Normally, on Thursday mornings I make the trek to the studios of CBS 7 so that I can provide business coaching tips LIVE in the studio. Yet, this Thursday morning I received a phone call from CBS Morning Anchor, Krista, at 4:54 a.m. letting me know that the young seven year old boy who had been missing since after school the day before was STILL MISSING. They were going to utilize their air time to cover what was happening with the search, the volunteers involved and to repeatedly air pleas for help from the public to check for areas that a small child might hide for warmth from the cold night. I called back to the studio and everyone was genuinely concerned and even provided me a personal update before the station even aired the morning show.

Their brand is that they are “your eye on West Texas”. And, from the phone call to the updates and information - they really WALKED THE TALK. They were concerned - for the boy, the story and for the relationships. When the company brand and the personal brands of those who are “belly to belly” with the customer (or who are answering the phones and representing the company) are aligned, it’s powerful! It really set the stage for RELATIONSHIPS and eventually LOYALTY (to both the company AND the person - or people). Yes, it really is that WIN/WIN situation!

When the personal and company brands, ARE NOT aligned it’s a LOSS for all involved. For example, how many of you have heard that ENTERPRISE RENTAL CAR commercial of how they’ll come to “pick you up”? The latest one features a women, with children in tow, at a repair shop badly in need of transportation. She calls “Enterprise” and they enthusiastically say, “they’ll come pick her up”. ‘Tan-ta-da’, her HERO! Or, at least that’s the scenario that’s portrayed.

So, here goes my husband - preparing for a company trip. He calls ENTERPRISE for a rental car in the midst of finishing up work at the store, meeting a repairman to take care of our washer that just stopped in mid-wash (with every pair of jeans that my son’s own in there), and coordinating pick up times and rooms for the other team members that would be traveling in this vehicle. As he’s finishing the transaction, here’s the “rest of the story”:

My husband: “I need to be picked up so that I can get the car on time before you close”

Enterprise employee: “Can’t you find someone to bring you here?”

My husband: “No, I really need you to pick me up.”

Enterprise employee: “You mean to tell me that you can’t get anyone to pick you up and bring you here? We really can’t do that for you.”

My husband: “Aren’t you the company that runs those ads that say you’ll come pick us up? I really need you to pick me up.”

Enterprise employee: “I know. You’ll have to wait a really, really long time. And, I don’t even know then if we can come pick you up. I’ve got lots of work here and I just don’t think I’ll have the time to get that set up for you.”

WOW! How’s that for a huge disconnect between personal brand and company brand! Now, whenever we see that ad (you know, the one with the car wrapped in brown paper and twine giving you the “impression” that it’s delivered to you) we just laugh and say, “only if they have the time and they feel like it that day.”

Personal brands and company brands that are NOT ALIGNED is a loss for everyone. I don’t care how much “promotional materials” and advertising you purchase. Anyone can buy “air time” that will say that their “wonderful, terrific, the best things since sliced bread” - but, WORD OF MOUTH can discredit that in an instant. Brand mis-alignment might be something that your company’s reputation cannot recover from.

Take Deloitte & Touche - they understood that some of their employees were “blogging” about their unhappiness in working with the company on social websites. Leaving comments like that out there and unmanaged, would of cost them business and their reputation. Nobody lost jobs from what they posted on their personal blog or social site. Instead, Deloitte & Touche opened d’street (a social network for employees and where employees can blog and share their concerns, comments and suggestions).

Managing internal communications facilitates personal and company brand alignment.

Providing opportunities for employees to feel valued and important and facilitating interactions that connect their personal brand to the company brand makes them brand evangelists and advocates for the company.

So, are you connecting your employees to your company brand –or are you hoping that will all just manage itself ?

People Are The Brand-
Maria Elena Duron - click my name to Google Me!
www.buzz2bucks.com - grow your personal brand today
“dedicated to helping executives & entrepreneurs connect strategically through a compelling personal brand”

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