Take a look around at all of the big brands out there and what they are doing these days. They are diligently encouraging their clients to interact with them on social media. They are using social media to respond to their clients’ concerns, fears, service requests, and questions about their brand’s quality, distribution, image, and product offerings. But what about the individual representatives of those brands…those people out on mainstreet in Smallville, USA? How are THEY, in many cases small business/franchise owners, maximizing big brands’ strategies to their own benefit? How are they piggy-backing on these strategies to enhance and change the way their business is getting done on a daily basis? And how are they differentiating themselves from other competitors in Smallville and other market areas? I’m not so sure the answers are positive for any independent brand representatives at this point for two reasons: 1. THEY don’t know or sometimes care about how to differentiate, and 2. The CLIENTS don’t know or care enough about the products the representatives are offering to change their own paradigms of interaction…YET.
At some point, the straw is going to break the camel’s back for a lot of customers and prospects. E-mails, faxes, and phone calls requesting to be removed from lists and opting-out of corporate e-mail newsletters are pouring in at alarming rates in many representatives’ offices daily. It’s getting to the point where it would be just as advantageous to throw money out the car window while driving down the freeway than to spend it on traditional campaigns. Many representatives choose to pour money into non-profits or school sponsorships instead of direct mail campaigns, but is that of true benefit?
Argument: NO, it is not. Why? How does giving money to non-profits BRAND you as a business owner? I’m NOT saying it’s a bad thing to give money to good causes that you believe in. I’m saying that you are branding yourself as a philanthropist, not as a business owner, by doing this. Sure, the charities or organizations you give to likely demonstrate values and beliefs consistent with your own, but branding yourself is a very small part of this equation. Basically, there’s a lot more effort involved with branding yourself than writing a check and having your business’ name featured on a charity’s website or in a phone book. This is about distinguishing yourself as a human being.
Why is this important when you are connected to a big brand?
Because people connect with brands in one way, but with people in a completely different manner. We’re all humans with wants and needs and we want to be heard. We still have a desire to interact on a personal level, and no matter what, big brands can never replace people in anything but transactional relationships. (Until CEO’s start blogging.) Now more than ever before, independent representatives have the ability to leverage the positive image of the brand they are associated with in building their own personal and business identities online PROVIDED they are loyal to that brand. But the second they act in a manner inconsistent with that brand’s public identity, credibility for their sub-brand is lost. Still, to achieve success in this very volatile period of transparency, sub-branding oneself is the only long-term solution.