When I met my biological father met  I was working on health care reform and attending caucus meetings in D.C.  I have had many, in depth conversations with him translating medical terminology, explaining the endocrine system and demystifying pharmaceutical labels for him.

In a mind sometimes tumbled by ever increasing signs of dementia, he holds fast to his description of me as “the one who went to medical school and knows the doctor stuff.”

My client and friend, Janet is kind enough to talk about me with her network of briliant thinkers. One of those thinkers refers to me as “Marketing Genius Woman in Detroit.” The label is a combination of Janet’s words about his own unique perception of what those words meant to him.

The descriptions  are not what I would assign myself but both bring home the realiziation that people will describe you based on their experience with you filtered through the lens of their own perceptions.

We all have a self-assigned set of keywords for our position, character, relationships and values. We “market” them to the world in words and actions. But, in our interactions with others they may create their own set of long tailed keywords that not only describes us but our position and reflection in the other person’s life. Who I am is answered in each encounter by how you see me.

As a company, it validates the need to communicate marketing messages that will be reinforced by your customers experience with you. The great opportunity is to then extend that great branding with additional distinctions. So, you go from being “company that sells great X” to “company that sells great X and treats their customers like royalty.”

In life, your keywords give clues to your character and relationship with others. In life and business branding, your actions and interractions can reinforce (or not) your messaging.