Branding is something that I spend a lot of time thinking about. I can recite the RGB code for our primary colors without pause. I can tell you all about how high and low brand voice can be applied to different written applications. I will probably need to take a few deep breaths if I see a logo that has been stretched, discolored, or “enhanced” (e.g. below).
If you’re less of a branding enthusiast than I am (which is probably healthy) then a simple definition is that a brand is the way that a person or firm is perceived by the market. Although most of my time involves how to communicate Citisoft’s brand to the industry, I’ve also thought a lot about how to apply individual brands to the market. Why is this? This quote from brand experts, Landor Associates, explains it well:
“The creation of the brand may begin in the marketing department, but the experience of the brand has to be driven through all parts of the organization. Every interaction, or touchpoint, in a customer’s experience of a brand makes a difference.”
Improving your own brand can help you rally more support on projects, improve results, and make others more likely to want to work with you in the future. Citisoft’s collective brand has been integral to our success—after all, our repeat business is over 80%. We want all our consultants to put their best foot forward on engagements, and we’ve found that these three “personal brand attributes” make a big impact:
Strong communications skills
Consider your audience when writing emails. Do you have time to read text-heavy paragraphs? Chances are, your recipient doesn’t either. Edit and lead your reader to the key points.
Less communication from you, more from them. Practice the art of active listening, then practice some more. When you aren’t thinking about your next point, you will learn more.
Deliver your message the right way. Got bad news to share? It’s important to be upfront, but let your audience know the next steps and how it will be resolved. Keeping things positive and forward-looking in delivery conveys a proactive message.
Initiative
Take ownership. It’s easy to spot a problem. It’s not too hard to recommend a solution. It’s pretty tough to take ownership and actively implement a solution to that problem. Ownership doesn’t have to mean going it alone, but stepping up to the plate when it’s not required speaks volumes about you.
Remember Rowanism. This is a key element of Citisoft’s brand. Read “A Message to Garcia” to learn more about the type of leadership that we espouse at Citisoft.
Clear definition of expertise
Own your known unknowns. If you don’t know something, it reflects far better on you to state the limits of your knowledge than pretend you have expertise that you do not. At Citisoft, we have a wide breadth of domain experts by design, because we know that one person cannot be expected to know it all.
Understand your value. If you want others to see your value, you need to understand what your strengths are, and how to convey them. Pick your top 2-3 marketable skills or areas of expertise and ensure these are highlighted on your resume, bio, or LinkedIn profile. It’s only human to want to categorize, so make sure you proactively put yourself in the category that reflects your value best.
As we often say at Citisoft, people are our greatest asset. While I do spend a lot of time thinking about our logo, brandline, and boilerplate, our brand really comes down to each of our individual contributors. It makes my job a little easier to have a team that understands the importance of how they convey themselves and continues to knock it out of the park (just don’t touch the logo, guys).