Personal branding is similar to product branding in that the objective is to elicit a response in the customers mind when they think of you or hear your name. For example a customer or prospective customer may think ‘Automotive Expert’ when they hear or see your name. Personal branding is extremely powerful because when a person makes a buying decision they consider the person, then the company, then the product. The person is first. Personal branding can be viewed as establishing a favorable image in the customers mind before direct engagement. One of the most successful efforts at personal branding in the automotive industry is Lauren Fix – The Car Coach. She regularly communicates and offers valuable information to vehicle owners. The information she provides is accurate and useful. And her name is synonymous with her business. Following are points on personal branding in automotive repair:
- Align Yourself With Your Product – Personal branding means developing an image to the point that when people think of your service they think of you. It means that when they hear your name they think ‘Automotive Expert’ or something more specific like ‘Tire Expert’. The goal of personal branding is that when they think of a service and its benefits they think of you.
- Make Contributions to the Community – Contributions don’t need to be monetary although this can be an effective means of giving. A really impactful way of contributing is to offer your time. Providing valuable information on automotive care will help build your personal brand.
- Become a Source of Advice – In today’s world of the Internet and Social Media advice on automotive related matters can be disseminated to large audiences with relatively low cost. Facebook, Twitter and You Tube are all venues that can be employed to provide value to current and prospective customers.
- Be Visible to your Target Market – The use of social media is the method employed to reach large audiences with information of value. Continuously posting information will build your personal brand and relationships will form. The more people hear or read information of interest provided by you the more they’ll equate you with your product.
