Are YOU as Glossy as Your Marketing Materials?

You influence the public perception of your brand every moment, of every day, in so many ways it is impossible to count. If you are in business for yourself, who YOU are is tied to your brand as much as your glossy marketing materials.

Are YOU as glossy as your marketing materials?

When it comes to brand awareness for my company, Special Request Weddings, each and every little thing I do makes an impression on my company. Every time I come into contact with another human being, I add to my company’s brand. But the important thought to consider is, am I adding positive or negative influences to the public perception of my brand?

I am adding to my brand all of the time and everywhere I go, regardless of:

  • the time and day (morning, weekend, night, etc.)
  • the location (at the shopping mall, on Facebook, stepping outside to pick up the mail, going to the bank, etc.)
  • the people I interact with (friends, the person at the fast food drive through, the plumber at my house, etc.)

My brand, because I work for myself, is ME.

As trivial as this might sound, I AM my brand.

I might polish my brand with a nice website, or promote it with colourful and happy brochures, or use sleek looking business cards for sharing at networking events. But if my marketing materials outshine who I am, success might only survive short term, if it materializes at all.

The sloppy looking fool buying cucumbers and tomatoes at the grocery store…yep, that’s adding to my brand.

The overly anxious person in too much of a hurry at the drive through window who lets his impatience get the best of him while paying for his burger…yep, that’s adding to my brand.

The insensitive customer trying to haggle a better deal on the new sofa that his wife wants…yep, that’s adding to my brand.

You influence the public perception of your brand every day.

With the public.
With every inquiry.
With your customers.
With your customer’s Mom.
With your industry colleagues.
With the person filling your car with gas.
With that friend-of-a-friend who read your comment on Facebook.

With that said, are YOU as glossy as your marketing materials?

* This is a newly edited, rewrite, of a post I originally published here on this blog and in the CPDJA online Facebook group on September 9, 2013.

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8 thoughts on “Are YOU as Glossy as Your Marketing Materials?”

  1. Positive energy from one person can be highly contagious in almost any situation and can definitely help your brand long term. Just as negative energy can work the opposite. Thanks for reminding us and making me aware. I better watch my mouth! :)~ Doing my first Bridal Show ever this month…any good reads you recommend? Exposing my brand is definitely top priority and truly caring for the client’s needs.

    1. This is the essential read: The Go-Giver. I really need to write on this blog about that book soon. It’s an incredible book. I’ve read it (or had it read to me via the audio book) at least 4 or 5 times in the past year. It is incredible.

      1. I took your advise and bought the audiobook the Go-Giver and have now heard it a couple of times in the car on my way to work. The Law of Receptivity, the key to effective giving is to stay open to receiving. Wow! Makes a lot of sense. And the Law of Influence with networking is what really helps success. Not a win-win mentality. Thanks for the recommendation. I’m applying this to my DJ business, as well as, my personal life! Happy belated birthday by the way.

  2. This falls in line with what you and I were discussing the other day. When you make the plunge and set yourself up as your own brand, the lines between public and private self become very blurry or non-existent. The trick is to still allow yourself to be genuine, while being glossy. Challenge accepted!

  3. Great thoughts again Dave. I like seeing your writing refined from the original post. Keep writing, you are only getting better at it! You have such a professional attitude and I can only hope thay you bootstrap so many professionals in the DJ and event industry that don’t act that way consistently and are ultimately undermining themselves.

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