Align your vision with your reputation. And be like Chuck Norris!

Everyone loves Chuck! His vision and his reputation were so aligned that you couldn’t smash a karate chop between them. He was toughness, in martial arts tournaments and on the silver screen. And everyone looked and went, “Wow!”

So when even Sylvester Stallone asked the martial artist, “How many push-ups can you do?”, and Chuck replied, “All of them”, you believe it.

Chuck may not be a business, but in a world where practically everything today, including him, is a brand, he has lessons to teach us.

Separate marketing, advertising, PR and communication? That’s so 20^th century

Chuck may have been big in the ‘80’s but he was ahead of his time. In the 21^st century, a clear brand vision is still as crucial but the disciplines of explaining that vision to your market have merged, thanks to the digital revolution and customer empowerment.

There’s only one discipline now: reputation

Take cell phones. Most people would agree that the iPhone 5 has a reputation for style whilst the Galaxy S4 has its rep around innovation.

And most people would agree that those are the same qualities as the brand visions of the companies behind those products. Apple’s vision is style and simplicity. Samsung is innovation. The S4 may now outsell the iPhone 5 in most markets but what made both products successful is that they both delivered on their promise.

But that’s not true of every company. Some companies have a different vision to how their customers’ perceive them. Some companies don’t even have a vision. But every business has a reputation, good or bad.

For a brand to be successful, the company’s vision and its identity needs to be aligned with how customers regard it.

What worked for Chuck can work for your business

Start promising. Start delivering. Keep promising. Keep delivering. Above all, stay consistent. Sure, move with the times, change with the market, but keep up that same, trusted reputation.

Get your staff to actively buy into both your vision and your reputation. They are your ambassadors to the world. You can’t do anything about them.  They (and your products) sell your reputation to the world.

And be realistic. You can’t achieve a great reputation in a day. But you can start it in a day. And it’ll get better most days after that.

Remember: a strong reputation works wonders for any brand.

Just ask Chuck.


 
Hilton Alexander Rose
Your Brand Agency | Director 
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