Developing a Uniquely You Personal Marketing Plan
Learning Objectives
· Understand how marketing concepts apply in your career search and beyond
· Identify your unique brand attributes (strengths and weaknesses)
· Develop a personal Marketing Mix (4Ps)
· Communicate your brand effectively
Introduction
As you’ve seen illustrated throughout the textbook, marketing creates value for goods, services, companies and people – yes, people! Now it’s time to use your knowledge to market the most important person – you!
This appendix includes exercises that complement the Personal Branding video available via the Connect. The video and the exercises will help you understand how you can use marketing and branding processes to brand yourself and communicate your unique identity.
You may find this appendix useful as you fine tune your job search and prepare for interviews. But even after you’ve landed your dream job, having a well defined personal brand will help you as you continue to market yourself, subtly or otherwise, so that you always leave a positive impression throughout your career.
First impressions count for a lot. In a book called "Moments of Truth," Jan Carlzon wrote that the first 15 second encounter that an employee has with a customer sets the tone of the entire company in the mind of that customer. Although Carlzon's book was focused on customer service, we all experience moments of truth. And, how we are perceived by others, or our personal moments of truth, often boil down to marketing.
Developing a Uniquely You Personal Marketing Plan 7
Getting Started
One definition of marketing says that “Marketing is determining the customer needs and wants and then satisfying them more effectively than the competition.” Think about how you could use this approach in your job search to understand what prospective employers are looking for and what makes you different from all the other job applicants.
Think of your career as a product launch. Take charge. Do an environmental scan of the workplace trends and opportunities. Understand the needs and wants of employers who will interview you (and eventually hire you) based on how well you communicate that your “product” best meets their needs. Remember: Employers are not looking for what you can get or want from the job but rather what you bring to the job or what they can get from you!
Now, go back to Connect and watch the Personal Branding video. It’s just under an hour in length and will give you a good introduction to the topic before you proceed to the exercises that follow.
Developing a Uniquely You Personal Marketing Plan
You can develop a Uniquely You Personal Marketing Plan using the steps discussed in Chapter 2 of your textbook (Exhibit 2.2 Developing a Marketing Plan) adapted to reflect specific points you’ll need to consider in your job search. You’ll have a chance to do numerous exercises to help you develop most of the points discussed below.
Define your Mission and/or Vision
What is your purpose/passion? What kind of jobs/industries are you interested in?
Situation Analysis
o SWOT - Assess your strengths and abilities. Identify/Qualify career opportunities.
o Market Trend Analysis – What’s happening with overall job trends? Which industries and companies are hiring? What industries are hot now? What industries are likely to become hot by the time you graduate?
o Environment – What’s happening in the economy? Are job prospects good? What about other cities, provinces or countries? Do demographic factors play a role in the job market? E.g. Retirement trends in older generational cohorts? Are people retiring early or working past age 65?
o Competitive Analysis – How many other people are applying for the same jobs? What are their qualifications? How can you successfully compete against them? What factors are critical for success in landing the job you are looking for? To what extent do you possess them?
Identify and Evaluate Opportunities
o Your target markets – define what companies you will contact, who specifically will you contact, determine who else can help you, e.g. family, friends, former employers, etc.
o Positioning – clearly develop and identify your point of differentiation
o Your Marketing Mix - 4Ps
· Product: your value
· Price: how much your value is worth
· Place: where to deliver your value
· Promotion: how to communicate your value
Implement Marketing Mix
o Create a cover letter that acts as an ad for you. If needed, create different versions of this letter each customized for a different target market or industry.
o Develop a résumé that communicates your value to the employer.
Your Personal Brand
Creating a Uniquely You Marketing Plan is really just taking one step in the process of developing your Personal Brand which can help you be more polished in your job search.
In the job search process, marketing is everything you do.
Marketing is how you dress...
Although you may not like the expression "clothes make the man," what you wear does matter. When people first meet you, they have very little to go by in forming an opinion, short of your appearance, or packaging. So it's very important to dress to suit your prospective employers, jobs and customers.
How you talk...
When you are speaking to others, you have a golden opportunity to market yourself. If your speech is full of bad grammar, slang or swear words, what moments of truth are you creating?
Think about how you answer the phone. Do you use a polite greeting? What about your voicemail message? Would it raise eyebrows or make a prospective employer feel comfortable leaving you a message?
How you write...
Most companies receive numerous letters of application and résumés from job seekers. Often these applications contain spelling or grammatical errors and go straight into the garbage. In marketing, attention to detail is paramount.
How you listen...
Listening is hard work. Yet most of us receive absolutely no training in this important life skill. Being a good listener dramatically changes how you are perceived. Most sales training courses teach that we have two ears and one mouth and we should use them in this proportion. Not bad advice!
And your attitude
Lastly, marketing is how you treat others. It's as important to be polite to the receptionists of companies you deal with as you are to its principals. Marketing is also about being on time, keeping your promises and thanking others for helping you.
Think about your own moments of truth and then start managing them on a daily basis. After all, marketing is everything you do.
Personal Branding Touchpoints
Just like branding a product or service, to establish a personal brand, you need to follow a process. Here’s an overview of the Personal Branding Touchpoints, or steps that you’ll work through in your personal branding journey.
Below you’ll see how these steps align with the steps involved in Developing a Marketing Plan shown earlier. Let’s take a look now at how these two dovetail.
Personal Branding Touchpoints / Marketing Plan StepsWho Am I?
Purpose/Passion / Define the Mission and/or Vision
Who Am I?
Principles/Personal Values
Perspective/Philosophy
Personal SWOT Analysis / Situation Analysis
Who is my target market?
