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Brands Make Promises, So Should You

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Marketing is a Promise

 

I’m in the beginning phase of writing a book about marketing and, more specifically, recruitment marketing. 

In the beginning, I’m providing background and building a foundation based on what marketing is (and what it isn’t). 

This morning I wrote (in my book) about the promises that marketing makes, and it made me think about how we extend that to our careers.

Every day, every bit of communication we have with people – email, phone calls, Zoom meetings, conversations at a conference – is part of building others’ perception of who you are and what you’re capable of.

If you want to talk in terms of a brand or reputation, how you’re perceived during this communication, combined with the results you’re able to produce, form your brand or, more traditionally, your reputation.

A reputation can be the most valuable thing you have.

I recently had a conversation with someone who has been a part of the Spokane business community for a long time. He told me about the time he took a job working for a company that would have required him to sell something to other businesses in the community in which he felt wasn’t in their best interest.

Because this could have potentially damaged his reputation, he chose to quit the job and find something else.

He said he’d figure the money part of it out, but it wasn’t worth damaging his reputation.

Every day we make decisions. We make decisions about how we answer an email. How we answer someone’s question. How we communicate an assertion or opinion.

Each time we do this, the person we’re communicating it to is adding this interaction to their always-building perception of you.

Just as every communication an employee of a company has is a representation of that company’s brand, the same is true for you, as a professional (and a person).

Brands have guidelines around their messaging and tone, but employees are rarely held to these standards, which can be damaging to the brand. Similarly, each of us rarely views the things we say or write in the same way.

When you speak to someone you’ve just met, does your tone and the way you deliver your message change compared to the way you would communicate something similar to someone you already know.

What promise are you making? What expectations are you setting about yourself and your work?


Photo by Valentin Antonucci on Unsplash