You Are the Brand: Building Success Through Your People

You are the brand.

People are the tangible, experienced expression of every brand.

The first time I ever heard anyone talk about the importance of branding, I was sitting in a room with a group of other twenty-something year olds in training for my first job out of college. Our boss was clicking through a compelling keynote presentation about the importance of upholding the company’s brand. His goal was to give us as much insight on the company as possible before sending us out into the world to interact with clients face-to-face. He could have said a lot of things but the only point he repeated over and over again was that we were the brand.
You— the ironed corners of your shirt collars, the style you decide to wear your hair that day, and even the vocabulary you use are all tangible, experienced expression of the brand. That whatever you do is the image of the brand and to always keep that in mind while communicating with clients.

It’s a powerful, necessary part of the branding process: understanding that what you clients actually experience will determine how they think of you, no matter what you mission statement says, you are the bridge between the brand and client. You could have the sunniest visual identity and the happiest tagline, but if your brand’s identity does not translate into the smiling faces of your employees, what is the point? I have heard once before and this stands true Demonstrate, don’t just declare. If your brand mark bespeaks intelligence and professionalism so much the person who answers the phone or who stands behind the cash registers interacting one-on-one with the customer.

Approaching the process of laying the foundation for passionate, innovative brands from a holistic point of view helps create a plan for implementing the brand. Starting from selecting a name to developing a visual identity system helps clients develop their big ideas and brand attributes that are meant to guide every part of their companies process. After all of this happens it is important to remember that these are just tools that a client will need as they journey into the working world.

Even companies who are not customer service focused will always have interaction with entities outside of their organization. There will be a point, no matter what, that someone who does not work for you will talk to someone who does. When that happens, what will their experience be? What will they tell their friends and family about the type of employees that your company hires? It is important to remember that you, and every person you hire, are the brand.