The threat of potential lay-offs is making many think about ways and means to survive in their respective jobs and remain valuable. By creating a unique identity through self branding an employee can stand out from the rest at the workplace and survive any potential threat. There are often times when an employee may wonder how he stands out in a team and experts say that by simply completing tasks assigned on time or working hard for longer hours may not necessarily be the answer. It takes more than just one’s work and job profile, to be outstanding. This is where the role of crafting your own brand comes into the picture.
Generally, a brand is a “name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of them intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of other sellers. Therefore, it makes sense to understand that branding is not about getting your target market to choose you over the competition, but it is about getting your prospects to see you as the only one that provides a solution to their problem. Please treat your Employers as your customers to whom you sell out your services for a consideration to be paid to you in fixed intervals.
The objectives that a good brand will achieve include:
• Delivers the message clearly.
• Confirms your credibility.
• Connects your target prospects emotionally.
• Motivates the buyer of your services, i.e., your employer.
• Concretes User Loyalty.
To succeed in branding you must understand the needs and wants of your employers and prospects. You do this by integrating your brand strategies through your efforts at every point of public contact. Your brand resides within the hearts and minds of customers, clients, and prospects. It is the sum total of their experiences and perceptions, some of which you can influence, and some that you cannot.
A strong brand is invaluable as the battle for jobs intensifies day by day. It’s important to spend time investing in researching, defining, and building your brand. After all your brand is the source of a promise to your prospects. It’s a foundational piece in your marketing communication and one you do not want to be without. Now that the economic downturn constraining growth for big brands in big markets has worn on for a few years, possibly indicating a longer term change, some new thinking has entered the marketplace. Creative brand marketers are beginning to aggressively embrace what would have been heresy not so long ago: synergistic branding…the intention of borrowing and sharing equity with other brands to reach new markets, connecting emotionally and intellectually with consumers of your services.
In an organization which employs hundreds or thousands of employees, it is very much essential for each and every employee to try to stand out in the crowd. He must understand how he should nurture his skills further, especially for the tough times so that they are able to exceed or remain at least at par with other industries.This is the first step in the process of developing your brand strategy. By defining who your brand is you create the foundation for all other components to build on. Your brand definition will serve as your measuring stick in evaluating any and all marketing materials and strategies. You can begin this process by answering the questions below.
Here’s How:
1. What services do you offer? Define the qualities of these services.
2. What are the core values of your products and services? What are the core values?
3. What is your mission?
4. What do you specialize in?
5. Who is your target? Who do your services attract?
6. What is the tagline? What message does your tagline send to your prospects?
7. Using the information from the previous steps create a personality or character that represents your products or services. What is the character like? What qualities stand out? Is your personality innovative, creative, energetic, or sophisticated?
8. Use the personality that you created in the previous step and build a relationship with your target market that you defined in Step 5. How does that personality react to target audience? What characteristics stand out? Which characteristics and qualities get the attention of your prospects?
9. Review the answers to the questions above and create a profile of your brand. Describe the personality or character with words just as if you were writing a biography or personal ad. Be creative.
10. You need to be a great team mate and a supportive colleague. It is essential to kill the competition from within.
11. You need to be a little more passionate about your job and make others know that you are excellent in your particular task-job.
12. Please finish the tasks assigned to you on time with exceptional quality.
13. You will have to be proactive and discuss your views on improving relations with your seniors.
14. Concentration on bringing about innovations into your project/tasks to make it more efficient would definitely bear fruits.
15. Assess your own brand value by asking yourself, “If I am not around, will I be missed by your team?” If no, you need more efforts to make them feel your absence.
16. Understand your strengths, abilities and use them to your advantages at the workplace.
17. Give up your ego and personal enmities and identify who can harm you. You need to maintain good relations and come closer to find out the weaknesses of your enemies.
18. Participate in cultural activities of the Organization openly. It will boost up your morale and help you in coming into limelight before your seniors.
19. You must question yourself if you are right in your doing, your etiquettes, your clothing, and your presentations. Your self introspection will help you improve to assume that your appearance is equally good and the people may like your association always.
20. Keep constant communication with every one you come into contact and evaluate how much that contact is valuable. Concentrate on the more valuable connections.
The above are some suggestions you can consider to act upon with optimistic approach after due examination in the light of the circumstances prevailing around you, after doing the necessary modifications if you deem proper. Sure, you would be happier again.
Be Happy – Brand Yourself in This Recession.