community service Archives - Puris Consulting
Do You Hygge’ and Does It Make You A Happier Brand?

Written by Katy Goshtasbi

Posted on: October 27, 2015

Share This

About two weeks ago San Diego went through a nasty heat wave. The high temperatures were relentlessly in the 90s for that entire period of time. Normally, I would manage to get through it, but it was October.  I yearned for Fall. I was sad and angry.  Once again, I was rethinking living in San Diego, much to the chagrin of my family.

In that two-week stretch, all I wanted to do was to wear a sweater, pull a fleece blanket around me and snuggle under it with a cup of HOT tea.  Without getting heat stroke and making my husband fear my sanity, I couldn’t bring myself to wear the sweater and cuddle under the blanket.  But, I did have a cup of hot tea (well, more like tepid, but I pretended it was really hot) every evening.   My husband was very kind and just looked at me funny from the corner of his eyes. Mostly because he knew how happy it made me to drink my hot tea and pretend like it was Fall outside.

So am I crazy?  Why do I yearn for the coziness, hot tea and sweaters?  Am I just an East Coast gal transplanted on the West Coast?  I dare say not.

In developing peoples’ brands, I always preach the happiness factor: if you are not happy, you cannot sell happiness. Happy branded people are the only brands others notice and buy/hire.

So what does this happiness have to do with getting cozy?  Well, for years I’ve had a theory that people who live in four weather climates are happier brands. Why? I now have the answer.

It’s called Hygge’.  This is a Danish term for the notion of getting snuggly in the winter, spending time with family, relaxing, enjoying life- even if it is cold, dark and wet outside- much like it is in Denmark for about 5 months out of each year. As Suzanne Nilsson, a hygge’ teacher, explains the term hygge’ is “the absence of anything annoying or emotionally overwhelming; taking pleasure from the presence of gentle, soothing things.”  These things include candles, tea, family/social gatherings.

These things are also all the things we would all tend to do more of in climates that have that fourth season of winter.   My friend Pam is from New Hampshire.  She has said on too many occasions that there was such a sense of community in New Hampshire, particularly during winter.  Pam notes that in winter, neighbors just knock on each others’ doors, go in for dinner or for a cup of (get ready for it…) tea!

So could there be truth to my belief?

There are definitely many studies linking gratitude with happiness.  Gratitude does not rely on material things.  If you’re not yearning for more “things” to buy, then your gratitude cycle is more likely to continue meaning you are more likely to stay happy longer, making you a more attractive brand.

As if I needed more proof, I got it on Friday when I was having lunch with Ian McDougall, the General Counsel of LexisNexis.  Ian noted that he had worked in New Zealand for a while and had noticed that despite the fact that people in New Zealand had higher cost of living with lower compensation, they seemed happier.  Why? Ian noted that New Zealand (much like Denmark, perhaps?) was full of breathtaking outdoor life.  It appeared to Ian that most residents found happiness, not in spending their money buying more things, but in spending time outdoors.  So happiness is a function of “being”, rather than “having”.  Folks in New Zealand sound much more likely than not of being happy brands (yes, I’ve met many of them and they were all much happier than the general US population, if I may generalize).  That sounds like hygge’ to me.

What does this mean for you?  Consider, if you want to be an effective brand that attracts others to you emotionally:

  • Take time to just “be” and do nothing. When was the last time you sat around with a cup of hot tea and spent time with friends?
  • Perhaps not buying so much in terms of material things, but consciously look to create opportunities for yourself to be with others in situations that require more of you “being” rather than “doing”.
Share This

Effective Personal Branding and Customer Service- Southwest Airlines Case Study

Written by Katy Goshtasbi

Posted on: July 10, 2011

Share This

I was recently with a client of mine who travels  a lot for work.  We were talking about her favorite airline and she mentioned how she loves Southwest.  As she started talking about Southwest, her entire demeanor changed- you could totally see her excitement and passion for the airline.  She was smiling and saying how much fun it was to fly again now that she had “found” Southwest. She had stumbled upon them when her preferred, major airline had left her stranded and given her no options or assistance. She had literally walked over to the Southwest counter, where they had booked her in about 5 minutes to her destination AND made her laugh.  After that, she was hooked. She gave up her zillion mile status and her first class seats- all to travel on Southwest and enjoy her constant trips.

To me, this is the perfect example of how the Southwest personal and business brands are a success.  It is all because of customer service. Southwest recently celebrated 40 years of business.  If you look at their mission statement (which my client knows by heart!)- it is a dual statement.  One part of the statement is devoted to clients and one to employees.  The client mission statement is:  “dedication to the highest quality of Customer Service delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual pride, and Company Spirit.”

Southwest has literally taken this mission statement and translated it into developing a personal brand for each employee that caters to customer service built on fun and quality.  This personal brand of “fun and quality service” is what my client, as well as many other travelers, remember most about Southwest.  The personal brand is very unique and sets apart the airline from competitors.  Who wouldn’t want good service and fun these days?

As we always say here at Puris, every successful business needs a personal brand that has a unique community service platform.   In terms of personal branding, Southwest has the community service component covered well, also.  According to their website, in 2009, Southwest Airlines employees volunteered more than 45,000 hours to charities across the country. To support these passionate employee volunteers, Southwest Airlines launched the Tickets for Time program. For every 40 hours their employees volunteer for a nonprofit organization, the benefitting nonprofit organization is eligible to receive one complimentary, roundtrip ticket on Southwest Airlines for fundraising or transportation needs.

