BRAND Your Company or Web Site. POSITION Yourself.

Branding and Positioning

“Branding” and “Positioning are two current “hot topics,” and two important concepts with regards to business success.

“Branding” refers to the distinguishing name and/or symbol associated with a company or product, and a clear recognition of the market that the business/product serves. The most desirable outcome of branding is that people immediately recognize your company name or logo along with what products/services/events your company offers.

“Positioning” refers to the process of attempting to create a positive image or identity about you, your company, and/or your products/services/events in the perceptions of your target market. The most desirable outcome of positioning is that others perceive you as  the top expert / recognized authority in your field, your company as the premiere company in your industry or niche, and your products/services/events as the cream of the crop.

You and Your Company. Which to Brand? Which to Position?

There’s a lot of discussion amongst marketing experts these days about branding and positioning as related to people, specifically.

Many “experts” tout the importance of “branding” one’s self – pointing to examples such as “Charles Schwab,” and noting that “people buy from people; not companies”

I beg to differ.

If you want athletic footwear, you buy a company brand. You don’t visit somebody’s personal Web site to purchase your Nikes or your Adidas or your Reeboks. You visit a company manufacturer or shoe store Web site, or go to a store with a company name on the sign outside.

Sure, you have a salesperson and you pay a real person behind the cash register, but their names don’t matter, any more than you care about who the Founder or President of Nike is.

And when I visit a Charles Schwab brokerage office, I don’t expect to meet with Mr. Schwab, personally. First, he’s dead. Second, he died bankrupt, having lived on borrowed money for the last five years of his life. I’d like to think that one of the “nameless” advisors in the brokerage firm that bears his name today would not send me down the same path as its Founder.

Brand Your Company

There are two significant downsides to branding yourself and your name:

1. When you build a strong business, you become so tied to it that others will not buy it; or its purchase price diminishes significantly in anticipation of what will occur when you are no longer at the head; or a purchaser demands that you, personally, come along with the sale, to ensure continued success (in which case, why bother selling?).

2. When you die, your if your business is dependent on you being alive, your business dies along with you.

Because of these considerations, I believe the best business practice is to name a business in such a way that it is clearly tied to what it does (think “SoCal Small Business Consulting Group”) or so unspecific that it gives great freedom to what directions the company takes (think Nike, Adidas and Reebok – words which have no meaning but are now clearly recognizable brands).

Build your company around systems that function to generate profits regardless of who’s implementing those systems. Then you can lead or participate in such a way that your presence makes a positive difference – especially at first – but is NOT critical to its success.

Don’t tie yourself so closely to your company that it cannot function, that it decreases in value, or even that it becomes worthless if you are not there. Allow it to grow in such a way that it can be sold (if ever you choose) and so that it – and your legacy – will live on long after you, continuing to do great service and generate profits for whatever (or whomever) you wish to follow you.

Position Yourself

A quality company can be built around you, even if you are “invisible” to the general public.

But there IS worth in establishing a “public face” to a business, and that face CAN be yours if you choose.

If you wish, position yourself as someone that people – prospects and customers – can come to know, like – and then even love – and trust. Position yourself as an expert – highly competent to serve the needs and desires of your market. Position yourself as a genuine person, who authentically cares about what your business offers and stands for, and the people who benefit by it.

Let people know that you are connected to your company in such a way that they can be sure that your company reflects your expertise, experience, wisdom and caring, but also that they can expect and trust that they’ll receive the same quality and service regardless of whether they get it from you or someone else in your company.

An Example of Branding and Positioning

Merle Singer is now in the 43rd year of her marriage to the same man, and their relationship continues to improve every day. Her experience alone makes her an expert about how to create and manage a high-quality, long-term, loving relationship. As a trained educator, Merle is also uniquely qualified to translate her own experience into systems that others can easily implement to improve their relationships, too.

Merle is building a business around her desire to serve women who are in committed relationships by helping them turn their relationship experiences around, or make them better.

Merle is building a BRAND around the public showcase of her company: ImperfectSpouse.com That Web site is being created as the central portal to all of the products, services, trainings, certifications, workshops, and other events that will eventually be part of the Imperfect Spouse (TM) brand. And although Merle is planning on being part of that company for quite a while, all of the company is being created in such a way that in the event that she desires to sell it, or to tune down her personal involvement, or even if she dies, that women will continue to be able to benefit by her wisdom, and the company will live on and continue to profit,  well into the future.

In addition, Merle is POSITIONING herself as “The Relationship Miracle Worker to Celebrities.” This is truly in harmony with her expertise and her primary audience of personal coaching clients, and as such, her involvement with ImperfectSpouse.com makes her a valuable asset to the company. But it does not make her necessary to the company, which can – and will – function without her. And it doesn’t make the company necessary to her, since she can act in her capacity as “The Relationship Miracle Worker to Celebrities” whether or not she’s part of ImperfectSpouse.com, or even if that company ceases to exist.

Are There Exceptions?

When long ago I began pondering this issue of what to brand and what to position, I thought that there might be an exception to this – one or more groups of individuals who should both brand AND position THEMSELVES, both.

Originally, I imagined that such exceptions would be authors, writers, speakers, musicians, models, actors, and other performers, whose names appear to be their “brand.”

But I held this opinion only as long as it took for me to realize that many actors use “stage names,” many authors and writers use “pen names,” many musicians – especially rock musicians – use “stage names,” and many models also make up names for themselves.

So while I agree that the name “John Denver” IS a business asset and a GREAT brand because of the image it conjures up in the minds of those who know his music, it’s also a great reminder that it wasn’t necessary for John to “brand” himself by his birth name – Henry John Deutschendorf. But it WAS necessary for him to position himself as the voice of a generation of people who cared about the world around them and wanted to hear their message expressed in poetry and song – and John and his management and advisory teams did a phenomenal job of positioning him and his music in this way.

And in addition to his music, John Denver’s legacy lives on through The Windstar Foundation – a non-profit organization that promotes a holistic approach to addressing environmental concerns – which he co-founded with Tom Crum, Founder of Aiki Works, Inc. John was the public “face” of that organization, which was set up in a way that did not make it’s success so tied to John’s name or participation that it could not continue without him, or beyond his death.

Although a topic for another article, I strongly believe that each individual artist, actor, writer, model or anyone else whose career appears to be tied to his or her own person would benefit by considering setting up a company (e.g. corporation, llc, trust, etc., but not a “d.b.a.,” according to his or her needs and legal advice) into which his or her intangible assets (copyrights, trade marks, service marks, etc.) are placed, so that that “behind the scenes” company can manage those assets while that person is living, and continue to manage and profit from them after his/her death.

Brand Your Company. Position Yourself.

Business success depends, in great part, about what strategies you employ.

While it’s possible to “brand” yourself, and while it can be argued that there may be benefits (especially short-term benefits) to doing so, I believe that there is great benefit to considering branding your company instead – while, of course, positioning it as the leading company in your industry, niche, or geographic area – and focusing on positioning yourself as a qualified leader and/or a recognized authority.

By doing so, as long as you properly set up systems that function independent of who’s implementing them, you ensure that your company can always function and exist without you, and that you can use your expertise to your and other’s benefit independent of your company, or what happens to it.

What’s Your Opinion?

What do you think? Do you believe that it’s important to brand one’s self?

Do you have a story of business success or obstacles associated with self-branding?

Do you have any advice about branding and positioning that can help other entrepreneurs and small business owner or manager.

I’d like to know your thoughts on this subject. Please leave a comment here.

Jay Aaron
Strategic Visionary / Visionary Strategist
Follow me on Twitter: http://Twitter.com/newthoughts

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