Martha Stewart – Queen Of Marketing, Or Not?
Martha Stewart. Pompous, arrogant, successful. She took her company to the top through a burning desire to be successful. She is the epitome of the American Dream. Through her business saavy and superior marketing, she took herself to the top. And now, she is teaching us all a valuable lesson about marketing and branding.
Martha built her company, and her own personal brand, through superior marketing. Naming her company after herself, she built her empire on what people associated with her - the perfect home maker. Millions of woman looked up to her. Millions bought her products, watched her tv show, and bought her books. What Martha failed to realize is the one marketing lesson we can all learn from - your brand is not what you tell people, it is who you really are.
You see, over the last couple of years, Martha has been exposed as the shrewd business woman she is - not the perfect home maker she made herself out to be. And, through her arrogance, is now heading to her new home. As business owners, sales people, and corporate employees, we need to learn from this lesson. Our brand is uniquely tied to who we really are. People know when we are out of integrity, sense it, and make decisions on it.
So, what can we learn from this? Ask yourself if your brand is in alignment with who you really are. Are you in integrity with your marketing message? Does your personal brand align with who you really are, or is it just "smoke and mirrors"? Is people's perception reality? If not, you may be fooling yourself - just like Martha was. Bottom line - If you want to improve your business, improve yourself!