Building Your Brand Through Consistency
Let’s face it, every organization wants a great brand, one that exemplifies the corporation’s best qualities and makes every customer want to purchase their products or services. But what is a brand and how can you use it to effectively convey the right message to your customers?
It doesn’t matter if your company is Wal-Mart or Walt’s General Store. Brand is the identity of an organization. It is a unique and identifiable symbol, association, name or trademark, which serves to differentiate competing products or services. No one element makes up a brand. It is both a physical and emotional trigger to create a relationship between consumers and the product or service.
The first interaction any customer has with your company defines your brand. Sure, you may only have 10 employees and one retail location. But are you fun and engaging like Archie McPhee, or cutesy country cornpone like Western Spirit? Do you offer a special treat like New York Brownies, or a special loyalty program like Palm Restaurants? Are your products as unique as Red Envelope or as bargain-basement as Overstock.com? Is the keystone of your brand price, product or personality?
Whatever you decide, be sure to consistently communicate company brand values. Don’t just assume your employees know what your organization stands for. Tell them and regularly enforce the message.
New hire training, new position training and quarterly update training are important to put in place. Reward personnel for behavior that exemplifies the values of your company and be sure to correct those that do not follow the appropriate course of action. But beyond that, build your call or service center around those values to enable your employees to carry out the brand that has been defined for them.
Frontline sales personnel need the tools necessary to build the corporate brand successfully, including templates of marketing materials such as presentations, direct mail pieces and company literature that can be customized and personalized according to target market. They could also include special customer promotions, new product or service announcements, even birthday or holiday card wishes.
Beyond the basic tools necessary to protect the brand, consider arming your sales force with gifts for customers. Appropriate giveaways can make a strong impact on brand communication, ensuring that your customers think of you when they need to purchase. How about a customized mousepad photo-frame so that your customers see your brand name whenever they look at pictures of their loved ones?
Regardless of brand choice and implementation, consistency across the board is the key. You must ensure that every aspect of your organization, from marketing materials and Web sites to customer service personnel, maintains the values outlined in your brand. Reaching brand nirvana is not a difficult task, it is just one that needs focus and attention.
Once clearly defined, communicated and practiced, your brand will likely evolve over time as your organization grows and expands. Perhaps you expand your product line, refine it or maybe you even want to target a new market. Do not be afraid of the growth. Simply make sure it’s communicated appropriately and practiced through delivering on the promise. The investment will pay you back in spades.
Janet Holian is chief marketing officer of VistaPrint, an online supplier of graphic design services and customized printed products to small businesses and consumers.
