Every Transaction Brands You

I have been conducting sales training this year for the national sales force of a well know brand management company representing some of the most common retail brands in the world.  The training is focused upon “Building Brand U” by managing each person-to-person, point-of-sale transaction to be a professional experience for the customer. The emphasis holds that every promise kept, or not kept, contributes to the brands image. And, this linked string of experiences ultimately creates tipping point that propels branded products that will become woven in the fabric of our society.

 

Think of some of the product brands that have come from nowhere to become a mainstay of the consumer preference in the past ten years;  Prius, Dell, Grey Goose, Smart Water, Brita, Jet Blue, Axe, Google, Little Black Dress wines, facebook.  While it may seem that these brands came from no name to top name, it was largely the result of having effective marketing plans, yes. More importantly, making each transaction between service provider and end user a pleasing one translates to a positive experience. And, it is these experiences that creates long lasting brands with loyal, if not enthusiastic, users. There is not magic wand, but there is a magic in consistency of positive experiences.

 

When Huey Lewis and the News received their Grammy a decade and a half ago, Huey humbly thanked “…all the fans that followed us (his band) from garages to back street bars to small town pavilions and big city music venues over the past 20 years until they became on overnight success.”  Having seen Huey Lewis some five years ago I must admit that he and his band gives it all he’s got for his audience. I can only believe that twenty five years of top drawer performing joined with talented songwriting and the combined charisma of “The News” has created a indelible consumer brand.

 

The lessons that we can personally draw from marketers of successful consumer brands is to understand that every transaction we have with individuals in our larger network contributes to our personal brand.  It creates a marquis reputation that precedes itself.

 

Thus, a motto for “Building Brand U…” 

The strength of my personal brand is a function of my past and current interactions with others, which become the ‘experience’ of doing business with me. The legend of that experience becomes my personal brand fingerprint. 

 

Charles Fellingham is founder of QAlias, a personal branding tool that provides prominent personal placement optimization on the web. He is also a corporate trainer for the Forum Corporation and a Regional Sales Manager for a Fortune 200 company.