Brand is Collaboration

Brand is collaborationMom’s birthday card to me summed it up perfectly,

Cover: It’s your Birthday and it’s all about you today, so enjoy it.

Inside: Because tomorrow it goes back to being all about me.

Personal brand is a collaboration.

It is all about you…and all those that come into contact with you. Mom’s card, cogent but acerbic is what you have to keep in mind about those personal contacts. She trusted me to see the humor. She trusted me to know she was just joshing because we’ve been collaborating for more years than either of us care to reveal.

A product/service brand is also a collaboration.

It, too, is based on trust.

Brand is the outcome of Trust.

If you own, manage, consult, coach or serve an organization professionally you are part of a collaboration.

To make that collaboration work, you have to trust:

  • Yourself—Overcome that little voice that niggles at you asking you to reconsider or go back to zero or just doubt. Find that part of you that can evaluate an idea, act or gesture based on maintaining the integrity of your mission and commit to sticking to it.
  • Your Staff—These are the people that make things happen for the organization particularly those in direct contact with buyers, clients, customers however you refer to them. Staff makes the personal connection. You all need to be on the same page.
  • Your organization—It doesn’t matter whether it is for profit or not, small, large or somewhere in between. The organization is the part of the equation that can provide the consistency of integrity and honesty that are the hallmark of Trust and a positive Brand.
  • Your clients/customers—In today’s social media world they have a greater capability (and responsibility) to help others see your brand accurately. Their reviews are important. They can make or break you. Make sure you stay up to date on what they are saying about you.

There is one simple way to assure effective collaboration.

Listen.

Listen to what your brand partners have to say.

Listen.

Pay attention to their questions, concerns and problems. Delve into their secret desires and what they think feel and believe.

Practice active listening.

Play what they say back to them. Make sure you heard what they actually said. Too often we proceed based on our own expectations and assumptions.

Collaborate. Your brand will be better for it.


Jerry Fletcher is a beBee ambassador, founder and Grand Poobah of www.BrandBrainTrust.com

Jerry FletcherHis consulting practice, founded in 1990, is known for Trust-based Brand development, Positioning and business development on and off-line. He is also a sought-after International Speaker.

Consulting: www.JerryFletcher.com
Speaking: www.NetworkingNinja.com

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