It is an Emergency
Posted on 07. Oct, 2009 by Kimberly in marketing
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Yes, you heard me right — it is an emergency. If you have not taken the time to truly take a look at your branding for your business, access if you have clearly defined it and then taken the next step to back it up with actions. A Mercedes in the garage won’t run without gas.
What does your company stand for? What do you stand for? Branding is as also about the PR, marketing, sales and Social Media Plan/Strategy. Your personal branding must align with your Brand Personality. If there is a disconnect, you run a risk of confusing your customers and worse still, appearing to miscommunicate or mislead in your information. I have seen corporations, even larger ones communicate in one direction but the experience with a company representative creates a completely different picture. Unfortunately people remember the personal experience with an individual and paint the corporation with the same brush. Your support, sales, marketing and administrative offices should all be on the same page. This also brings to light that individuals in your business who interact with the public have an effect on your corporate branding.
Does your staff woo potential customers to you or harness loyalty from current customers? Or perhaps, are they pushing your customers away? Your customers have a lot of choices out there; having a well laid-out strategy and clear communication of what truly represents your business favorably and what does is a vital piece of the branding puzzle.
This also applies to endorsements and paid advertising. Think long and hard about who you use to represent your company in a video, commercial or an ad. Some examples from the sports sector of athletes that have endorsed products but then later had to be quickly removed from all the ads spots due to unsavory behaviour in their personal lives:
- Barry Bonds. (Steroids)
- Kobe Bryant. (Bad behavior)
- Roger Clemens. (Steroids)
- Marion Jones. (Steroids)
- Mark McGwire. (Steroids)
- Terrell Owens. (Bad behavior)
- Andy Pettitte (Human growth hormone)
- Manny Ramirez. (Human chorionic gonadotropin — even Manny’s drug infractions are goofy)
- Alex Rodriguez. (Steroids)
- Michael Vick. (Dog fighting)
Unfortunately, there was damage done and a heavy cost to pay — you cannot dictate but you can clearly define for your staff/employees, managers, and everyone who puts a face to your business what the branding strategy is and how their personal brands affect the company. Defamation of another person or slander are not only hurtful to whom they are directed, they are illegal. Using social media (ie. Twitter, Facebook) in such a negative way has affects for them as well as the company. It is a good idea for you to know what your staff is doing online and to do a monthly report. Does this cross the line and infringe on their personal rights? This could be a huge discussion and I would love feedback rom you on this. As a business owner myself, I think it is due diligence. The information they put out there is for public consumption and many firms have used negative information or behaviour to refrain from hiring someone or to release them from employment. This is a sticky issue and will continue to be without question. What are your comany’s guidelines and best practices concerning social media and personal branding of employees?
If this is something you have not even considered at all — yes it is an emergency. Start now.
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Kimberly Beaven is a Web Designer and Creative Director of BlueWave Media. She is is truly a gadget girl who loves architecture, photography, design and coding. Learn more via twitter or her Google Profile. If you enjoyed this post, please subscribe to our RSS feed.
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