For many of us who provide a service rather than a tangible product it all comes down to how well we market ourselves if we are to be productive.  Marketing yourself in the same way a company markets a business is not a new idea, it has been tried and tested by many high profile business people so why not take the same care that a company takes and establish you as a brand.  The key to branding is to be consistent so take a strategic step and plan exactly how you are going to maintain this consistency using the five brand value parameters.

1.  Image

2.  Reputation

3.  Service

4.  Integrity

5.  Quality

1             Image

Image is a visible impression of you rather like taking a picture.  So decide what your appropriate style of business dress will be.  How you should behave in a business environment and what resources you will need when attending a business event.  Include a company image policy in your plan and stick to it.

2             Reputation

Reputation is about someone else’s beliefs and opinions of you.  It is important to get feedback on other people’s perception of you.  Persevere with this once customers see you have a genuine desire to monitor the standard of your performance they will be more likely to be open with you.  Analyse the feedback and see if it matches the standards laid down in the company image policy.

3             Service

Service is an act of assistance so decide how you will go that bit further and give service excellence.  Making every process as easy as possible to administer and being able to carry out an accurate customer needs analysis are examples of good service.  However you will need to be innovative and come up with something different if you want to be remembered as someone who consistently gives added value.  Try writing Ten Commandments of service excellence and implement them.

4             Integrity

Integrity is having strong moral principles.  Ensure you are open and honest with your clients at all times and decide what is ethical.  Include an ethics code of conduct in your plan and give it to your customers.

5             Quality

Quality is all about setting standards to adhere to.  Make sure the standards you set are measurable.  Someone once said if you can’t measure it you can’t manage it, so be specific and state exactly what you intend to do.  Standards could address issues such as how will you stay ahead of your competitors and customers with regards to your knowledge of the industry.