🐝 Successful Businesses
🍎 Brilliant at the Basics
🐝 Successful Businesses
In Brand New Name, I inadvertently made a controversial statement, “Successful businesses create successful brands, and never the other way around.”
In requesting testimonials, I reached out to a very well recognized branding guru and author. He vehemently disagreed with my argument.
He wrote, “In my writings, I say the opposite. That’s because I define a brand as something the customer—not the company—creates.”
He went on to say, “I know you’ll understand that I can’t add my name to the book if it contradicts my core definition of a brand. But if you actually agree with it, I’m happy to give it a strong ‘buy’ reco. Either way, I love the book.”
We’re still friends and I respect him dearly, but on this topic we see branding from very different perspectives.
There is a common myth in the branding world that your customers define your brand.
Like all myths, there’s truth in the statement. Jeff Bezos said, “Your brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room.”
Jeff Bezos gives one of the most succinct definitions of “brand,” but what customers say about your brand is a “lagging indicator.” It’s based on the work you have done. Branding is forward looking. It’s your strategy!
To grow a remarkable brand, build a remarkable business. The better your company, the better your brand. Those experiences will shape what they say about you when you’re not in the room.
The work you do every day is what defines your brand.
One Stat to Watch
86%
Don't disappoint older shoppers. According to the International Council of Shopping Centers, 86% of Gen Xers and 85% of Baby Boomers will switch brands immediately if customer service is poor.
🍎 Brilliant at the Basics
The basics may not be glamorous or exciting, but they’re essential to growing a Sticky Brand.
Great customer service starts with employees who care. All it takes to form an incredible customer experience is a curious employee who is willing to help.
Delivering great customer service is deliberate. Nordstrom, Zappos, and USAA Insurance wow customers by investing in their people, systems, and technology. It’s more than talented employees that wow customers. It’s the system.
A company’s honest commitment to serving customers is very hard to replicate, and it’s profitable. Customers will pay more for brands that are brilliant at the basics.
It’s the little things that customers remember and appreciate:
- An employee who was friendly and served them well.
- A product that was incredibly reliable and never requires maintenance.
- A company that anticipates its customers’ needs with new products and features.
These simple yet highly functional experiences create a sticky factor. And the more you deliver these experiences, the more your customers will come back.
Your customers won’t need to look anywhere else when your company is brilliant at the basics.
The basics are the building blocks of your brand. It’s not sophisticated, but often the basics are the hardest part of business. So ask yourself and your team one question on a regular basis: how can we be just a little bit better?
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