I recently made the decision to switch from PC to Mac for my business platform.
Everything about the experience – from walking into the store; interacting with the technology; enjoying the broader synergies with our iPhones and iPads; the ease in which I am able to connect and share content with my family and business colleagues; the stories, sharing and understanding offered by the broader Apple community – has lead me to think about the importance “experience” plays in our decision making.
Every single part of my exposure, interactions, associations – my collective experience with Apple – is always positive, enjoyable and exceeded my expectations.
The relationship between our experiences and our feelings are key drivers to the decisions we make.
Just like a product or company brand’s true value is in the eye of the consumer and how it is perceived in the market place, our personal brand is really valued by the experiences people have with you and the perceptions they then form.
Today, there is much talk about the importance in investing in personal branding. Spending time to understand and shape what we represent as individuals, how we represent our core values and articulate our unique selling proposition.
Asking people to stop and think of how they may be viewed and the disparity to how they wish to be viewed, can certainly grow self-awareness and can influence behaviours.
How people view, interact, associate, and do business with you, are all opportunities for people to “experience” you. The experience they have with you is far more important in determining their evaluations of you and the decisions they make that concern you, than anything else.
Considering how meaningful, enjoyable, interactive, and valuable the experience people have of you is as important in the social web as it is in our personal dealings.
When you consider the ease in which we can connect, associate, interact and share on the social web, do you consider what experience people are having of and with you? Is it consistent with the experience they would have with you and you would hope to deliver in person?
It certainly makes an interesting point for reflection:- what experience are people having when they see, read, or exchange something with you? Or in more simple terms: – How do people experience you online as well as in person?
I think there are some interesting points here Emma, the “brand” aspect of Apple cannot be faulted, yet it hides deeper flaws in it’s basic technology and perpetuates amongst other things the myth that poor quality audio is acceptable. Try managing a music library of over 100 albums with iTunes, try using iTunes without giving Apple your credit card number – what is the customer experience here?
This article is not, of course, saying Apple is fantastic. In the context of the experience other people have of you however, I’d like to say that perhaps one should be careful of portraying a personal brand which deliberately hides ones flaws.
I agree with your caution Phil particularly in relation to not trying to stage manage your brand thinking others won’t see the truth. Even more dangerous today when the ability to share your experience of others is made ever so much easier in terms of speed and size of reach through the social web. Thanks for commenting!
From the point of view of a businessperson, branding is certainly a priority. In today’s market, it is necessary to package and promote a product in a particular way, and to provide a sense of a positive experience, in order to obtain a sale. However, as consumers we need to be aware that often a certain amount of designing and promoting has gone into creating this experience. And, deception is often a part of the branding process, with the positives exposed and elevated, and the negatives simply ignored or obscured. Personal branding is no different. Designing and promoting a persona is often focused on how one would (in your words) “wish to be viewed”. And unfortunately, this is sometimes not an accurate representation of the real person, and can lead to a situation where the “package” does not live up to its expectations. It is therefore important that we approach packages, experiences and brands with this awareness.
Thanks Cath, appreciate your comments and completely agree.
The reality of a brand (personal or otherwise) is that its value is only as great as it is perceived by others. If the “package” does not live up to its expectations, then the experience will be poor and potentially never trusted again.
Thus the equity in your brand is not something you can dictate…it is something that you earn.