Building a “Personality” for Your Buѕinеѕѕ or Professional Identity

We all dream of having a successful and enjoyable business, fully booked with a steady stream of happy clients. I’m sure you’ve heard plenty of advice on how to market your business, but something is always missing in most marketing messages, and that is the concept of “personality” in a business or professional identity. The personality of a business or professional is whatever comes to mind when clients think of them. Some people call it “brand,” “reputation,” “market positioning,” or “the image of the business,” but I like to call it the business personality.

Let’s look at the character of a popular car, the Mercedes Benz. If we think in the mindset of most people, most likely the following words and adjectives will be associated with the name “Mercedes Benz”.

Another example in the same industry, Toyota.

Before starting a marketing campaign or advertising, you need first to decide what kinds of words you would like to be associated with your name and brand, defining the personality of your business.

You need to look through the eyes of your clients, not you and your staff. If your customers believe you are slow in delivering your service or product, then you are slow until you can change and improve your reputation.

To achieve some of these word associations and reputations, you may need extra education and training. For example, if you’d like to be known as a knowledgeable esthetician or stylist, then you should read books, participate in training and trade shows, subscribe to and read reputable magazines, and discuss your knowledge with your colleagues and clients. You may even want to write blogs about your growing expertise to share with others. Over time, people will begin to know you as a knowledgeable person, and the word “knowledgeable” will belong to your name in the minds of individuals in the public.

Some of the characteristics of your business personality involve your habits, and these will need more time to conceptualize in your business. It takes at least 30 days to break a habit or to make a new habit.

For example, being welcoming and happy in business transactions is a habit. You may need to remind yourself throughout the day by putting smiley face stickers in your office or by playfully penalizing you and your staff if they break the rule by dropping a quarter in a jar and donating it to charity.

You may need to inform your clients about a habit that they hadn’t considered yet. To engrave the particular word association in their minds. For example, you can tell your clients that you sanitized the equipment before you used it (“sanitary”) or offer to adjust the room temperature according to their preference (“accommodating”).

Sometimes you may need to terminate the employment of someone who does not fit the personality of your business. Sometimes you may need to refer to someone else who has more experience and expertise to make big decisions for the business. For example, if you are unorganized or don’t have enough experience to run a business successfully, hire someone who knows how and is capable of that job. No one can hurt a business more than an owner or manager who makes unwise or uninformed decisions.

You need to wisely and purposefully decide what kind of personality to have for yourself as a professional or for your business. Choose the words that you would like the public and your clients to identify with your name or brand. Focus on making those words one-by-one a part of your professional or business’s identity, and be consistent in the actions you take to do so. It may take time and money to build the personality of your business, but eventually, your persistence will pay off.