The Power of "Brand You"!

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If every interaction that a potential customer has with your company or product creates

a brand image in their minds, as an Entrepreneur that also includes YOU. That's right, you. Feeling suddenly a lot of pressure to lose weight and get a haircut? Well, maybe you should, but that depends on your brand. If your brand, for example, is an internet marketing service and is all about working from home in your sweats, then live it up in grunge-land! If your business is weight loss products that you are marketing through direct sales, being overweight is likely not helping your brand image. This is one major area where Branding for small businesses is drastically different from branding in a large company (aside from the obvious budget differences in getting your word out). Coke is a brand you know and recognize instantly, but do you have any idea who is managing the Coke brand? Does that manager's personality, looks, or attitude influence your relationship with Coke? Absolutely not. Why, because they are many layers removed from any customer's experience with the brand. You relate to Coke through your experience with the product, advertising, promotions and your local store where you buy it. The person managing the brand (who has likely changed 20 times in the last 15 years) has nothing to do with your brand experience. However, for the average small business owner, a customer's brand experience is closely tied to their experience with you - the small business owner. And that means that your values and personality should be similar, or at least complementary to your product or service. For example, I met a woman the other day who sells customized children's books (where they make your kid's name the main character in the story). The woman immediately impressed me as someone who would know how to make a special gift for kids - she was kind, and pleasant and engaging and in our conversation made me feel how special this product was by the very tone of her conversation. And as a result, I saved her card for the next time I needed to buy a special baby gift. Now, maybe that happened through self-selection (she picked a product that embodied her values so it was a built in match). But would I have felt the same way about this brand if it was pushed on me by a hard-charging, in your face sales person who didn't even seem to like babies? Probably not. This is especially true as people are using social media and online marketing tools more and more to build both internet-based businesses and support offline businesses. Are you using Facebook and Twitter to promote your business? If so, are people hearing about your Saturday night escapades that you also want to perceive you as a conservative banker? It is critical to manage every interaction that people have with your brand - including brand you. Remember, people now have the ability to Google and find out more about you than you may have shared with them in a meeting that you can orchestrate. Make sure that everything that can be linked to you and your brand supports the brand image you want to create. To truly fail-proof your business, don't forget that as a small business owner, you are a key part of the "formula" needed to create your winning brand.

The Power of "Brand You"!

By: Michelle Tree

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