Your Brand

What do you like and what do you dislike?

When it comes to brands, everyone has a bias. You either like a brand, love a brand, dislike a brand or disdain a brand. There is no grey area in branding. Rarely, went it comes to labels, does anything conjure up more decisive emotions than when a brand appears.

Brands are a big part of our everyday lives. Companies literally spend million and millions of dollars establishing, promoting, protecting and preserving their precious brands. Brand perception and realities can make or break fortunes.

Consider the colossal and apparently deliberate damage that the Volkswagen brand is currently facing regarding their diesel vehicles. Volkswagen is going to pay a massive financial and brand-damaging price for this breach of trust. I like Volkswagen and have since the Beetle, Sirocco and Karmann Ghia , and have held their brand in high esteem. I owned a Beetle (always wanted a Sirocco) and the car was extremely dependable. But alas, VW has made a huge brand blunder.

Brands can and do recover when they are damaged even when the wound is self-inflicted. But that recovery is not guaranteed and it is almost always lengthy, consuming and expensive.

My intention is not to bash any brand, simply to establish how important and valuable the trust we place in brands is and how relevant that value and trust is when we make decisions.

Just like companies, you have a brand. Your brand determines how people react to you and your depth of inclusion in their professional or personal lives. Being real and forthright is a fine avenue for building your brand. You need people to unambigouslly understand what you stand for.

Having a strong brand will get you consistently and considerably further than all of your working knowledge. People need to know that you are going to be true to your brand. The right people will usually and patiently accept whatever growth stage you are in when dealing with you, but they will not be patient or accepting if your brand is not a brand they can count on. A brand must be consistent.

First, build your brand, then establish your brand, then live your brand and once established continouslly and jealously protect your brand.