IMAGE AND BRANDING

By: Molly Looman

PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL BRANDING FOR BUILDING ENGINEERS

Building engineers are part of a team. They may even wear their company’s logo to work every day. With as tenant-facing as the position is, it is important for building engineers to represent their company’s brand well, but also develop their own image that can both aid their current position and aid them in their future professional pursuits.

WHAT DOES BRANDING EVEN MEAN? Paul Petricca from Torque consulting said that having a winning image is about being perceived positively and uniquely. For a building engineer, this may mean differentiating yourself to tenants or using your position to differentiate your business and define its values to the tenant.

“Having a personal brand is similar to having a winning image,” Petricca said. “By definition, in order to actually have a personal brand, a person needs to be doing something uniquely different.”

Much of achieving an effective brand is outward facing and requires consistency. Employees must be clear on what their company always wishes to portray and be sure to act in that vein. For a tenant or outside sources to begin to recognize a pattern or theme, it must be repeated. With building engineers

having the most tenant interaction, they have the most opportunities to exhibit the unique qualities their company brings to the table.

A VISUAL MEDIUM Branding is also a visual medium. Maintaining a consistent outward appearance and demeanor is a big signal to other parties. People make split-second judgements as soon as you meet them, so you want to make sure your outward appearance is helping you, not hurting you.

“Like it or not, the majority of people form their opinion or perception of us based primarily on how we look or present ourselves, especially immediately after meeting us,” Petricca said. “ In our society, this may seem very superficial, but research supports that what people see influences how they read the image we project.”

PERSONAL IMAGE While complying with company branding is important, building engineers must maintain and see to their own personal image as well. Many people, Petricca said, may hold the misconception that a building engineer must be outgoing in order to share their unique qualities. This is not true. Establishing a personal brand is about actions and consistency. If a building engineer is outgoing, take advantage of that and show that to tenants as your unique style. However, if a building engineer is not outgoing, they should look to find the skills and qualities that separate them from other building engineers and show those to tenants.

A BRAND IS UNIQUE Building a brand is not a “one size fits all” process, but it is an essential one to building and maintaining business, relating to tenants and growing professionally.

At the minimum, building engineers and all staff members should avoid hurting the brand. Breaking established trust can mean losing business or causing an existing relationship to suffer. “It is readily apparent to fellow employees, service providers and customers when someone is not acting in concert with the company they represent,” Petricca said.

Being a part of a company’s brand is not being a cog in a machine. It is internalizing values and presenting them in a unique, personal way. Building engineers that work to achieve a personal brand will set themselves up for growth within their company and recognition outside of the company as they continue their career journey.

With a tenant-facing role, building engineers should take full advantage of their ability to show the right image to their tenants.

About the Author:

Molly Looman is a communications intern at BOMA and a senior at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. She will complete her degree in Public Relations and Dramatic Arts in May of 2020. While new to the world of commercial real estate, she has been eager to learn about this exciting and growing industry.