The gist of Goffman’s argument was that we all create a conceptual framework (based on past experiences and collected knowledge) with which we evaluate the world and how we approach it. In basic terms, we each have our own perspectives/frames, and these dictate how we interpret and react to events and stimuli outside of us.

This may all sound like common sense, but in our crazy world it’s somewhat uncommon to stop for a moment to consider how you frame your world and how your frame dictates your behavior. People don’t usually consider why they are making a decision or behaving in a certain way; they simply decide or act, not thoughtlessly but more typically reactively and instictively.

Where am I going with this, you ask, and how does it apply to small business branding? When it comes to your company, there are three important frameworks: your framework, your employees’ collective framwork and your customers’ collective framework. Most marketers and business owners assume that your framework is the one that matters the most, because the business is run and operated by you and reflects how you view things. But it’s the frameworks of your employees and customers that matter the most.

How your employees view your business and their place in it directly affects how they react with the marketplace and your customers. And how your customers view your brand and frame it from their points of reference dictates your brand perception. In reality, how your customers frame your brand in fact is your brand. So how well do you know where they are coming from? How well can you relate to their frameworks? That’s the key to establishing a successful brand and business.