David T. Fagan: Your Business Would be Better if Your Brand was Better

Image courtesy of arztsamui / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

A “Brand” is the sum total of all the experiences people have had with any person, place or thing (products and organizations are things). Yes, people and places have brands too. Obama has a brand, Vegas has a brand, Mother Theresa has a brand, Miami has a brand, Elvis has a brand, and even China has a brand.

These brands were built over time based on what the majority of people experienced. Of course key people and media with big megaphones can also overshadow what the majority feels. That’s why endorsements, celebrity spokespeople, commercials and regular media appearances are so valuable. So what is your brand? What are people experiencing with you, your products or your organization?

Your business would be better if your brand was better. In order for this to happen you have to go out of your way to interact with people everywhere, you have to share, you have to give, you have to serve and above all you have to stand out from the crowd. You must interest people and more importantly you must fascinate people.

Sometimes this requires you to be controversial or even to shock people. Other times you will have to share personal stories and experiences. New concepts, strong communication and the cool factor all go a long way in developing a strong brand. The method combination you need all depends on what you want your brand to be.

People are buying your brand. Again, whether you like it or not, people are buying your brand. So what are people buying from you?

I’ve dedicated years of my life to making people, places and things Icon’s in their industry. Here is the best of what I have learned about Icon Building packaged in a really easy “Top 3 To Do” checklist of things you can do day in and day out that will make you more profitable.

1. Build a Golden Rolodex – Wow influential people who have a strong following. Keep their contact info handy and review your top 50-100 people weekly. I like to keep the best ones on a highly visible whiteboard in my office. Break these people up into categories. Focus on the ones that have their own radio shows, TV shows, or large email databases. Don’t forget those people that have high amounts of traffic to their websites, thousands of Facebook Friends, Twitter Followers, and Linkedin Connections. Do what ever you can to add value to their life. This one thing has helped positively promote and control the destiny as well as the profitability of my business more than anything else.
2. Develop Your Core Stories – People as a majority want to know your story, the story of your organization or the stories of your customers or clients. You must record these stories, testimonials, and case studies. This personal approach and social proof goes a long ways towards inviting people experience your movement. More than ever people want an organization with personality and heart. People don’t want cold heartless organizations that they can’t relate too. Video, Audio, Articles, Blogs, Social Media postings, and Power Point presentations can all help you convey these core stories.
3. Manage Your Online Reputation – More than ever people go to the internet to learn about you, your products and your organization. The good news is that it is very easy for you to put out great things on the internet…especially if you are doing numbers 1 and 2 well. The bad news is that it is relatively easy for people to say bad things about you, your products and your organization…even if it’s not true. You must continually communicate online and research yourself like anyone else might. The world is quickly transitioning from everyone needing a website to everyone needing a really good website that is an interactive ongoing commercial stocked full of social proof and cutting-edge technology and automation.

BEWARE! All three of these things are part of an ongoing journey and never a destination. Companies, organizations, people and places with once stellar reputations for decades can all face unrepairable disaster overnight.

Just remember, if you want to improve your business, just improve your brand!