.
So what does this have to do with your dating success, career transition and personal sense of fulfillment? Everything.
Just like corporations hope to attract the appropriate customers through brand strategy and marketing, individuals hope to attract the appropriate personal and professional relationships and opportunities through their own style, knowledge, talents, and general impression on others.
This is your Personal Brand. Whether you realize it or not, you have one. The question is, “Is it working for you?” Are you meeting the relationship partners that support who you are and where you want to go in your life? Does the your best “you” come out within your existing relationships? Does the “real” you come out in your relationships? Do you feel valuable? If you can’t answer yes to these questions, it is likely you are not presenting your authentic brand, but rather the persona you feel you “should” or “need” to present.
This often happens when we define what we want before we clarify who we are. This would be like Wal-Mart saying we want to make more money, let’s attract wealthier customers and advertise solely in Beverly Hills and similar communities. This would not likely produce their desired results. A more productive approach would be for Wal-Mart to define a list of what they do best as a company and their core descriptive traits. Then determine who would be most interested in these values and abilities. From there they could market to the audience most interested in what they have to offer.
The same goes for individuals. We must start with ourselves and look deep into what we do best and our core descriptive traits. Owning our individuality and uniqueness is vital to this process. As we embrace the parts of ourselves that differentiate us from the norm, we will naturally attract people and opportunities that desire this uniqueness. Conformity is the root of mediocrity in a brand.
It takes a brave spirit to dare to be different. You must be willing to stand out. In dong so, however, you can be found. In today’s world of global communication, the barriers of location have evaporated and we must find ways to be heard above the vast sea of voices speaking at the same time. We need to find our own ways to stand out and be recognized for the gifts we have to offer. Standing out does not imply that we should all be loud and over bearing, but simply bravely authentic. Be yourself and those who appreciate your authentic traits will gravitate towards you.
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How Different Do You Want To Be?
Defining your brand as markedly unique or as a supportive part of a larger brand image.
This question has been debated for years in corporate and product marketing circles. Should a product or business segment have its own unique and independent brand, or should it be a subset extension of the larger corporate or market segment brand? To veteran marketers the former is called the P&G model, referring to Proctor & Gamble’s long standing policy of uniquely individual product brands. The latter is demonstrated in many business models and often referred to as “integrated branding”. Both have their pros and cons, and for the individual developing their personal brand, both models should be considered.
The P&G model consists of a broad corporate theme, with independently driven brands under the parent company. In fact, their products are so diverse that the average consumer has no idea that they are owned by the parent company. Their products include: Aussie® hair care, Tide®, Cheer®, Tampax®, Iams® pet products, Eukanuba® pet products, Crest®, Cover Girl®, Downy®, Dreft, ® Charmin®, Folgers®, Gain®, Gleem®, Herbal Essences®, and many many more. For a complete list you can check out their brand lines at http://www.pg.com/products/pg_products.jhtml. These products all have their own identity, color palettes, slogans, and individual marketing campaigns. The one thing they do have in common is a general market audience. In fact, the products are often competing products. There are several different laundry detergents, feminine products, hair care lines, and pet products.
Why would they spend so much time and effort marketing different products to the same audience??? The answer is to capture more of that audience as a whole. It costs them very little to modify a product slightly, or to modify the marketing of similar products slightly, and to see which performs better. It also means that they give the audience choices without losing any of that audience to a competitor.
Can you see places in your business or your career where this might apply to your own marketing strategy? Can you modify your product line slightly to gain more of your market segment? Can you offer choices to your market without diluting your individual offerings? Can you define the overall needs of your target audience and create offerings to meet those needs?
Now, what about the drawbacks to this form of marketing strategy? Proctor & Gamble is a multi-billion dollar industry that leverages their efforts on an economy of scale. For the smaller or independent professional, this is often simply not a viable option. The energy and resources required to drive one brand are significant. When you start to develop more than one, the financial and physical resources multiply quickly. Proctor & Gamble has the resources to support all of their brands successfully. If you do not, you need to consider consolidation. It is better to develop a strong solid brand foundation than to create multiple weak sub-branded products or services.
Creating a larger brand image for yourself is often simpler, and more powerful for the independent professional. Consider Nike. From shoes and clothing, to athletic equipment, their overall brand is consistent. Their brand message has not changed in years: “Just Do It.” And the strength of their image allows them to readily introduce new products into the market with an immediate market response and expectation of brand alignment.
This model is much simpler to manage and contains consistent reinforcement to the target market. Nike’s signature “swoosh” is a quickly identifiable symbol, and all products donning the swoosh are instantly recognized as part of the Nike line.
This same concept can apply to individuals developing their own brand within a corporation or an industry. Think about the benefits you have in aligning yourself with the existing brand of your parent company or industry. Are you a member of professional organizations? By depicting the member logo on your business card or website, you instantly gain the brand credibility of the organization. Be careful, however; this works in reverse as well. If the organization gets bad press, you can be affected by it too.
Inversely, can you strengthen you own market position by diversifying from the norm of a parent company or market brand. You can significantly create a name for yourself by setting yourself apart from the rest in your market. You can be the fitness expert, that understands the value of occasional junk food, the financial advisor who is unafraid to share the stories of personal financial failure in the past, or any other unusual segmentation that sets you apart from the rest.
There are pros and cons to embracing a larger unified brand, and pros and cons to developing individual brand elements. The key to success is accurately evaluating what you can handle, how much it will take to do it well, and the net result desired within your market audience. If you allow yourself the strategic time to project your options, the correct path will become clear. The trick is that many individuals and many businesses do not take the time to consider these paths fully. Research your competition, research your buying audience, and future map your vision for your business. It will be the best investment you can make in your brand strategy.
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