Building a Relevant Brand

Why is it so important to us to be considered relevant? What’s behind this need? Who determines our relevance? I heard “relevance” used to describe a contender on AMERICAN IDOL - and then when the artist was voted off a few weeks later, I wondered, “Did she suddenly become irrelevant?” When the world, or our particular industry, determines that we are relevant, how do we maintain that status? I’ve studied how businesses achieve relevance to help build my brand. I, like all of us in business, want to continue to offer services that are unique, informative, valuable and consumer friendly. Tim Manners writes in his book RELEVANCE that, “Relevant brands grow because they like their customers and understand them enough to predict what they want.” He goes on to write, “Relevant brands aren’t afraid to fail, but they never forget what made them successful in the first place.” I am inspired by the positive results that individuals and corporations alike achieve through successful branding, giving the public a crystal clear sense of the product or service it can expect. The philosophy of branding one's self for the purpose of clarity and focus is like a breath of fresh air. And the idea of merging your personal and professional values and identifying words that reflect your message is something we could all benefit from exploring. David McNally and Karl Speak assert in their book BE YOUR OWN BRAND, "Everybody already has a brand. Your brand is a reflection of how you are and what you believe, which is visibly expressed by what you do and how you do it. It's the doing part that connects you with someone else, and that connection with someone else results in a relationship. In reality, the image of your brand is a perception held in someone else's mind..." The writers later state, "When your actions and your behavior reflect your values, the result is integrity. The pieces fit. The picture you present to others is in focus, not blurred around the edges or incomplete." To successfully brand yourself, as mentioned in another great book THE ART OF THE START by Guy Kawasaki, you should think of a three-word mantra to describe what you do in your business. It should identify who you are and what you hope to accomplish. For example, Starbuck's mantra is "Rewarding everyday moments." I think this is a great exercise for everyone. I came up with several phrases for my company and ran them by many writer friends as well as people outside of the business. The phrase I like the most and one that resonated with the people I asked is "Developing From Within." In my experience, the best writing comes from people who do the personal work inside and are able to access their emotions and get them on the page. I believe that in developing inside, you enhance the development of your story. I understand the importance of staying in touch with the ingredients that helped my business succeed initially - and to keep an open mind about how to expand or adapt my services as needed. In such a chaotic time in our economy and, effectively, our lives, we are all searching for greater meaning. Feeling relevant equals feeling like we have meaning. My hope is that through successful branding and merging our personal and professional views, we learn to build meaning from the inside so that it is reflected in our approach to our relationships with others, our goals and our careers. Working in a town where our “moment” can be so fleeting, we need to recognize that true value starts from within and continues from within. 2009-07-30T00:31:33Z

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building-a-relevant-brand

2009-07-31T10:40:13Z

2009-07-31T15:42:20Z

Exploration of Relevance and Branding

Building a Relevant Brand

2009-07-31T15:42:20Z