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SIX THINGS EVERY OWNER NEEDS TO KNOW CONTʼD PG 16
Value Added, continued from Page 6
change and they align their spending with those companies and brands that they identify with.
Here are several current trends that you can consider taking advantage of to appeal to these more conscious consumers in order to create a competitive advantage: • Made in Canada (or the U.S.A): Over the last several years, consumers have really started waking up to the fact that while we can buy products made overseas for less money, it comes at a social, environmental and geopolitical cost. As a result, more consumers are shi ing to domestic products, especially those produced at a local level. • Environmentally friendly: Consumers around the globe are increasingly alarmed by the consequences of climate change and want to do their part to lighten their consumer footprint. Integrating initiatives which include using sustainable and recyclable materials, reducing packaging waste and giving consumers the option to o set their purchases with carbon o sets. Consider how you can implement similar practices in your own business. • Giving back: Consumers today expect businesses to give back to the communities where they do business.
Companies should consider what community contributions make sense for them and how those contributions can enhance their brand. Whatever programs you choose to support, they should be aligned with your overall brand mission. 4. Provide personal customer service is may sound “old school” but it’s anything but common. Personalized customer service is perhaps the most notable loss in business with the advent of automation. We can all identify with calling a 1-800 number and getting bounced around from one automated response to another and ultimately not getting the help we need.
Highly personalized customer service is an amazing competitive tool. is is the one time when consumers need to talk to a “real person,” so you should be there for them in their time of need! What better way to build brand loyalty than with a personal interaction when consumers need help? Especially as your business grows, it’s important to maintain the level of hands-on customer service; this is arguably the best way to establish customer loyalty. 5. Put customers at the centre of your brand
Back in the “old days,” businesses put consumers at the centre of their businesses. As the world has become more digital and more automated, we sometimes forget that brands exist to serve their consumers; and therefore, consumers should be at the centre of all that you do. Whether you are formulating your product o ering strategy, your sourcing strategy, your customer service strategy, your product guarantee or your customer service model, your rst question should always be, “What would our customers prefer?.
When it comes to adding value and thereby setting your brand apart in a crowded marketplace, use the above tips to deliver true value to your target customer. Problem solving, personalization and customer service all go a long way in establishing customer loyalty, and those customers will continue to come back to your business for years to come because of the unique value your organization delivers.
Six Things Every Business Owner Needs to Know About Branding
By Jane Cavalier
We live in a rapidly changing world where the old rules no longer apply. Many call it a VUCA world – volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous.
Mass consumerism has been replaced by a new consumption paradigm as people are driven by new essentialism where things matter less and relationships, experiences and self-being dominate all.
In this new world, workers are restless, customers ckle, investors skittish, and the public has an appetite to cancel. In order to rally everyone together to stand behind a company and its path during all the ups and downs, leaders need to draw upon emotions as rationality will not carry the day. ey have one tool at their disposal to do this delicate work – the brand.
Although o en associated with marketing, brands are actually cultural icons that symbolically carry meaning. In just a nano second, they evoke common immediate meaning and emotions across all people. ink BMW, John Deere, Chanel, Apple and American Express. In a world where everything is uncertain, brands can be trusted to stand true.
Now, if you don’t have a brand, you can build one. Anyone can. It takes commitment to people, in order to tell their story and to represent their brand, not your own.
If you create a brand that represents the highest common denominator between your people (customers, employees, investors) and your products and services, then you can forge an enduring powerful partnership that will yield surprising dividends for your business. It all begins with understanding the basics of what a brand really means for a business.
Branding, continued on Page 16
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Branding, continued from Page 14 1. A Brand Resides in the Mind not in a Logo
Although expressed in a logo and a tagline, a brand is actually a mental construct that gets into the mind and lives in the memory of people.
Branding is the process of creating the brand in the minds of people. It is typically done by creating things and experiences that “express” the brand such as marketing materials and product design.
Brands also live in the culture. Powerful brands like Nike become social concepts and exist in the culture where they continually give people cues and establish the brand as a part of society.
2. Brands Set Meaning
Brands give meaning to products. Is an anti-lock braking system (ABS) a breakthrough in performance (BMW) or safety (Volvo)? at depends on the brand. e brand is a mental lens that provides immediate meaning. A Snickers bar is a snack. Ti any means luxury taste and quality. Apple is about unleashing creativity while IBM is about improving productivity. e brand provides context which tells people why a product is important to them.
3. Brands Carry Emotional Power
Like great art, brands are designed to elicit a response, both emotional and rational. Like art they can enchant and o en captivate people, which creates desire.
Marlboro was the rst lter-tipped cigarette and was initially launched as a woman’s cigarette which failed. e same product was re-branded as the ultimate masculine smoke and with the swagger of the Marlboro man, still remains one of the most powerful brands in the world. Powerful brands are mythologies that evoke emotions that swell to desire.
4. Brands are Fiction Not Fact
Branding is poetry not journalism. Messaging matrixes and value propositions belong to marketers and are factbased. Branding is another world that is concept-based. Branding brings out the big gun – an idea. A powerful, transcendent, mind-tweaking idea designed to engage the mind and heart at another level. e idea is what catalyzes new behavior and thinking. When Tide gets clothes clean, it means that Mom and Dad are good parents and conveys that message. e Home Depot is a large hardware store, but the brand makes it a Home Center for any current and aspiring do-it-yourselfer.
While products and employees come and go within a company, the brand can endure forever – as long as it is well maintained.
5. Brands Defy Logic
When you have a powerful brand, you’ll be surprised by what it can do. You will see strong conviction and commitment across employees, customers and investors despite challenges.
People tend to defend the brands they love and stay loyal against all odds – better alternatives, cheaper alternatives, easier alternatives. To achieve that kind of priceless cohesion, you have to build and continually maintain the brand camp re - and make it into a bon re for the whole world to see. At John Deere, they say people bleed green because the brand is so deep.
6. Brands Deliver Business Value Multiple Ways
Because powerful brands are sticky, they have the ability to build a moat around the business. Customers remain loyal even in the face of superior performing or lower priced competitors.
People forgive and forget product and corporate errors which mitigates losses. People are more willing to try new products, services and experiences from brands they love which accelerates sales.
If you have a vision to build an empire, build a brand to amplify the upside and mitigate the downside. Many corporate executives view the brand as simply a marketing asset. Others like Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Richard Branson and Elon Musk view it as a corporate asset, part of the business strategy. Once built, a powerful brand can be used to wield in uence in many circumstances from Main Street to Bay Street to Parliament Hill.
While products and employees come and go within a company, the brand can endure forever – as long as it is well maintained.
Powerful brands nurture; in a world where people are becoming increasingly unmoored and where constant shocks and disruptions seem to prevent ‘normal’ from ever being a reality, brands are a reassuring presence that people can depend on.
Business always comes down to connecting with people on a human level. Powerful brands are creative concepts that stimulate the imagination and emotions in ways that many business owners cannot.
With a powerful brand, organizations have an amazing tool to open minds, raise hearts, command attention, bring everyone together and protect the business again in a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world.
About the Author:
Jane Cavalier, CEO and Founder of BrightMark Consulting, is a nationally recognized brand strategist, board member, blogger and author of bestselling business book The Enchanted Brand (Amazon). She helps organizations conquer a changing world with powerful brands and reputations. Recognized for creating breakout brands like Snapple and Qwest, Jane has worked with over 100 organizations including American Express, Johnson & Johnson, ExxonMobil and the U.S. Navy. For more information, visit www.brightmarkconsulting.com.
