For companies smart enough\u2014and lucky enough\u2014to sustain a strong brand, that brand is a gold mine. For a great brand, customers will drive the extra mile, pay the extra dollar, and refuse to consider lower-priced \u201cme too\u201d offers from competitors.<\/p>\n
But what is it that commands this kind of loyalty? The answer is simple: Customers are loyal to great brands because those brands deliver great experiences. As it gets harder and harder for companies to stand out through unique product features or technology, strong brands consistently provide distinctive, high-quality customer interactions that low-cost competitors cannot easily duplicate.<\/p>\n
How do they do it? By engaging employees in a continuous strategy to maintain high standards across every area of the enterprise\u2014sales, customer service, marketing, and operations\u2014right down to the fork lift drivers in the warehouse. Those employees are the ones who shape perceptions, by creating the experiences customers value enough to return to the brand time after time.<\/p>\n
As a professional, you are also in a \u201ccompetitive market,\u201d competing with others who may have qualifications similar to yours\u2014all vying for the recognition and rewards that come with outstanding performance. If you interact with your company\u2019s customers, you are also part of the team that is competing to deliver customer experiences that can strengthen\u2014or weaken\u2014 your company\u2019s brand and your own.<\/p>\n
Though you may not have thought of yourself as having a \u201cbrand,\u201d the fact is that people have perceptions of you based on their experiences with you over time. As your customers, co-workers, and managers interact with you, they form impressions that together make up your personal and professional brand. By our actions, we are \u201cbranded\u201d; we can\u2019t really avoid it. And opportunities for career growth and recognition come to those with strong brands\u2014the ones who have credibility, who are trusted, and who are seen as the \u201cgo-to\u201d people.<\/p>\n
So what\u2019s your brand today? A brand is formed on the basis of impressions over time shaped by observations of what you do (your role) and, even more importantly, by how you do it (your standards). Because standards are so visible to others through actions and behaviors, they represent the best opportunity to consciously shape perceptions and strengthen your professional brand.<\/p>\n
STANDARDS. . .THE HOW OF THE WHAT<\/strong> There might be a member of your work team who insists on getting to the root of a problem and is never satisfied with an easy fix or the \u201cgood enough\u201d answer.<\/p>\n Terms such as \u201caccurate,\u201d \u201cresponsive,\u201d \u201cfocused on the customer,\u201d \u201cprompt,\u201d and \u201creliable\u201d describe the standards that play a critical role in defining the quality of experiences people expect from their interactions with others. Standards represent the means of making a unique impression that is exclusive to you. They are an important key to the \u201ccompetitive advantage\u201d of your brand.<\/p>\n To examine your current brand and look for opportunities to strengthen it, take a closer look at your standards.<\/p>\n SOLIDIFYING YOUR STANDARDS<\/strong> Even though you can\u2019t control what others think, you can guide people to perceive you as you want to be seen, based on your day-to-day actions and willingness to continually \u201craise the bar\u201d on how you do what you do\u2014your standards.<\/p>\n Having high standards is not about trying to please everyone. It is, however, about being aware that the strength of your brand in both your professional and personal relationships will be determined by the impressions you make every day on the people who matter and are important to you.<\/p>\n To the extent that your brand stands out because of your high standards, you will find increasing opportunities to grow your career, while helping your company grow its business.<\/p>\n
\nTo better understand standards, think about the people you know in your work environment, and even whole teams of people. What are they known for? Perhaps you can think of an individual who has a reputation for delivering work that is always accurate and on time. Maybe you know someone who consistently offers unusually creative answers to problems, while someone else has a reputation for being exceptionally customer focused and persistent in meeting customer needs.<\/p>\n
\nDiscovering the standards you are known for\u2014 and those you want to be known for\u2014involves holding up a useful, but not always flattering, mirror. The process is to see yourself as others see you, and to ask yourself some critical questions about your current and ideal standards:<\/p>\n\n