What is “brand alignment”?
No matter if you are an entrepreneur owning your own brand, or an employee working for someone else, brand alignment is the thing that connects you to the company’s products or services. It’s the thing that makes you excited to talk about a solution. It’s the thing that allows you to feel good about what you’re doing every day. It’s the thing that makes marketing and sales as easy as possible ;)
I could stop there and you’d have a solid takeaway…if you don’t feel excited, good, or that it’s easy talking about your products or services, something is missing in your brand alignment.
But, I’m more about helping you move through a place of being stuck, so let’s go a little deeper.
Why employees don’t have brand alignment.
If you are currently an employee, someone at the top of your organization likely decided that YOU are the one that needs to get connected to the brand. Or, that the reason you accepted the offer was because you truly believe in the product. The company makes no ongoing commitment to ensuring that their employees are (or stay) aligned; which is especially important for small companies that pivot often.
But, as an employee, what’s your incentive to align yourself with someone else’s brand if they don’t see that value in that themselves? Pretty little in my opinion. And although corporate culture continues to be a focus on the HR front, the idea of generating and hiring based on brand alignment still sits in the background.
As an employee, each day you commit your time and energy to a brand with which you are not aligned, is one day closer to you leaving. And most employees put their effort into looking for the next opportunity, rather than trying to align themselves with a brand that feels wrong.
If you’re a business, and you are hiring employees you want to stay for the long haul, it’s imperative that you have an ongoing program to train them so they are aligned with your brand.
And it you’re an employee, my best advice is this: check what percentage of your time the work you are doing feels good, exciting or easy. If it’s less than 50% of the time, something is wrong. If you’re really invested in the business, talk to your boss about it. If not, identify the things that do feel good, exciting and easy and find a spot (whether in another organization or on your own) where you can spend more of your time feeling that way.
Why entrepreneurs don’t have brand alignment
For entrepreneurs, you may think it’s easier. After all, it’s your own brand you’re supporting. But so often, entrepreneurs fall into the trap of providing services they don’t want to do just because ONE CLIENT is looking for them. After a while, you’re doing so many one-off projects that you’re exhausted AND no longer aligned with your personal brand.
I’ve seen this happen SO often, it makes me sad. And the reason it happens is because too many entrepreneurs don’t work on creating this alignment first before jumping into the market. And it doesn’t even take very long. It just takes a commitment to owning your brand and knowing that the right clients want to work with you BECAUSE of that brand alignment.
My advice is this: If you’re already on the roller coaster, STOP and get off. And if you’re just starting out, get your brand really clear and DON’T let the wrong clients pull you off course.
If you’re looking for a way to do this, my 8-week A Brand That Speaks Bootcamp is a great place to start. To find out if it’s right for you, Book Your Discovery Call.
