Move over Job Title…Make Room for Personal Brands
Jean R. Caton MS, MBA, RD Director PR and Marketing|
Nutrition Entrepreneurs
Marketing 101 Brand Basics: A brand is a marketing tool used to promote a product or service. Brands differentiate a product from its competition. A brand is a promise to deliver a certain value, to meet a need, or to solve a problem. Branded products command higher prices than commodities.
The power of a brand exists in the mind.It is about perception and emotion. Brands convey an emotional meaning; a perception of the value you will receive from the product. Examples of strong brands and the images they convey in the mind of consumers include Honda® “quality and reliability”; Disney® “imagination and wholesome fun”; Mayo Clinic “to provide hope and cure.” Notice the brands do not communicate car, theme park, and hospital.
Failing to define your brand is Mistake #45, according to Executive Coach Lois P. Frankel, Ph.D. in her book Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office; 101 Unconscious Mistakes Women make that Sabotage their Career.
Application: Translate the concept of corporate branding of products and services to personal branding. YOU are your PRODUCT. You must have a personal brand that creates a distinct and meaningful perception about the value you deliver in the mind of your target audience. Before defining your brand be sure you are clear about the product you intend to brand. Answer these five questions about your product:
1. How do I define my PRODUCT in terms of the benefits it provides my target audience (1-2 sentences only)?
2. The value my PRODUCT delivers is_____________________.
3. My PRODUCT satisfies this needs, problem, want, or desire______________ that my target audience has previously indicated they will pay money to have satisfied.
4. My PRODUCT stands out from my competitors because ____________
5. I can answer the question “What do you do?” in a clear, concise, and effective 30-second commercial or elevator speech about my business?
If these questions are difficult to answer, it may mean you need to clarify YOU the PRODUCT before you formulate your personal brand.
Job Titles versus Personal Brand: A Google™ search of nutrition services produces 67,400,000 results. It is a challenge to be distinctive and stand out from the competition in that crowded market. When asked, “What do you do?" pose this question to yourself: Does my answer…
- ¦Communicate clearly?
- ¦Is it memorable?
- ¦Provide distinction?
- ¦Create a good opportunity for “Word of Mouth” Buzz?
- ¦Is it a ‘media magnet?
- ¦Stand out from the competition?
Test this example of a Personal Brand for a Dietitian whose target audience is businessmen and women against the above criteria. Jane Doe, RD. The Eating Advisor for Executives on the Go!
|
Job Title |
Personal Brand |
|
Wendy Brown Veterinarian |
Wendy Brown The Doggy Doc |
|
Ruth Roberti Nutrition Expert |
Ruth Roberti, The Bride-to-Be Weight Loss Expert |
|
Kerrin Johnson Lawyer |
Kerrin Johnson Advocate for women facing divorce |
|
Jessica Kim Computer Programmer |
Jessica Kim The ‘go to’ woman when no one else can solve the coding problem. |
|
Jill Jones Financial Services |
Jill Jones The Women’s Money Mentor |
Benefits of a Personal Brand: A personal brand makes you stand out from the competition in the very crowded
Benefits of a Personal Brand: A personal brand makes you stand out from the competition in the very crowded field of nutrition services. A personal brand reflects your expertise and your Unique Value Proposition (UVP). Your brand creates an image of your ability in the mind of your employer or clients. Your personal brand is a tool to achieve your professional goals. Branded services command higher fees because branded premium priced services communicate high perceived value to your target audience. Sometimes individuals (or businesses) have no brand recognition. They are essentially invisible. They are overlooked for business opportunities or career advancement. According to Lois Frankel, PhD, an internationally recognized Executive Coach and Consultant, the inability to define and communicate your brand can derail your career progress.
Brands Work: My personal branding experience has proven many of the principles of true branding. During the process of clarifying my vision for my coaching practice, I began using the successful brand My Food Coach™. This brand gained media attention and was very memorable - perhaps too memorable! Long after my practice evolved and my niche was no longer coaching clients about Food and Eating behaviors, colleagues continued to refer to me as the 'Food Coach'. Now, my niche is speaker and coach for women working in corporate America, Attorneys, and Health & Fitness professionals who seek more fulfilling and financially rewarding work. Jean Caton, Business Life Coach and Speaker…Inspiring and empowering professional women to achieve their career potential.
Final Note: Some readers may be resisting developing and using a powerful personal brand because it forces them to commit to a niche or specialization. By not using a personal brand, you miss the power and distinction personal branding can provide. Distinction makes you memorable, enhances PR opportunities, and brings you more recognition than a fuzzy ‘all things to all people nutrition expert.’ After meeting hundreds of people at a networking meeting, I bet the Bride-to-Be Weight Loss Expert™ would stand out in my mind more readily than an unbranded registered dietitian. A niche of brides to be is not as narrow as it first appears. There are brides maids, mothers of brides and grooms, spouses and more. The point of a distinctive personal brand is to grab attention of prospective clients and the media, and be memorable. The point is not to limit you to working only with brides to be!
“Be distinct or be extinct”….Tom Peters
Application: Ask yourself: What is the brand that best describes my product or service? What one word or phrase would I like my target market/manager What perception does my brand create in the mind of my In what ways am I distinct? Does my brand communicate this
to use when describing me?
manager, the company president, clients, and potential customers?
distinction?
Download your free Personal Brand Development Worksheet
http://www.jeancaton.net/resources.html .
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© Copyright 2006 Jean Caton Article template by Rake Consulting
Jean Caton is a speaker, coach, and marketing strategist. She works with businesswomen in corporate America, Healthcare, and entrepreneurs to challenge and support them to attain their professional and personal goals and live a life full of achievement, self-acceptance, and serenity. Jean can be reached at: MyCoachJean@JeanCaton.net