You are your own Customer Service Representative

You are your own customer service representative and there is no getting around it. You and only you are responsible for your brand image.

If you are a brand, then why are you driving your brand into the ground? When a brand says they are going to do something, they do it. Why? Because if they don't, there will be negative backlash, and a negative image will be associated with their brand. Then why when people say they are going to do something and don't do it, it is an acceptable practice?

There maybe different levels of this, but there shouldn't be. It is a simple philosophy of doing what you say. You are responsible for your individual brand, why would you want to hurt it, well, you wouldn't knowingly. Much like my "Year of the Doer" outlook, people that do what they say are going to really stand out these days. It is as simple as calling a person you say you are going to call, or following up on a conversation.

Be an excellent customer service representative for yourself. You can take the steps today to start standing out at work and with your friends. You want your brand to be top-of-mind and seen as high quality right? It is important to put yourself first, and I mean the brand of YOU!

Google Stock, How Do You Rank?

When you type your name in Google, what comes up? You maybe surprised, that is if you have never actually Googled yourself...

Right now, more than ever, we should be looking and marketing ourselves as a brand, which is what I am trying to do with this blog... But the point behind all of this self-promotion is really driven by the Google Factor, or what I like to call your Google Stock: according to Google who are you, what do you do and how do you rank? I have read a number of blogs that have pointed out that 2009, is "The Year of the Doer", due to the current economic situation(GenNext, RadioGuruPDX). So what are you doing to increase your stock?

This is the golden opportunity for you to make a name for yourself while exploring, it is really a win-win situation! It doesn't really matter if you have a job or don't have a job, work in marketing or don't work in marketing, it is always important to be checking and increasing your Google Stock. You never know when you are going to need it, and it is not something that can be built overnight. This takes time, that is why I am encouraging baby steps. Start with Linkedin or Twitter, then build up to blogging or creating your own site. These are all free tools at your disposal, but to use them correctly takes time.

Now stop reading this blog (for today) and go do something to increase you Google Stock!

Social Media the New Frontier... are you on the wagon or being left in cyber dust?

Welcome to the digital age, although I think we entered it long ago, and long ago to me maybe different than long ago to you, but still, long ago...

Two nights ago I attended the Social Media Club's event, "Getting it: Careers in Sociall Media" with guest lecturer/social media diva, Kelly Feller, Social Media Strategist for Intel. It was a full house, with at least 100 people there, and not people who I would have expected to be part of the Social Media Club. Many of the attendees were well into their careers and eating this stuff up!

There are companies big and small that understand Social Media, and companies big and small that don't. Two that get it and are tweeting away are @Starbucks(big) and @Portland Area Radio Council(small).

Social Media fascinates me because of the unknowns attached to it: it is new, everyone is doing it, not everyone knows why there are doing it, potential is unknown, will it peak, how to use it, keeping up with new sites and new trends and the list goes on and on and on...

Back to the lecture; I not only gained a few new followers on Twitter(I am following them now too), but I realized that everyone has a list of unknowns, we now have a place to share and learn together. I realized that I am doing the right thing by writing this blog, which has been in the works for over a month now, but I just started doing it, and that is the main thing.

JUMP IN!

The only way to master the skills and language of this new and limitless Social Media world is to do that. What have you got to lose except a few spare moments that you would have spent on another website anyway.

Process vs. Product in down times who has the advantage?

I don't know what made this idea pop into my mind, but I just woke up with it this morning... In down times, what is more important; the Process or the Product? In a sense, only time will tell. Companies with a strong product will last for awhile, they have a wave they're riding, but will eventually get caught and be washed out to sea with the rest of the failed products out there (like my sea analogy?).

Companies who have a solid process behind their product maybe slimming things down, but will make it through this economic climate. They have always been about basics and aren't stumbling trying to get back to basics. Now what products and companies might I be thinking about you ask? Well, because I am currently working for an apparel company and I don't want to step on any toes and that is all my mind goes to these days... I thought I would pose the question to you.

What companies and/or products have you experienced recently that have really caught your mind, good or bad, because of the process behind them? That then begs another question, do you know the process behind the products you use, and if so does that change how you feel about them?

If nothing else, let this post make you a more conscious consumer by starting to let your mind wander about a company and its product and whether your hard earned dollars should be rewarding them.