Make sure your brand is authentically YOU and does what it says on the tin!
The world awoke this week to the news of the passing of pop icon and legend David Bowie. He had only just released his new album ‘Blackstar’ four days before cancer ended his remarkable life.
Sixty nine is a young age, these days, to pass on. Even so, he managed to pack a massive amount into his life. I always admire those people who keep creating, keep learning, keep playing, keep exploring and keep travelling.
The age I am now means that I know many people in their fifties and sixties. I must say that there is so much talk of ‘retirement’ (whatever THAT is!) and debates over how much pension will be received every month that I could scream!
For me, having a busy and creative mind is not something that I could ever switch off, to pick up the TV remote instead and watch lamentable day time quiz shows and potter about with a duster!
David Bowie, creative until the very end, showed us how to live life to the full up to the very last moment. His latest track ‘Lazarus’ is as haunting as it is ethereal.
David Bowie – the brand
But what interests me about the man is the timeless quality of his music, his endless reinvention of himself and his innate ability to ‘move with the times’.
That phrase is one which goes back to my childhood. I had an ancient and very sprightly old aunt who used to utter this all the time in a high pitched tone, “Move with the times Gillian! One must move with the times!” She was remarkably insightful actually, as her words have come back and reminded me many times throughout my life that nothing is constant. That things change all the time and moaning about change does not stop it from marching on!
It’s the same for business. The way we market ourselves today has no resemblance to the way we did it twenty years ago. If we fail to keep up with the changing times, we will inevitably fall by the wayside like some old one hit wonder from the 80’s. Peter Schilling’s ‘Major Tom (Coming Home)’ anyone?
David Bowie showed us how to keep our offering fresh. He demonstrated how to remain highly creative in his musical products, always update his unique appearance and particularly in his distinctive branding of himself. The way that we market ourselves and the services we offer also need to keep improving and changing.
Self development is key
I invest heavily with my own Business Coach to ensure that I am making the best possible progress I can. I buy online courses to further develop my skills. I read endlessly about marketing and business, filtering out the best bits for you. All the time I am searching for more ideas, more innovations and more technical skills which I can share with you. My number one goal is to be the best resource for you that I can be.
Businesses which fail to keep growing like this can become stagnant. Imagine no new patients coming to see you? Just the same ones you had this week endlessly returning with the same issues? (I feel you shudder!) Vigorous marketing ensures that you continue to remain in demand. New potential patients will inevitably keep finding you and, if you keep building your brand and relationships with them, they will be open to trying out a new way of dealing with their pain or their condition.
People buy people!
Just as with David Bowie, your brand is you. People do not buy into a Clinic; they buy into a person. This is why you must come out from behind your logo, come out from behind a bland website, come out from behind a Clinic name and shine your very own light. Your brand must be authentic, have integrity and be honest and keep changing and evolving as our world around us changes.
Indeed “move with the times” was a concept one very wise lady understood long before David Bowie was even a twinkle in outer space…
