What does your brand say about you?

How are your customers greeted when they arrive at your front door? What happens to them when they go on-hold on your telephone system? When you say you’ll do something by a given date, can you be relied upon? What about your salespeople, and your customer service team? When you send information or a proposal to your prospect, how does it arrive – a jumble of brochures and leaflets in the wrong sized envelope, or a personalised suite of useful information in a smart folder? Do your written materials reflect an easy-to-read ‘house style’ or does everybody do their own thing? What’s the first thing people think of, when they hear your company name?

Your brand – your company’s identity and values – is communicated to your customers and prospects in many ways, and every one of them is an opportunity to reinforce strong and positive messages about the quality of your offering, how you do business and how you value your customers.

Think of how you felt, the last time you got put on-hold and fell into a silent telephony ‘black hole’. Or when a crushed and damaged envelope scattered its miscellany of un-matched leaflets, brochures and just-in-case odds-and-ends all over your desk. Did it give you warm feelings about your potential supplier’s attitude or professionalism? Did it give you confidence, or make you feel dismayed and irritated?

Your brand is about much more than having a nice logo. Every one of your staff represents your brand when they meet or talk with your customers. Every one of your brochures, fact-sheets, proposals, letters and business cards represents your brand. Your office, meeting rooms and trade show displays represent your brand. Even your coffee mugs and coasters! Everything makes an impression – small or large. Everything. They’re all clues from which your customer builds their opinion of you, and their confidence in you. And every time you get something right, in the eyes of your customer, your brand goes up in value.

To build your brand, first be clear about what you stand for as a company and how you want to do business. Then make sure that every interaction, of every kind, with anybody at all – customer, prospect, supplier, colleague or passer-by - endorses and reinforces those values.

4th May 2009