Thursday, October 24, 2013

Professional Branding: Whose Responsibility?

Professional branding or personal branding is strictly related to "me" or "I" or "self or myself".  I start imagining myself as a company, organization or corporation and/or I start thinking myself as a product. Then I start thinking about creating and developing  "me" ("me" as the corporation and "me" as a product) as a brand and how to do it. Finally I take concrete actions to position and promote "me" or "myself" as a unique brand.
So I become the CEO and also the chief marketer of the "me" corporation. It's solely my responsibility to convert myself from an "ordinary me" to a "brand me".
Essentially I will need to think in three directions. Firstly I must decide the value I wish to give to my potential clients. What is it that I need to deliver? What kind of value addition will I provide in terms of quality and quantity? My clients/potential clients must get a real feel of the heightened value I give them.
The second dimension will deal with making my deliverables greatly distinct and superior as compared to others, the term often known as "differentiation". Unless I am the master professional or the master craftsman of my field I cannot stand out in the crowd. I will have to emphasize this aspect. I must deliver like nobody else could. My deliverables must be distinctly different yet relevant and far far superior to what others do.
The third dimension is the promoting and finally selling myself (as a brand). What should  make my potential clients get attracted to me as a corporation as well as me as a product? This attraction should be so forceful and highly compelling that "me" and only "me" is recalled by my clients/potentials clients for all of their needs pertaining to the domain in which I operate. No other name should surface in their minds.
In doing all of this I must take full responsibility. I am free to use other people and resources but the responsibility centrally hinges on me. I cannot delegate it, particularly in the initial months and years till I get established as a reliable brand. I will always need to be around even later because peoples' memories are short. They are sure to forget me like they do many others unless I keep owning that responsibility even in the good days and keep putting in the required efforts to keep the "me" brand afloat famously.
Related Articles on Professional Branding
1. Professional Branding: Start Your Branding Journey Now http://professional-branding.blogspot.com/2013/08/professional-branding-start-your.html
3. Definition of "Brand" and "Branding" in the Context of a Professional or a Person" http://professional-branding.blogspot.com/2013/08/definition-of-brand-and-branding.html