Personal Brand Loyalty

Branding your business is the first thing your to create.

Personal brand loyalty is similar to product brand loyalty in that we choose to believe the message with emotional expectations of performance. This performance then leads into trust which is where the loyalty begins. However, when it comes to personal brand loyalty the dynamic changes a bit.

When marketing a product, the expectations come from interaction with the product - it is tangible. Whereas with a personal brand the expectations are based upon the service that you provide for them. For some products there is no way of knowing how long the consumer interacts with it, if they are using it properly and their level like and dislike on a regular basis. Yes, social media has changed this where there are forums for people to discuss how they are feeling about a product but with a personal brand the consumer has an opportunity to reach out to you directly and tell you what they are feeling and they are provided with an immediate response.

How does personal brand loyalty work on a larger scale? Take celebrities. If someone you like is starring in a movie or a television show you most likely will tune in to see how they do and what the movie or show is about. What about in professional sports? Players generally do not get to choose which team they play on. A player that you have been loyal to is traded to a team that you have long despised. Do you remain loyal to that player and watch them on the new team or abandon them because they are no longer on "your team." What happens when a player does not perform to our expectations. We hear this all the time where a player is a scrub, stinks, gets booed, etc. As a professional player we as consumers and fans expect them to be get a hit every at bat, catch every ball that comes to them, nail every field goal kick.

Their promise to us is that they will perform but to whose expectations? If they have a bad game the fans start in about their performance. They know they botched a catch, struck out 3 times in 4 at bats. How about when a new player comes over to our team? Do we buy into them or wait for their performance to determine? This is not very different from when we encounter a new brand. Will we buy it and try it and wait pass judgment after we use it or just decide to not buy it and stick with what we know has performed.

When we effectively market ourselves and deliver consumers will set expectations of you. Think about certain bloggers that you read everyday. You have an expectation that they will deliver a blog each day that you will enjoy. Seminars - certain speakers can fill a room in a minute even if no-one in the room has ever heard them speak before. They have effectively marketed themselves and have delivered because if they do not, you abandon and move on to someone else.

As a small business owner a big part of your marketing strategy whether traditional or social, needs to include your own personal brand. If people trust you they are more apt to try your product and provide valuable feedback.