POSTED BY CHRIS WESTFALL ON APR 25, 2014

Introducing BulletProof Branding

What is your relationship with your brand?

Getting the right message to the right people at the right time is an age-old marketing mantra. And how you hit that sweet spot has been foremost in the minds of every marketer since people started selling things to each other. That hasn’t changed over the years, but our ability to connect with each other and gather information about each other has.

Today technology brings us closer together as people. However, as marketers we have to look at new technologies not as solutions, but as tools for driving conversation. We need to be more focused on personal connection and on using technology to build and nurture relationships.

That’s why I wrote Return on Relationship with Kathryn Rose – because the concept of personal connection is one that transcends time and technology. In this book, Chris Westfall has created a different kind of roadmap to the branding conversation – a conversation that considers the people that matter most to your brand. More importantly, he offers insight into what companies like Cisco, IBM and Cargill are doing to further the conversation – a conversation that’s enabled by technology, but strategically determined by people. People just like you.

The bottom line is really your mindset and how you approach marketing in the first place. Are you in it for the most part to get more eyeballs, or are you in it to develop relationships? The conversation around your brands’ value is a two-way dialogue, and you owe it to yourself to consider the strategies included in this book. It doesn’t matter if you are the social media manager for a multi-billion dollar brand or a solopreneur interested in better personal branding. The concepts you need to build the relationships you deserve are all here for you.

As you begin this book, consider these questions about your organization:

• What is the story around your products and services?
• Who is telling that story… and from whose perspective?
• Are you building relationships that lead to greater advocacy, more true fans, and clear and measurable results for your business?
• Do you have a strategy in place to make sure your message is consistent – not just in your marketing department, but from the C-Suite to customer service to the shop floor?
• Are you sure your message is authentic (no matter who tells your story)?

If you’re trying to make decisions right now about how to improve your brand, then these are just a few of the questions you need to ask yourself.

The relationships you cultivate will determine the value of your business.

If you’re reading this book, you’re interested in making those relationships matter and turning connections into clear profitability. Take the journey and find out what Chris has discovered via his own experience, as well as the relevant interviews that he’s compiled for you.

There are a lot of ideas out there about what marketing and branding really means. However, you’ll make the right decisions as long as improved relationships (which lead to trust, loyalty and advocacy) are your major goals. That’s what I call a real Return on Relationship—and building strong relationships starts with your story. Chris Westfall’s take on the new context for your brand is a story that can, if you allow it, create a transformation in the way you approach the people that matter most.
– TED RUBIN

Originally posted at WestfallOnline