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Your Brand's Value? Customers Know: Vicki Lynne Morgan

You are working on your personal brand every day, says Vicki Lynne Morgan. Every time you meet someone you have a new opportunity to brand yourself - for better or for worse. Morgan speaks on personal branding on Thursday, October 6, at 6 p.m. at Raritan Valley Community College in Long Branch at a program sponsored by the Small Business Development Center. Cost: $42. Call 908-218-8871. 

Branding is "about making a statement, about getting noticed," says Morgan. "It's about the way you want to be viewed by others." There are four areas to branding, she explains, how you look, how you act, how you treat other people, and the message you relate. 

Morgan, of Califon, is the owner of Russmor Marketing Group, which she founded in 2001. She describes herself as a strategist. "I don't tell my clients what to do," she says. "I help them to see it for themselves." A certified Guerrilla Marketing coach, she helps her clients with "marketing, selling, customer relationship programs, and trade show marketing." 

Morgan began her career in sales in the 1970s as the first women selling for Xerox. In 1976 she and a partner founded Animal Brands, the first woman-owned manufacturing representation agency in the pet supply industry. 

"My next door neighbor's father said dog food was the road to success, so my neighbor bought a truck load of dog food," she says. "We had 20 tons of dog food and I went out a sold it." 

In addition to her work with Russmor and Animal Brands, she teaches marketing and sales at several area community colleges, including Raritan Valley, Warren County, Sussex County, and Morris County. She is also a counselor for the Small Business Development Center at Raritan Valley. 

How you look. The way you look and how you dress makes a statement to other people, says Morgan. "I met one person who was a financial adviser who always went to meetings dressed sloppily, with no make-up and messy hair. She was making a lasting impression. It just wasn't a good one," she says. 

Your appearance "should get you noticed in the right way," says Morgan. "Think about the way you want to be viewed by others." Branding, she adds, is making sure that "you look the part, that you make a striking impression." Her trademark, she says, is a flower worn on her right shoulder. "If I'm wearing a name badge I always put it just below the flower. That way people remember me." 

Dressing well doesn't mean always wearing a business suit. "You should dress appropriately for the occasion," says Morgan. For a trade show, for example, "make sure that the people visiting the booth know who is with your company and who is a guest." Clothing with a company logo works well in that type of situation. 

The way you act. "Actions speak louder than words," according to the old proverb. Morgan agrees. Your body language can say as much about you as what you say. Well-written business materials will help you project your personal brand, but if you don't follow-up on what you and your materials have promised, your image will suffer. 

"Your appearance and actions reflect on your company," says Morgan. "Make sure you and your staff always look and act in a professional manner." What impression does it give "if at a trade show you or your staff are using the telephone, playing games, or reading books?" 

The way you treat other people. Of course you treat others well - as an individual. But how does your business treat them? When a customer comes to your place of business is he greeted cheerfully? "A person's first impression is usually a lasting impression," says Morgan. "There's a reason Wal-Mart has greeters saying, 'Welcome to Wal-Mart,' at the door." 

If you or your employees act as if they are not interested in helping the customer, it will be branded in that customer's mind. "Show the same level of concern for your customers that you want to be treated with," advises Morgan. 

The message you relate. When you meet a person you are relaying many messages to them, says Morgan. There is generally a spoken message, possibly a written message, but often the most important is the unspoken message. "How you speak to people, how you show that you respect people leaves a lasting impression," she says. 

An example "from junior high years" illustrates her point. "When you were in junior high if someone had a reputation for being a troublemaker and ink was thrown on the walls, you immediately suspected the troublemaker." Whether deserved or not, if a company gets a bad reputation it is difficult to change people's opinions. It is easier, by far, says Morgan, to develop a good reputation than to overcome a bad one. 

A brand, sums up Morgan, is different from a trademark. "A trademark is a logo or a song. You own your trademark." Your brand, on the other hand, is "in the mind of the beholder. It is the public's perception of you." It is an image or attitude about you in someone else's mind. "You don't own your brand," says Morgan. "The public does." 

- Karen Hodges Miller 

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