Is Your Brand a Hot Mess?

Imagine for a moment you’re hiring for a project manager. And you’ve got two imaginary candidates. 

The first candidate, we’ll call her Samantha. She’s poised, articulate, has extensive experience, understands her strengths/weaknesses, and knows the unique value she can bring to your business. 

“Wow,” you think. “Hire her!”

But to be fair to the interview process, you also interview Bob. 

Bob is late, but polite. Unkempt, yet dons unusually nice dress shoes. To your surprise gives a few thoughtful answers. Followed by some impressive belching. 

“Who is this guy?” you ask yourself. “He’s all over the place. He does one thing well, then contradicts himself.”

The differences between the candidates are clear. Samantha is consistent in all she does. Bob is a mess.

It wasn’t long before you developed a perception. And you took into account everything about these candidates - how they spoke, what they wore, their behavior. 

Like our interview candidates, we also develop perceptions of brands.

In fact, at its core, a brand is perception. 

Some companies understand this principle well. Every part of your experience is intentional, clear, engaging, and memorable. 

And yet others: all over the place.

They have a slick logo, but a website that works as well as a MySpace page. One customer service rep is kind, another acts like a Hunger Games contestant. 

How do you know if you have a professional brand?

One essential gauge is consistency.

Here are a few diagnostic questions:

• Are you representing your mission, values, and purpose intentionally across all your channels? 

• Do you have a clear and consistent message?

• Do the visual materials representing your brand align?

If your business were a person, would it be a Samantha or a Bob?