Being your Brand

I am the mom of a pre-teen (soon to be 12) girl. As such, I wear many different hats. I am a counselor, a teacher and a chauffeur. When her hormones flare, I am a referee, an arch nemesis and sometimes a probation officer. But, I am constantly surprised at how often I don my own trade hat in my relationship with her. Whether I'm in crisis communications mode, helping her deal with the middle school rumor mill or creating compelling message points that will influence her decisions (hopefully) I often find it helpful to draw from my PR experience. It happened again last week.

Like I said, my daughter is a pre-teen, so she is right in the midst of trying to discover who she is and how she wants other to see her. She is exceptionally bright (straight A student in advanced classes) and athletically gifted (a blue belt in Tae Kwon Do and one of the stars of her soccer team.) She is creative, analytic and above all: independent. She is trying very hard to convey to others that she is unique. Unlike many of her friends, she doesn't want to blend in - her style is distinctive and she likes it that way. But sometimes she tries to be a little too different, to the point that many adults would just read her appearance as odd. So, we started talking about how she communicates who she is: behavior, appearance, academics, athletics, etc. We talked about each area and then I asked her if the way she portrayed herself in each of those categories was consistent with who she was and who she wanted her friends, teachers and coaches to think she was. In short, we talked about branding. As we talked, she came to the conclusion that she was staying true to her personal brand in most areas, but that she might want to tone down the "uniqueness" of some of her outfits so that first impressions wouldn't detract from who she really is.

And so we arrive at our...
PR Tip of the Day: Be consistent if you want to build a strong brand.
Carefully consider and identify everyplace that your audience comes into contact with your brand. These are your touchpoints. Now most people automatically think of their advertising, but what about your place of business, your online presence, your frontline staff, and your phone systems? Any place your customers come into contact with your business is an opportunity to Be Your Brand. By the way, do you know what your brand is? Who are you and who do you want others to see you as? If you claim to be customer friendly, is your lobby inviting and warm? Are your customer service people helpful and knowledgeable? Is your phone system easy to navigate or is it nearly impossible to get in touch with a real person? Each touchpoint must deliver to the user an experience that is consistent with who you claim to be. An unidentified touchpoint equates to a missed opportunity to connect with your customer. And a touchpoint that fails to live up to your stated identity equals a weakened brand.

It is up to you to establish and maintain your brand, and luckily, it is fairly easy to do so.
1)Identify it.
2)Be it.
If you follow step 2 consistently, you'll be able to convert your consumers to brand zealots: individuals who are both loyal clients and great word-of-mouth marketers who can help you to further grow your brand.