People
Peers/Partnerships
What do I stand for?
Positioning
Personal Marketing Mix / Identify and Evaluate Opportunities
Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning
Develop Marketing Mix – 4Ps
Communication
Portfolio/Performance
Presentation/Packaging / Implement Marketing Mix
Staying Top of Mind
Planning, Promotion and PR
Patience/Persistence / Evaluate Performance
Now let’s explore some of these Personal Branding Touchpoints in more detail. Spend some time going through the exercises that follow. Remember, marketing is a process. So you don’t need to do all these exercises at one time. It’s perfectly fine to work on these exercises as you have time and even put them aside for days or weeks as you think through how you would answer some of the questions.
Faith is daring the soul to go beyond what the eyes can see.
J.R. Tolkien
Step 1 Who am I?
The first step in any branding exercise is to identify the unique attributes of a product, service or company. In personal branding, the first step is to ask yourself, "Who am I?"
This might sound like a simple question, but I'm willing to bet it's one not easily answered. Most people define themselves by what they do because they can't answer who they are.
As Oliver Wendell Holmes said, "Most people go to their graves with their music still inside them." The reason? They never take the time to understand what their music is.
To find the answer to "Who am I?" you need to identify your core values, beliefs held, passions that drive you and talents you possess.
Your personal brand should be a reflection of who you truly are. This is important because your personal brand is not just a thin coat of veneer, applied only to present a more highly polished appearance.
Exercise: Purpose/Passion
What drives you? What do you love to do when you get out of bed in the morning?
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Exercise: Principles and Personal Values
What are your principles? What do you believe in? What values do you live your life by?
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Exercise: Perspective/Philosophy
Ask others “What are my attributes? What talents (hidden or otherwise) do you see in me?” What values do you see me live my life by?
Think back to times when friends or colleagues have introduced you to other people? What words did they use to describe you?
Start listening to the adjectives people use to describe you. Do you notice a pattern? Are some words used more frequently than others? Are you surprised (either positively or negatively) by some of the adjectives? Take some time to think about why that is.
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Exercise: Personal SWOT Analysis
You may find it useful to conduct a personal situation analysis or SWOT. Remember to assess both your internal strengths (e.g. strong communicator, proven leadership ability) and weaknesses, as well as the opportunities and threats in your external environment. (e.g. a North America-wide recession would represent a threat since companies in many industries will not hire during an economic downturn.)
Personal SWOT Analysis
Strengths______
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Opportunities
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Exercise: Unique Attributes (Who Am I ?)
Using the list of words below, think about which ones you would use that best describe yourself. Be careful not to choose words that describe how you would like to be seen, but those that reflect who you are right now. Keep the list short - choose the top 5 words only.
The list is not intended to be comprehensive. Rather it should help you kickstart your thinking process. Please feel free to add adjectives to this list that best describe you.
Authentic Generous Honest Kind
Successful Loving Loyal Courageous
Confident Entrepreneurial Enthusiastic Competitive
Ethical Creative Inspired Wise
Appreciative Happy Warm Adventurous
Contented Secure Friendly Empathetic
Humourous Devoted Moral Healthy
Spiritual Fun-loving Liberated Committed
Supportive Organized Dependable Outgoing
Open-minded Fair Tolerant Optimistic
Serious Reserved Aggressive Knowledgeable
Active Adaptable Ambitious Daring
Shy Driven Theatrical Energetic
Imaginative Dynamic Outspoken Intuitive
Patient Sensitive Calm Persuasive
Sincere Conscientious Assertive Competent
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Exercise: Unique Attributes (Who Am I? according to other people)
Now that you’ve spent some time thinking about your characteristics and qualities, it’s time to see if your thoughts jive with how others view you. Using the list of words below, ask at least three people to circle up to five words each that they feel describe you. Additional adjectives can be added in the lines provided.
Authentic Generous Honest Kind
Successful Loving Loyal Courageous
Confident Entrepreneurial Enthusiastic Competitive
Ethical Creative Inspired Wise
Appreciative Happy Warm Adventurous
Contented Secure Friendly Empathetic
Humourous Devoted Moral Healthy
Spiritual Fun-loving Liberated Committed
Supportive Organized Dependable Outgoing
Open-minded Fair Tolerant Optimistic
Serious Reserved Aggressive Knowledgeable
Active Adaptable Ambitious Daring
Shy Driven Theatrical Energetic
Imaginative Dynamic Outspoken Intuitive
Patient Sensitive Calm Persuasive
Sincere Conscientious Assertive Competent
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Exercise: Unique Attributes (Who am I? according to other people)
After you receive the completed sheets back from the three people you asked to circle words that best describe you, compare their lists to your own. Do their assessments match yours or are the descriptors they chose very different?
Did you gain any new insights into your brand or unique attributes based on how other people view you? For example, you may view yourself as gentle whereas someone else may see you as aggressive. Spend some time thinking about how they may have formed this assessment, e.g. perhaps your words and actions have shown them a side of yourself that is not as flattering as you might like.
Carefully examine the descriptors that pleasantly surprise you as well. They are probably objective evaluations of your character and may help you to identify strengths and personal attributes you had not recognized but which can be of use in communicating your brand.
Step 2 Who is my target market?
Exercise: People
Who do you need to communicate your brand to? E.g. career counsellors, parents, relatives, neighbours - just about anyone can help you with your job search if they know what you are looking for. When you list names, be sure to note why they are important and what type of information you need to give them.
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Exercise: Peers/Partnerships
Identify other people you can learn from or who can help you achieve your goals.
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Know what you stand for and you will stand out from everyone else.