Evaluating Your Brand: Evolution and Keeping Up with the Joneses
I once knew a woman who ran a marketing business that had so many ups and downs you’d think you were on a roller coaster. One minute she was opening events for a major building supply company, the next she was in tears asking her parents for money to pay her staff.
I think branding was a big part of her downfall. She could sell a service, but when it came to delivering, she had played too big a hand: afraid of not being able to win an account in a bid against a big firm, she acted as if she had a big firm. When clients realized that she did not have the staff or expertise to complete a project as she’d promised, she lost the account. Because all of her energies were focused on that account, such a loss generally meant the loss of all of her income.
What’s more, in an attempt to imitate the slick and often creative offices of her larger competitors, she did something very stupid. Not having the money to decorate her office in the manner of the big guys, she decided to use props from the largest trade show she’d ever worked on -- a big hospital chain that had held a conference with a Dr. Seuss theme.
First of all, those props were proof that the last work she’d done in which she’d taken great pride had happened more than 10 years ago! Second -- they were an example of overt plagiarism. Any big company coming into her office recognized this fact -- what was meant to be fun and quirky actually came off as not terribly creative and potentially dangerous from a legal point of view.
And last -- the silly two-dimensional characters were, well… silly. They had no place in a business office, unless perhaps it was the office of Dr. Seuss himself.
She was definitely a follower of the old 1980s more-is-better mantra. Instead of focusing on the strengths of her brand, she overextended herself in an effort to emulate the brands of companies with hundreds -even thousands – of employees. As a result, her own business had the exact opposite of the Midas touch.
In order to be successful, you absolutely must have faith in your brand. In this case, there was no reason the business owner could not have explained to potential clients that she was small, and that fact alone was going to ensure that they had hands-on treatment from management and were very involved in the
creative process. If the client had questioned the possibility of shortfalls of manpower or expertise, she could have discussed her strong relationships with excellent contractors and freelancers. I would have added, if it were I, that because I was not constrained by an in-house staff, I’d have the luxury of handtailoring a team to fit the client’s needs.
Her office should have reflected the strengths of her own business and not relied on the expenditures of past clients. There is a place for photos of such events in a marketing office, but not dozens of the actual props themselves!
When you consider your brand, look at its strengths and make certain that you understand them. Also look at your weaknesses and figure out how to overcome them and objections to them.
It never makes sense to try to look just like another brand. After all, if the client wanted to hire someone just like the other guy, he would already have hired him.
Dave Saunders helps people stand out and "Be the Brand" as a personal branding and marketing specialist. Manage your personal brand online: Create, Enhance and Share a better resume, free, at VisualCV.com