See the Pattern, Know the Brand
Brands send messages. These messages are conveyed by their advertising, by their earned media, and by everything else that the company does and stands for. Perception among customers and prospective buyers is formed by the aggregate weight of these messages, these practices, and by all encounters with a company’s team members, with the product, and so on.
Today, brand experience is the name of the game, because it encompasses operational realities. When a brand message says one thing but the reality of the product or service delivery says another, cognitive dissonance drives people away. Forever.
How does one go about welding various disciplines like sales and marketing and operations into one cohesive whole, so there is no cognitive dissonance anywhere near the brand? That’s up to every CEO, COO, and CMO to figure out. My message to the chiefs is this: figure it out.
Product Love Is Not the Same As Marketplace Acceptance
Some agency-side people believe that they can change a client. I don’t believe this, nor do I believe that it is the agent’s job to do so. Our job is to help make the client more of who they truly are, so everyone knows who and what they are, from the factory floor to the retail counter, to Wall Street (if applicable).
A company is born with DNA strands. You can’t undo this formative framework, because it’s the body and spirit of the firm.
If valuing brand experience and customer experience are not woven into the fabric of the company, the brand marketers can’t add it in later. If brand identity is not important, it will show, often badly. It’s true that we can fix this, but a new look and feel is not an overhaul of the founder’s concepts about their own company or place in the market.
Founders and CEOs love their products. It can be blinding love, because there are times when these visionaries forget to make their products universally appealing among the consideration set. Instead, they do a “hallway test” and everyone within 10 miles of the C-Suite sings heavenly praises all day every day.
Muddy Boots and Sweaty Shirts
Real brand building requires that the team gear up for tough duty. Despite what you may have seen or heard, it’s not an ass-kissing party. It’s an ass-kicking party.
I have met several CEOs and a few delusional CMOs who want to be like Nike or Apple, but it’s all huffy puffy fantasies and no action. Action requires digging down to the foundation and remaking the brand from the ground up, so it is remarkable and truly built to last. It’s real labor and it’s not for lightweights.
In my estimation, just one in one thousand are prepared to do this and do it right. Because to build a brand that lasts is hard, it’s disruptive, and it can be costly. So, what is the payoff? Why bother with brand at all? The answer is a company with a strong brand reputation is worth tens of millions, perhaps hundreds of millions, more than it otherwise would be.
