The hallmark of a successful business can be a successful entrepreneur. While the personal success you have is down to your leadership skills (in conjunction with business success), you must remember that your personal brand and company brand should reflect each other.
When you are looking at that all-important notion of synergy, have you thought about how you fit into the business brand? It’s important you demonstrate what you have in common with the company. It’s also about making sure that you are selling the business wherever you go. So how do you achieve this?
Showing off your brand
You need to make sure you promote your company brand at every opportunity. Whether that’s by having your branded souvenirs or private plates with a business name on them or having merchandise dotted around the place, you have to make sure you’re able to show off your brand effectively. It might feel like shameless self-promotion, but it’s about figuring out how you fit into it.
You have to remember the importance of making a subtle impression on people. However, showing off your brand too shamelessly can have an adverse effect, especially if you are parading it around the same social or corporate circles time and time again. This is where diversification is crucial. Wherever you go, even if it’s somewhere new, be sure to try and spread the company brand far and wide.
Read also: Essentials of Marketing Collaterals
Finding commonalities
What do you have in common with the business? Once you start to figure out the key attributes that you and the business share, you can start to work towards aligning the two of them. Perception is crucial, especially in the eyes of your customers. And so, if you can show the customer that you “own” a specific quality that relates to the business, this will give off that perfect impression.
As such, when the customer sees you or sees the company they are reminded of the other side of the coin. Once you start to identify the characteristics and which matter most to your customer, you can incorporate these things into your business identity.
Using social media
Yes, as obvious as it sounds, social media is a crucial tool. You may feel that you’ve got to take a step away from social media, especially if you are using automation tools to promote the business. But you’ve got to remember that using social media as an individual means that you can show off your personality too.
You can do the same with your business. You could take over the social media account for your company, or you could use your own account. But whichever option you choose, remember to be on your best behaviour. It’s not a good idea to make a social media faux pas when representing yourself or the company online as some celebrities have done in the past.
Learn to communicate better
We can all benefit from trying to be better at communicating with existing and potential clients. The right communication skills will give you the opportunity to portray yourself as the leader you want to be. When thinking about the kind of leader you want to be, look to the people you admire and how they portray themselves.
Learning to be the person you want to be, ultimately, means you will become a better version of yourself. And this begins with becoming a great communicator – be that through great presentation skills, someone who can write well or who can use spoken words to communicate with people. It also helps in terms of promotional opportunities. The ability to communicate effectively is a fantastic skill. You may already think that you can do it well, but it’s something that everybody can fine-tune.
Just be you
Once you start to develop the skills to become a great leader, you do run the risk of building up a persona that doesn’t accurately reflect who you really are. It’s important to be authentic. And whatever you do, if you are perceived as being ‘fake’ and you are ever called out by this, you’ve got to remember how it will impact your business. Consistency is crucial but being authentic is essential. This is vital when you start to think about your audience. When you become the face of the company, you must remember that you become the embodiment of the company brand. Stepping out from behind the scenes means that you’ve got to represent your business accordingly.
Last line
Becoming one with your business can help you acquire new clients and push your business into new and exciting directions. It helps to give your business that all-important human face. It’s all about marketing, but it’s also about being truthful.
