There is no stronger form of loyalty than brand loyalty! I am marveled by the adamant way consumers stay true to their favorite brands... From coffees and mascaras to devices and automobiles, customers are willing to pay higher prices for the products and services that come stamped with their favorite logo. In most cases, such loyalty is recession proof, and capturing it is the aim of all competitive organizations.
It is my personal observation that the majority of people remain truer to their favorite brands than almost anything else. That's right. Ten years from now, you are more likely to still be drinking Starbucks than working for the same company or being married to the same spouse. I mention Starbucks here, because I was recently surprised by survey results that revealed how the Seattle-based coffee giant was able to stave off fierce competition in a market that grew 15% from 2007 to 2011. Intense brand loyalty allowed Starbucks to raise its prices and still outperform McDonald's, Dunkin' Donuts, Krispy Kreme and the many other smaller chains and independent outfits that compete in the space.
This begs the question ... Are we as ethical individuals as loyal and as true to ourselves, as the coffee drinker is to Starbucks?
I define personal brand and the importance of it in Welcome to the Big Leagues. Our personal brands are synonymous with our reputations. This used to be the image and impression of what people thought about you when they heard your name, however, now it also includes everything the internet has to say about you.
A strong personal brand allows you to put your stamp on things. It creates credibility, confidence and enables you to take control of your life. Knowing who you are and what you have to offer ultimately gets you to where you want to go.
Before creating your personal brand, you should identify your core values. This will help you to stay true to your brand; which to me is the most important part of the personal brand, the loyalty to it. I previously posted a blog that included an exercise on how to identify your core values.
Establishing a set of core values produces the cognitive awareness that's necessary to position yourself in a meaningful way. Maintaining a personal brand that's not based on core values is likely to generate a cognitive dissonance in your character. Meaning that you could possess two or more conflicting beliefs.
For the sake of humanity, I hope that your core values are pure and that they reflect the very best in you; which is what your personal brand must also do. Living a noble brand with passion and conviction each day leads to long-term happiness and fulfillment. Possessing the ability to believe in who you are and stand behind what you do promotes a thriving mental wellbeing.
Now is as good of a time as any to mention Donald Sterling. Until this recent media exploit, I never knew much about him. If I were to guess his core values, the words racist, unethical and cheat would quickly come to mind. From what I am seeing, he hasn't tried to position himself as being anything different, and yet the media continues to be surprised by the callousness of his ongoing statements. In my mind, he's living true to his personal brand (as heinous as his may be). If not, there's an enormous case of cognitive dissonance. The fact that he is a billionaire enables him to get away with it.
The Donald Sterling incident doesn't surprise me. The world has evil people who are out only for their own and do not care about what others think. What upsets me more than Sterling is the much, much larger population who brand themselves as good only to be no different than Sterling at the core. Money, greed and corruption are typically at the root of this hypocrisy.
Again, personal brands must be righteous in nature where being untrue to it comes at a price. It's very easy to see how this price weighs differently on each of us.
So when you're passing by the next Starbucks, and you see the long line of devoted customers, please be reminded to ask yourself are you living as loyal to your personal brand?
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