In a Strong Headwind the Stronger Brands Prevail

I subscribe to Commercial Property News, "the Business of Real Estate" to stay up to date on economic trends from that vantage point. The current issue interviews Aik Hong Tan, president of Richfield Hospitality Inc. who currently manages 29 hotels.

He commented about what lenders wanted to see when providing financing for a hotel deal,  “They are definitely looking at the brand of the hotel, and they want to see a top brand.  When you start moving into a headwind, the stronger brands will prevail.”

Certainly, we can consider this as a universal statement of the times to apply to multiple business issues such as the attracting and recruiting talent of or our own personal branding.

All other things being equal, the stronger company brand or personal brand will have the competitive advantage in a commoditized world. Since brand is a matter of perception, managing bad on line visibility, accentuating the good on line visibility on line serves to build a positive brand experience and reputation.

Companies, struggling to recruit great talent, especially in small to mid-sized range, give little or no attention to the attractiveness and promotion of their cultural brand which aside from the product serves to attract the right talent to them. This starts with an inviting jobs and careers web page with clear, engaging information about who they are and what they have to offer prospective employees.

Of course, the recruitment branding experience extends to employee referral programs, new hire orientations, employee blogs, job ads and promotions.They all have to be developed and managed to ensure a positive, strong and visible brand.

In some cases, a well-done recruitment brand can enable the David, small company, to slay the Goliath, bigger company, who is less well branded.