Thursday, March 21, 2013

Finding Your Personal Brand Opportunity


A brand is a "set of associations" of the brand experience, which may be good or bad depending on how a person perceives it.  Their perceptions are derived from a brand's "touch points" i.e. from the way the product or service is packaged and delivered to the way people in the organization treat the brand.  Do they, the organization, know what the brand is suppose to represent, or how it is meant to function in the marketplace.  For example, Tybout (2005) touches on the following points that Brand Managers must consider:  Is the brand involved in short-term cash flow strategies constantly such as low-cost differentiate or price-cutting?   Does the brand communicate a clear and consistence marketing message?  Is the message, strategically, delivered in an uncluttered distribution channel to the correct target audience (pp.  4-8)?  And, does the message position the brand in the minds of the target audience leading them to believe that the brand has a high quality that will deliver on the promise (i.e. the unique selling proposition).  Thus, a brand is like a reputation. 

SO THINK ABOUT THIS:
 
I offen hear people in business talk about their brand: they do not want anyone or anything to compromise their brand because they can lose money, a job, a significant other and fuure opportunities. Even, the women on the Real Housewives of Atlanta speak of protecting their brand or refer to their brand as a Donkey, Stallion, Glam and Million Dollar. But, don't you think that they should represent themselves in a more professional way.  No, because if they did, their brand would not represent the show.  Personal brand is everything in hollywood, on Wall Street, Main Street, and whereever, whenever you are.  Your brand represents everything about the way you communicate,  verbally and nonverbally.  It's not just the school you graduateed from, how much money you have, your family traditions, the way you look and carry yourself, but it is everything you do in preparation to advance yourself and navigate to the approriate opportunity with the correct elevator pitch to the appropriate networks and associations during the right occasions. 
Next week,, I will tell you how to find your personal brand opportunity.
 
Reference:
Tybout, A. (2005). Kellogg on Branding: The marketing faculty of the Kellogg School of Management. Wiley.