According to my client, Southwest is “well-designed, yet casual and always has fabulous service”.  On their blog Southwest says that they are in the customer service business and just happen to fly planes.  This says it all, doesn’t it?

What does this mean for your personal brand and your business brand?  Nothing resonates louder for your personal brand and that of your employees than quality customer service done only to serve and create fun and joy in the lives of your customers.  Do you and your staff enjoy servicing your clients?  Is it fun or is it difficult?  Do you all put on your game face and “pretend” to be happy or do you mean it?  We can all see through any insincerity.  It never works.  Hire staff who really like what they do for you and your clients.  I hope you are running a business that you really love, too.

My client is a perfect example of how a business traveler with many options would leave the comforts of first class, priority boarding and extra legroom for good customer service and fun.  Is your customer service fun and effective?  If so, then so is your personal and business brands.

 

Share This

What We Can All Learn From “The Oprah Personal Brand”

Written by Katy Goshtasbi

Posted on: June 1, 2011

Share This

When you stop and think of celebrities, you really get that their personal brand is what they have to promote.  That’s when people really understand the power of having a strong personal brand.  When you stop and think of Brand Oprah, you really get the power of a strong personal brand.

Coming from humble beginnings, Oprah Winfrey has managed to promote herself and her mission so well, we are often left awe-struck.  Along the way, via her show she has sold everything from books (Oprah’s Book Club) to Spanx, to Sprinkles cupcakes.  She consistently had “favorite things” shows where vendors donated their products in return for her genuine endorsements. It is estimated that when Oprah tweeted live on the air, US web traffic shares by Twitter increased by 24%. When Oprah offered free grilled KFC chicken, there were 10.2 million coupons downloaded for free KFC.  When she featured Spanx on air, the company sold 50,000 pairs of their product in three months. Get the personal branding power picture?

Whoever came on her show was likely going to sell and be a success afterwards.  Any endorsement made by Oprah carried some serious weight. This phenomenon is because Oprah was genuine and authentic. We were never in doubt about what her mission was with her show- to educate, inform, help charities and along the way build other businesses.  She knew who she was and thus, sold it well.  Whether you like Oprah or not, you have to respect her for her achievements.

As any great personal brand expert/marketer would do, she has expanded her reach constantly- from magazines (O Mag) to education. She has also stayed relevant by launching the careers of other experts who she liked- Dr. Oz, Nate Berkus and Dr. Phil, to name a few.  She has moved on now to the cable industry and we’ll see how her OWN Network does.

As far as personal branding and strong community service/charity platforms, Oprah is queen. Oprah’s Angel Network, a grant-making nonprofit has been operating successfully throughout Oprah’s career. In fact, fans of Oprah donated an estimated $80 million to the nonprofit alone!

Oprah’s personal brand is associated with celebrity, charity, education and successful launches of products.  What else could you ask for?

What does this mean for you?  Stop and learn from expert personal brander, Oprah.  You don’t have to be as big as Oprah to have an impact on the rest of us with your personal brand.  If you have a well-thought out, strong, confident, authentic personal brand where you help others you will have a positive impact on as many people as you can imagine. No one is too small or too unknown in my opinion. It all depends on how “big” you are willing to play in your life.

So step up to the plate, build a genuine and effective personal brand and play big in life! Others will appreciate you for it.

Share This

Personal Branding Case Study: Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream

Written by Katy Goshtasbi

Posted on: May 11, 2011

Share This

A few weeks ago I was watching a biography on the founders of the successful ice cream brand, Ben & Jerry.  I think I’ve seen the show three times now. The reason is because Ben and Jerry’s story fascinates me AND serves as a perfect picture of what a quality personal brand can do for the owners of a business and for society as a whole.  Now I know you may be thinking this is just ice cream, but let me explain.

In a nutshell, Ben and Jerry began the company in 1978 with $14,000 in Vermont.  They grew the business tremendously and no longer own it.  However the in-between actions is what is text book personal branding, in my opinion.

As you watch the interview, you will see that what differentiated Ben and Jerry is that they truly seem to understand who they were as people BEFORE they launched their business.  This was key in establishing their personal brand and blending it in well with the business brand they built for Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream.   They even mentioned in their interview that they wanted to be “genuine and real” always.  Look at all the names of their ice cream flavors- they represent Ben and Jerry’s personality and personal brands. Genuine and real is all we should ever strive to be.  This attitude and behavior is what people gravitate towards.

Here at Puris, we stress community service and we build community service platforms for companies.  Throughout their ownership of Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream, Ben and Jerry seemed committed to supporting the local community and people of Vermont.  In fact, they even said that this was a huge part of their image within the company. Thus,  they used Vermont milk. To help the local Vermont sewage system, they supplied ice cream waste to a local pig farm.  There are many other examples of their community service.

In fact, their three part mission statement says it all- it includes a product mission, social mission and economic mission.  All of it centers around the environment and community. You can find their mission statement on their website.

So what’s in this for you as a business owner?  Remember, that your business is there to serve a purpose and to contribute a product or service to society. So often we forget we are here to serve others as business owners. This is the very reason the business fails- the personal brand is never developed: the owners never understand their reason for owning the business and contributing to society and never infuse their personality into the business.   To make matters worse, the business then sets out to “market” and develops into a poor business brand without any real values or community platform.

Instead, I encourage you to look at yourself as the owner. Do you understand how you fit into the big picture of your business? Do you understand your personal brand?  Then use your business to help your local community in real and tangible ways- regularly!  Your community will thank you and become huge supporters of your business because you care about them.  Pretty simple model- missed by most small businesses.

For the full story on Ben & Jerry, check out their website.

Share This