There’s an old axiom that tells us to “dress for success.” And more than influencing other people’s perceptions of us (which is a given), there’s plenty of science that shows the clothes we wear can influence our perception of ourselves — even to the point of affecting us at a hormonal level (by increasing testosterone levels in men, as one example). Now apply all that to your brand.

The Strong Suit

A recent study shows that, “at 95 percent confidence, there was a significantly positive relationship between brand identity management and organizational commitment.” The study goes on to note direct and positive relationships between organizational committment and its relationship to job satisisfaction.

To summarize more succintly, the stronger and better managed your brand is, the more committed your employees will be and the happier they’ll be in their jobs.

Officer Thinking

As any good business administration student will tell you, job satisfaction is the most important job attitude. Employees who are satisfied in their jobs perform better by producing higher quality results at a faster pace. They also have lower levels of absenteeism, work longer hours than mandated, and rarely leave their companies for positions elsewhere.

This sort of calculus isn’t something that’s often thought of when deciding how to construct and maintain a brand. Many think of marketing as an investment, the return on which must arrive via some external result such as an action taken by a prospect, the production of a lead, or — in the best case — a sale. But returns can come in many forms.

The bottom line:

A powerful brand, like a power suit, can energize your people, enhance their satisfaction with their jobs, and improve their performance. It will yield its positive returns, financial and spiritual — and even fuel itself as the gains aggregate and feed each other.

So, what are you waiting for?

The time is now.