I heard a quote a few months ago that really stuck with me, “The sum of a man’s habits equal his character.” I think that just about everyone I know would rather some of their habits not contribute to their character as much as others. Bad habits might be hard to break when it comes to your own character, but certainly being cognizant of them will help to offset their overall contribution. If you were to evaluate a brand in the light of character, some bad habits are perhaps a bit more easy to remedy. A few habits to keep in mind that could impact the character of your brand, include:
- Self Absorption – Think about the last time you got trapped by a conversation dominator at a cocktail party. More than a few brands today still insist on being the dominators in the conversations with their consumers. However, the willingness of a brand to consistently listen has the potential to build greater equity with its consumers in the near term. The social Web provides an outstanding platform from which to listen. There are several well-known online services that allow you to tap into conversations. These results tend to be overwhelming to say the least. I find you are best served if you have a skilled social marketing professional interpret the data in order to get to the key findings and implications of what is occurring.
- Not Seeing the Forest For The Trees - It’s easy to get excited about new advertising creative. A new ad, a product launch or a promotion, these are all integral parts of building a brand. It’s important to keep the end goal in mind – sustained engagement. It’s more than an ad placed or a release put over the wire. It’s about staying committed to the big picture.
- Close-Mindedness – How many times have you heard “this is how we do it” or “this is how it has always been done?” Maintaining an open mind and willingness to try something new and engage in new ways, not only reaffirms the vigor of a brand, but also assures that the brand stays relevant to the times. Ideas come from many different places. Certainly the Web gives us access to an abundance of possible resources. Some resources that I draw inspiration from are Contagious, Springwise and Trendsetters.com.
Hopefully this perspective will help you approach your marketing challenges and opportunities. In the meantime here is a tool to keep yourself in check in your own life.
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Tags: brand management, branding, business strategy, Marketing, public identity, social marketing