What do you stand for?

It’s Election time in the beautiful island of Barbados, it has been reported that we have the most persons contesting in an election to date. What was most notable was one candidate who is running on an independent ticket. There has been so much talk about the candidate, because of her past, every single time she is mentioned in the press she is referred to as Ms. Natalie Harewood, former prostitute. Natalie took to Facebook live recently, to ask the press to desist from saying that, and that her past is just that…. past. And that other contenders are not referred to by their profession. She made a valid point, and it caused me to think about branding.

How many times have you seen organizations “re-brand” and still carry the same traits? The psychology behind people is another topic within itself, but look at it this way, branding takes time. Getting your name out there, allowing people to know what you stand for. Likewise, if you make a change, it is going to take time for people to calibrate their thinking. Natalie's personal brand was established years ago, when she made her profession known. She now must re-brand and let her works speak for itself. It’s not going to be a fly by night, quick fix, but it takes time and trust among persons to realize, yes, I see change, I see progress.

I was also thinking about Flow. They did a whole re-dedication campaign recently. Realizing that their service standards have been way below the suitable standards, they embarked on correcting their wrongs- instantly. Imagine my shock and surprise when I called to report a fault and within an hour a technician was there. I was beyond baffled, shocked. I legit stared at the technician for a good five minutes! In my mind, I was still expecting the service of before, where I would be calling back a week later, asking when will someone be dispatched. I am sure I am not alone and other persons are noticing their attempts at “getting it right” and living up to the“re-dedication” of commitment to service excellence.

All of this to basically say, branding, be it personal or corporate, it is an important factor to your business or self. Take a look at your brand today, are you reflecting the core values that you want people to know you by?