This is the first post in a new monthly column entitled “Bulletproof Business Branding” by David Hanscom:
OK, so what exactly is branding? The first thing to understand is that you already have your “brand” in the DJ Industry and that brand is YOU. My goal is to help you define exactly how you want that brand to reflect to your prospects and customers.
Relationships
Relationships are the key to defining your personal and professional brand. Have you heard the expression “Perception is reality?” In the case of branding it is important to grasp that what other people think does matter.
What branding is and is not
Your professional brand as a DJ is the “image” you consistently represent to potential, current and past clients according to your beliefs, values and commitments. It is also the experience people have of you based on repeated connections with them. Your “brand” is not your logo, marketing slogan, ad campaign or press release.
How You Can Define Your Brand
Your branding can be defined a success when it is an accurate reflection of the perception that people have about you and your business. So, what do you want peoples’ impression to be? A good place to start is by asking these questions about yourself and your DJ business:
- What are my real motivations for being a business owner and mobile entertainer? Do I care more about the people I am providing my services / product for or do I care more about the money I can make doing it? Depending on the answers, do your website, your business card, your message you are putting out resonate with your prospects and customers or is their perception not quite what you want it to be?
- What are you building with your mobile entertainment business? Are your short-term and long-term goals moving you in a position that will reflect your beliefs and values?
- Am I operating my mobile entertainment business with integrity? Meaning, when nobody is watching do I still stand true to my values and beliefs that I have built my brand on? At any given moment would a “surprise audit” reflect anything different from the brand you have created?
Next month I will offer tips on how to start polishing your brand and steps towards making sure the perception and your reality are in direct correlation with each other. In the meantime, I’d like to know your thoughts on branding. Any takers?
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David Hanscom has been in the entertainment business since 1989. He runs Y? Entertainment in Florida, and is a graduate of and instructor for the Florida Academy of Mobile Entertainment. David is a former Advisory Board President of the National Association of Mobile Entertainers and has been a guest speaker at DJ conferences across the country. He is widely acknowledged for his unique style of both personal and professional branding, and David has helped many others to do the same. To learn more about him and his businesses, visit DavidHanscom.com, YourEventAnswer.com or write to [email protected].
