The Steps Involved in Building a Professional or Corporate Brand

When you think of the words, Sony, Toshiba, Toyota, IBM, Mercedes, what words come to your mind? Words such as quality, reliability or luxury may resonate along with other thoughts and ideas. Brands conjure up thoughts or ideas in the minds of consumers, whether we are familiar with the brand directly or allow the media to influence us. But although you may pay attention to how a product is positioned in the market, you are a brand as an individual. Therefore, you are responsible to build your own reputation or “package" and this takes effort but is worth it. People will have an opinion about you, but you can work to influence that opinion. Although you cannot please everyone and may not be directly responsible for the opinions someone may have, there are basic steps to follow to improve or strengthen your reputation and positively build your brand.

Why is brand building so important? In my research networking with scores of senior executives and FinTech founders, many have successfully expanded their companies through building a positive brand or reputation. Surprisingly, many founders and CEOs are unable to build their professional brand on their own. Unfortunately, situations change in business and staff once responsible for building the brand of company may be redeployed. Therefore, consider this information the introductory steps to building a strong professional reputation.

?“If you want to build a personal brand, make sure you spend time building an audience.” Mario Peshev

?Be Reliable and Dependable We may think these are qualities that should be associated with anyone wanting to build their brand or get more business. Are you known to be reliable and dependable? If you tell someone that you are going to perform a specific task at a certain time it should be accomplished on time as promised. Of course, sometimes there are some obstacles that can be faced that can prohibit the tasks from being fulfilled. However, this information should be communicated in advance and will create trust.

?If you are in a business and must work with partners or colleagues, when they tell you that the project will be delivered at a certain time and it is delayed, without communicating with you directly in advance, what are your thoughts about that individual and the company? What happens to the trust? The reputation now weakens, and the trust begins to erode. This is the natural tendency when dealing with others.

?For example, I participated in project where the vendor never showed up and other occasions arrived late and never communicated the cause of the delay. This resulted in canceling the project, but the expenses were paid. This was not a good experience for all involved. The reputation of the model deteriorated from positive to weak as a result of these actions.

?Present a Professional Profile Although this can easily be taken for granted, a professional profile is important, especially if the goal is to produce revenue. Many companies are accustomed to presenting information about their product, whether it is to build partnerships, raise capital or increase sales. When it comes to business building, a professional profile is necessary. Take responsibility to raise the bar and get noticed. It does not mean expensive items to purchase or take weeks or months to deliver. Be reasonable and practical.

?LinkedIn is excellent tool to leverage to build your professional brand. Producing content, whether via blogging or posting video content goes a long way to establishing a presence. However, when speaking to FinTech founders/CEO a large number are hesitant or even reluctant to brand building.

?A blog post or video clip can be seen by thousands of people in a short period of time. It all starts with building a social media strategy.

?“If you don’t give the market the story to talk about,?they’ll define your brand’s story for you.: David Brier

?Are You “Open” For Business”? How many times have you gone to a store after hours only to see the “Closed” sign in the window? Could you be guilty of wearing the invisible “Closed” sign even if you think you are open for business? Think about the following questions:

Do I return emails and telephone calls on timely basis?

Is my social media contact old and outdated?

Do I present an updated resume that is accurate and neat?

Do I demonstrate by actions that I am not serious about building my brand?

Do I take constructive feedback without getting sensitive?

Perhaps speak to a friend or confidant to ask if your “Open for Business” banner is clear or is it confusing or oblivious.

?Investigate, Collaborate, Partnership

These three words are very important in building your personal or company ?brand. This means you have to be inquisitive in making sure you align with people who will give you the feedback, you can make the necessary changes. When you ask for feedback, even if you do not agree, weigh it and make sure it is heard. You just never know when it can be used in the future. To build the right partnership that becomes a win-win takes time, ingenuity and persistence, but well worth the effort.

?These items identified are not complete but represent the icing on the cake. This is just the beginning, but if applied, can make a difference in leveraging your professional or company reputation to create additional opportunities and revenue.

?The Walker Group is a FinTech boutique consulting firm focused at the intersection of FinTech, banking and technology. Our varied market segments enables us to identify synergies and opportunities to stimulate growth as we partner with our clients to build their business. Through our one-on-one CEO Advisory Services, we have helped companies to navigate through their key business problems, increase sales, build new revenue streams, market their product and gain new customers. For more information contact me at [email protected]