No matter what your line of business, branding may well be your most important tool or getting consumers to remember you long after your advertisement budget is spent and forgotten.  Now before I start touting companies like Coca-Cola, or branding masters like Donald Trump and Martha Stewart, I want to assure you that branding does not necessarily mean spending lost of money on marketing or cool logos.  Branding is about getting the public to remember your brand, even if they can’t remember who you are or how they heard about you.

As a new Main Line REALTOR trying to make a name for myself in the most sought after area of the Main Line real estate market, I knew I  Had had to make a name for myself in the business.  I learned quickly how easily I was discarded and forgotten.  Countless hours were spent trying to convince the consumer that I was good at what I did, that I could give them great service or why I was the best choice.  The only thing the consumer heard was white noise.  Even if I was able to penetrate their minds, no one remembered who I was in the long run.  Then, in a real estate training class, we were told to try and come up with a brand.  Of course, being the maverick that I am, I avoided the cheesy brands like Bob King, the “King of real estate”, or Judy Pete, the “Key to your new home”.  I wanted to stand out from the competition, so what was I to do?

Thinking back to one of my favorite sushi chef’s, I remembered that he always called me the “Big Guy.”  And so it was born.  I re-christened my brand as, “Ask The Big Guy.”  I put it on everything.  My business cards, website, mugs, pens, shirts, even my truck.  You name it and AskTheBigGuy.com was on it.  Sure, the creeping self doubt would invade my mind.  Is it professional enough?  Does it make me look hokey?  Will it work?  I branded, and branded and branded.  Then I waited, and waited and waited.  Of course, unlike the get-rich-quick mentality of most Americans, I was disappointed that things did not take off as quickly as I hoped.  But soon, a funny thing happened.  My website got more and more hits.  My phone began to ring more and more. Slowly but surely my brand began to creep into the local markets consciousness. 

It has now been 6 years since I began my branding, and the longest call I ever had after someone forgot my name was 3 years!  Imagine how good it felt to be remembered after such a long time.  I was dumbfounded as I asked this person, how did you remember me, and she was honest, but told me what I had thought all along.  She had forgotten my name, but she remembered “Ask The Big Guy!” Want o see it in action?  If you were to do a Google search for Main Line Real Estate, or Main Line properties, you will see that branding has brought up my name high in the ranks.

I now regularly do business with people 1 to 2 years after they first heard about me, and invariably they tell me when asked  that my web brand is what they remembered, NOT my name!  So be creative, dare to be different, and use something unique in your branding, and you too can stand out from the crowd!