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Ben Smithee of Spych Marketing Analytics
(Today’s Guest Blogger is Ben Smithee of Spych Market Analytics in Dallas.)
“How can others trust you to market them, if you can’t even market yourself?”
I often get requests from others to help them find new clients or a new job, and one of the first things I do is go see how they are presenting THEMSELVES in the market – what is their Personal Brand.
I believe the way you present yourself, reflects how you will present a company or brand. This affects my thoughts about hiring, or even referring you to someone who may hire you. Before you represent a brand, a company, or even me, you need to show me you can do a great job of representing yourself.
Are you effectively marketing your personal brand the way you want to be perceived? If you won’t give your best effort to market yourself, how much passion and excellence will you give others?
As Marketing Leaders, our skills should not be restricted to the strategic war room. We need to be using them each day by the way we dress, the way we speak to strangers, and yes, even the way we post online. Does YOUR personal brand attract the kinds of people and companies you want to connect to, or work with? When others meet you, what is their perception of you? Can they envision you working for their company, or partnering with you on a project? Are you someone other leaders want to be around in close quarters with each day during a six-month project? What about each day for the rest of their career?
Live it out Loud
At SPYCH, our team works hard to build a culture of continuity; where our people and our work continually reflect the SPYCH Brand. This brand provides the vision for our people to follow, and our people live out the dream and motivations that were the impetus for the creation of SPYCH. See where this is going? As much as we often try to separate ourselves from our work and in an effort to establish the elusive work/life balance, this is really impossible. Who you are in person and online, is who you are at work. All of us like to work with people we enjoy being around, and your personal brand should present a vision of what it would be like to share life around you – both on and offline.
I strongly encourage companies to keep this in mind when they hire or partner with other people. Ask yourself if this person or company will represent the image you want to portray? Do they “get it” when it comes to their own work and their own brand? If not, do you really think they can “fake it” good enough when they work for you?
I think Robert Hunt of Hunt Consulting DFW has done a great job of consistently presenting his personal brand to the DFW business community. What you see, is what you get, and Robert is the “real deal.” I have spent the last three years working, volunteering (@DFWAMA), and playing along side Robert, and I can attest that he IS the kind of marketing professional I would want to work with and trust for my marketing program. He has defined his brand and lives it out every time I see him in person and online.
Get outside of yourself
If you want to create innovative work and have an innovative lifestyle, get out and see what the other side of life is doing. I learn so much from observing actual behaviors, similar to how we conduct “Ethnographies” as part of the research we do at Spych. If you want to reach the younger markets and understand them better, stop complaining about their infatuations with technology and sit down and play a video game with them. Ask them to show you how they engage with their friends online and download the latest apps and games. Open your mind to what others are doing and see how that can affect the way you live and represent yourself.
Be Positive – Stop Whining
I acknowledge that the economy is not the best, and now that the “scary” Sequester kicked in over the weekend, things are not going to improve any quicker. I also know that life is what you make of it, and I’m sure that somewhere down the line someone has been dealt a worse hand than you have, so don’t lock up in fear, get out and do something about it.
Stop whining – both in person and online! It’s not the image you need to portray. How would you feel if a company’s marketing strategy was to go on Facebook and complain about how bad the economy is, and that nobody is buying their products? You would tell them to grow up, put on their big boy pants, and create a better product, give better service and care about their customers. Am I right?
As marketers, when times are tough, we need to put on our big boy pants, make OURSELVES a better product that is attractive to clients, be nicer to the ones we have, provide better service than we already do, and share the positive side of life. I’m not telling you to fake it or phone it in. I am just saying that sometimes life needs a bit of “marketing,” so BE the person we turn to for a brighter side, not the person we contemplate un-subscribing from.
Take a cue from Hunt Consulting DFW and my team at Spych, and make sure you start your marketing efforts with YOU. Read more examples of this on our websites, blogs and other social media pages listed below. Join Robert and I, and let’s make sure we are putting our best foot forward, every step of the journey.
By Ben Smithee, CEO of Spych Market Analytics
MORE INFORMATION
More information on the Sequester
About the Author:
Ben Smithee is the CEO of SPYCH. His strong passion for innovation and creativity, and awareness of the evolving world of marketing research and communications, led to his vision for the foundation of SPYCH. Upon co-founding SPYCH in 2009, Ben has led the SPYCH team in consulting the upper echelon of brands in preparing for “Future-Market Readiness” by understanding the future consumers (Gen Y/Millennials), the future of tech., and the future consumer environments on and off line.
Contact Ben Smithee and Spych Market Analytics at
ben@spychresearch.com or (214) 501-2341
Website: http://www.spychresearch.com
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/spych-market-analytics
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/spych
Can’t agree more with your statement…”BE the person we turn to for a brighter side, not the person we contemplate un-subscribing from”
Very inspiring words, Ben. I really like the point you made about not whining and just doing something about it! Too many people nowadays complain about the economy and the marketing career statistics to realize that if they spent the same amount of time differentiating and branding themselves instead, they wouldn’t have to worry about the statistics.
I like your optimistic yet realistic approach to things. Great stuff Robert and Ben.. Keep it up!
Thank you for your kind words
Well said, Robert and Ben. We serve our clients and ourselves best when we maintain focus and a positive attitude. Be transparent and authentic in the way you interact with the market place and represent your clients in the same manner. People will naturally gravitate toward doing business with the people and companies that exhibit high levels of customer service, are personable and transparent about their brands and deliver consistent value. Carpe diem!
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