The efforts to build a solid reputation in your business community requires you and your whole team understand messaging. If you do not know what you want to say to others about who you are, you will never be able to communicate your purpose consistently.
Your words and actions must be aligned and clearly visible to the outside world. If you are not paying attention to your image and how you position yourself, be warned that your brand will suffer. Many people make the mistake of just being head down and producing good work, but this alone does not let your audience really hear the message.
Sometimes people are surprised when they hear that they have a less than stellar reputation. However, they have never invested any time or effort to establish the reputation they desire. If you do not actively take control of what is being said about you and your company, like the childhood game of "Telephone", all can get distorted.
Take charge your brand and construct a network of cherished professionals with whom you can mutually assist each other in getting your name into the community. In the end, we all need others who will be our evangelists, or all the independent efforts are just wasted. No PR firm can spread the word about you, your company or your services if real people are not on board. Word of mouth marketing is the most powerful tool that you can harness. However, it has to be real, as you can fake "BUZZ".
If you are not thinking about how to build your "buzz", remember that you competition is out there looking for how to buy the brain cells of the decision makers in the marketplace. That means occupying the "top of mind" position in your industry. He who owns the most brain cells wins. Never forget that plain but powerful point.
Have A Great Day.
thom
This is a very thought-provoking post. WOM is very powerful, yet getting to that top-of-mind spot can be tricky.
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