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The Costly Difference
by Mike Wagner
 Having talked with hundreds of business owners and leaders over the past few years, I'll bet you've been thinking of a common business term in a way that's costing you money. The word to which I refer is "branding".
From an historical point of view, branding is defined as a badge or a maker's mark. It's shorthand for which company produced the product - "What brand of running shoe did you buy? What brand of car do you drive?"
Leaders using the "image" definition for branding are hurting their organizations. Branding in today's marketplace is...
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Brand Challenge:
Is your organization working on its image or performance?
For most, the term "branding" is synonymous with image. Corporate logos and tag lines are everywhere from athletes to baby clothes. However, image says nothing about how your organization functions and what the customer can expect when they do business with you. Image is about what you say, not what you do. That is why we assist organizations in defining and operationalizing their Performance Brand.
To determine if you are a Performance Branded organization, ask yourself the following questions: Does everyone in my company know...
- ...the customers we must have to grow the company?
- ...what we promise those customers?
- ...how their job contributes to keeping those promises?
To grow your organization, make sure you are working on performance and not just image. The first step is to answer and communicate those answers to everyone in your company.
Ask the Rabbit
Q: Branding is something my marketing department handles. As the President, why do I need to be involved?
A: If you define branding as only the company image in your marketing materials, you don't need to be involved. However, limiting your concept of branding to just image diminishes the importance of how customers experience your organization - and that is far more important than any marketing material you will ever produce.
Brand value resides in customer experiences. Delivering remarkable customer experience creates raving fans who will 1.) Tell others about your product/service, 2.) Become loyal, repeat customers and 3.) Purchase on value which means higher margins.
Start focusing on customer experience as the measure of success for your brand. As President, you are ultimately responsible for your organization's brand performance and must insist on delivering remarkable customer experiences. |
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