A brand is a promise delivered. It is your reputation and your legacy. Branding is the practice of producing trust and is at the heart of all marketing endeavors. When we market our services or organization… or ourselves…. we do so with a promise to meet or exceed the expectations of the audience who must find us relevant. To that audience, we must articulate and live a consistent brand promise (to build a desired reputation) that is clear, powerful, and responsive to our audience’s needs.

Effectively integrating brand qualities into marketing produces high-impact results, drives stakeholder value and reduces marketing costs. The result of effective brand marketing and communication is an increase in market share, brand loyalty, and competitive differentiation.

As an individual, you have a brand – a personal brand – your reputation. You're known for something. Personal brand development drives the expectation of the experience of working with you. Your personal brand powerfully differentiates you from your competition, attracts opportunities and gives you recognition for your accomplishments.

Brands with a compelling message, a distinct identity and genuine commitment to deliver on their promise have the opportunity to market their reputation in a way that differentiates them from competitors. In today’s skeptical business climate, customers are looking for greater meaning, transparency and sincerity from the brands they choose.

At the heart of effective brand development is authenticity -- practicing what you preach; being totally clear about who you are, what you stand for, and what you do best. When a brand's promise of the experience is out of sync with customers' actual experiences, the brand's integrity and future persuasiveness suffers. The cost to fill the authenticity gap is the deduction in business value and market share.

People make decisions and measure reputation – in person and online reputation -- in large part by a desire to connect with brands that feel safe, certain and unambiguous.