adminstrong personal brand by highlighting the do’s and don’ts of personal branding.
Personal branding is particularly important because you cannot delegate the building of your brand to someone else. It is your personal responsibility which you should be actively involved in if you want to build a successful and winning brand.
Just so that we are on the same page, a brand is more than the name and logos associated with an entity. It is everything and anything that is associated with the image and reputation of an entity or an organisation.
Remember when carrying out your day-to- day business you are guided by brands. Brands inform your buying choices and decisions when it comes to products and services from businesses. This means the profit of a company is very inter-related to the strength of their brand(s). When you think of a certain good, commodity or service that you need, there are always brands that come to mind.
Most of the time there is a brand that you desire because of the image of the brand that you hold.
There is a popular joke that goes which describes how Zimbabweans have come to name all products with the name of a powerful, dominating brand in that line. It is most likely that a random average Zimbabwean will call any petroleum jelly Vaseline. The reason why some brands have actually become the product itself is because of the investment made in brand development. Remember a powerful brand results in brand loyalty which means more sales volumes and profit.
Moving away from companies you need to realise that humans make decisions guided by brands.
That means your personal brand should also be appealing if you want people to desire bringing business to you and thus bring you success. You need people to think of you whenever they want someone with your expertise.
They should desire “you” and no other brand. As such you need to be actively involved in the process of building and developing your brand. The following list of do’s and don’ts of personal branding will help you do just that.
Do’s:
- Consistency
You need to consistently deliver. Your good performance should never be a fluke. It should be something you can reproduce. Be consistent in the performance you bring when called. When you bring consistency you reap reliability from people. When people rely on you they will never doubt you and therefore they will desire you.
- Quality Improvement
You should always make sure you provide quality work. Remember that quality management is based on what your customers want. Define your quality according to your customers’ needs. Aim to provide unprecedented quality levels whenever you are given a new job.
- Be Infectious
Brands are tied to people’s emotions. Ever realised how emotional people are when they talk about their phone brands or the clothes brand they are putting on. You need to also ensure that your personal brand evokes the right brand in people. Be infectious, whenever you do something for/with someone you need to leave an indelible impression on them. Simple things such as smiling, courtesy and attitude will enhance your brand.
- Niche Branding
You cannot be everything and be everywhere. You need to carve out a niche market for yourself. Everyone or every business can find a niche area to specialise in. This means you need to find your own area to specialise in. This will make your brand more attractive and desirable. It also helps ensure less competition. Find something that sets you apart, that you can do outstandingly better than anyone else and people will flock to you.
Don’ts:
- Highlight your weaknesses
While you should not deceive people it is important not to draw people to your weak side. No brand can be entirely perfect, but all brands are built on their strengths. Do not attract people to your weaknesses; People have an insatiable appetite for perfection though they know it cannot be attained.
- Suffocate People
Some people just do not know when to stop. When branding yourself know the difference between advertising and spam. Some people will suffocate any contact they make with incessant calls, emails and messages. Once you pitch your brand to a person let your brand do all the talking otherwise people will not want to be associated with a desperate brand.
Till next week, God bless you all.
The writer is a motivational speaker. He can be contacted on [email protected]
Online Reporter