Pants: NY and Co.

Shirt: H & M

Earrings: JC Penney

Flats: Can’t remember, similar

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So, I talked about “Ashley” outfits in my post last Wednesday, and I posted on Monday about how brands are compromised. Looking at today’s outfit, I saw a pretty strong link between those two posts. Strong brands are multi-faceted, and you can’t just rest on your laurels when it comes to branding. Sure, you were the “safest” brand or the “trendiest” brand or the “highest quality” brand yesterday, but what are you doing to further your brand today? You need to branch out from the core trait and make sure some of the secondary traits are well-known to your customers. By doing this, you might just attract a new segment!

Why is this outfit “non-Ashley”? If you look at the details, you’ll see big, bright pink earrings, where “big”, “bright”, and “pink” are all out of my comfort zone. You’ll see immediately that the top is flowy and multi-colored, where, again, “flowy” and “multi-colored” are not words generally used to describe my wardrobe. So, have I gone mad, and completely compromised the “classic” brand that is Ashley? I think not! I think I’ve shown you another side my personal brand, the side that is adventurous, comfortable, and sometimes playful. While it may seem like these aren’t qualities to describe a professional person, they are qualities that help you move up the corporate ladder. For example, are you a team player, willing to get your hands dirty by going to the front lines and serving customers? Are you willing to take on a project that seems scary and challenging? Can you roll with the punches when your flight is late, the shipment didn’t arrive, or the client meeting got bumped up by 2 hours? While my “classic” style projects cool, calm, and efficient, business is not always that way. Business is messy and frantic at times, and you need to project a brand that can handle such an unpredictable environment.

The same is true with companies’ brands. Yes, you want to make sure customers know you offer the highest quality, but you also want them to know that you can meet their needs with competitive pricing, customer service, turnaround time, and consistency. Maybe you’re the most fashionable brand in your sector, but you want customers to know that you offer quality and selection, not just “the latest thing”. Brands aren’t compromised by showing a different facet, but rather when customers have a bad experience. A new facet of a brand should be a pleasant surprise, one that makes you say, “Wow, I had no idea that brand XZY ALSO offered this! I mean, they were great before, with the highest quality, but they also offer a huge selection!”

So which facets of your brand are developing and revealing? Are you putting your best foot forward in new ways, or are you clinging to one brand image that may not encompass its full potential? Like the outfit? See more details here.