Lucid Cause's mission is to create clear and concise stories that captivate and connect businesses to their customers through videos, photos, words, stories, and design. It is our goal to create the most stunning visuals to help products, services, and people stand out. We are a marketing company - that's what we do. But the beautiful thing is everyone is a marketer.
Your parents, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, friends, and everyone else, including you, are all marketers. Because no matter what the profession, everyone needs to showcase their personality, talents, and skill set. Each person has his or her own unique "style", or what I like to call, brand.
The best definition of a brand was taught to me by my professor, mentor, and friend Tom Miller. It was a little over three years ago, during my very first class at Western Colorado University that the six words he used to explain a brand were presented to me, and they are forever imprinted in my memory. The definition is simple: a promise of a future experience.
The world's best companies know and live by those words. Walmart promises to provide everything you need to live (plus some), all for the lowest price possible. Chipotle promises to give you a flavorful burrito with the freshest meat and vegetables produced. Apple promises to make the sleekest and most user-friendly technology devices on the planet. And the list goes on and on. The bottom line is, anytime you purchase - or even think about a product/service from these companies - you have a consistent experience each time.
Sure, sometimes businesses fail to honor their commitment to the customer. But when the misstep is realized, they take action to correct the miscue - often committing substantial funds to get back on track. The reason being, they know just how powerful the public's perception is. A current example of this can be seen in Dominos Pizza’s delivery “insurance” program. You may have seen the commercials where any mistake in the preparation, assembly or quality of the order is immediately remedied whenever a customer makes a claim.
How does this relate to you? Well, every day you step out of bed, you have the opportunity to fulfill promises - to your job, coworkers, friends, family, and most importantly to yourself. What is ultimately portrayed to the world becomes your brand. What do you stand for? How do you treat others? What kind of service do you provide? These are all encompassed in the package that makes up who you are. Others come to know and expect your brand anytime they think of or interact with you.
Everyone is continuously marketing who they are. Whether we like it or not, we are always being judged, while also simultaneously judging others. There are many times when judging is pestilential and demeaning. For example, people often make false assumptions or immediately dismiss a person simply because of poor perceptions. However, merely the awareness that decisions are being made about us, helps keep us on our best behavior. At the end of the day, even the most callous individuals actually care about how they are perceived. People want to be liked.
How we choose to present our lives (our stories) is essentially our marketing campaign, greatly influencing how others picture us. Some people, however, are not that good at expressing themselves and therefore their brand. The good news is, your marketing plan can be rewritten at any time. A new "campaign" doesn't have to - and shouldn't - be disingenuous. There is no need to misrepresent who we are. On the contrary, we should always present ourselves honestly while continuously striving to evaluate those aspects of our brand that may need improving.
If your personal brand is lacking, it may simply be an indication of not realizing your full potential. That's the deception! Don't get me wrong, it will take a lot of hard work and dedication to reframe your new story. Much like the money and effort expended by an organization to correct a mistake, the resulting benefits are almost always worth the doing.
Now that you understand why everyone is a marketer, it's time to figure out what your brand will be. Give it lots of thought. Don't short sell yourself. You are much more capable than you think. Once you've figured out your brand, own it, and showcase it to those in your sphere of influence. As cliche as it sounds, there is no one else just like you. There are hundreds of people out there waiting for your story to captivate them.
Happy marketing!
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