Last night at Techmakers (Indy’s oldest and best technology professionals networking event), I really enjoyed the guest speaker, Andrew Curtis of Fuel Visual Media. Andrew spoke on company branding. Brand is what others think of you, Andrew pointed out. Andrew also discussed the fact that a companies have a brand whether they choose to manage it or not! The implications of this idea are far reaching. We all know that actions speak louder than words. What are your company’s actions saying to the marketplace? Do your company’s actions match up with what you believe the brand to be?
It’s not just your company that has a brand. You as an individual have a brand too. And what you think of yourself may not match up with what others think of you. Indy’s Erik Deckers and Kyle Lacy and have written a book called Branding Yourself. The book is a call to action on managing your brand.
What’s your brand? Write down what you think others believe about you as a business professional, and as a person. Then go to the marketplace and verify what you believe. Do you have trusted friends in the business world that will give you an honest opinion of how they perceive you? Ask them what they believe your brand to be. Do they match? And does your brand match up well with the company’s brand? If not, the time is now to take action!
