Is your personal brand out or in? Sounds a lot like a political debate and maybe in some ways it is. Are you standing out from the crowd or are you standing out in the crowd? Tomatoes (UK)/Tomatoes (USA) what’s the difference? (That analogy sounds better when you hear it, but you get the gist) In my thinking A LOT!
It is more than semantics. I have a theory; I don’t think that it’s possible to stand out from the crowd. The landscape is littered with other people doing business, just like you and some even doing the same business (on the surface) as you. Trying to find enough space to rest your foot comfortably away from the throng is difficult at best and in lots of instances downright impossible!
Your task then is to find a way, your way to stand out in the crowd
Have you ever been to the airport (or heard of someone who has) and seen someone you know who is travelling at the same time as you? How is it possible to notice one person in a sea of 1000s and 1000s of people moving through the airport? They are not wearing or carrying a neon sign and they are not doing anything particular to differentiate themselves from their fellow travellers. What is it then that commands your intention? What is that thing that gets you to notice them?
Have you seen those movies where the main character is in colour and the people in the background are in black and white? I think that’s exactly what happens here and I believe that this is simply because you have a connection with that person. There is an invisible bond between you. They are significant to you, and that is exactly who and how you need to be for your customers/target audience.
Your customers are faced with a sea of businesses, products and services that on the surface seem the same to them. How do they choose? How do they know that you are the best fit? How do you stand out in the sea of sameness for the people you are here to serve?
The two things you need in your toolkit are:
Your differentiator, your personal brand DNA – the rhythm that others want to dance along to
You’ve already got it so there is no need to go on a hunt for it. Your job is simply to
Ask yourself the following questions:
- What makes you different?
- What sets you apart from others?
- Why should your customers do business with you?
An active relationship with your customer
Your customers need to be able to pick you out in the crowd and you need to know their likes and dislikes, the stuff keeping them up at night, their problems or concerns. In fact you need to know them better than they know themselves.
Ask yourself the following questions:
- Who are your customers?
- What are their problems/needs or concerns?
- How are you the solution to those problems/needs or concerns?
So are you out or are you in?