Bob Chernet’s MARKETING INSIGHTS: “Brand” is a Verb in Action
by Bob Chernet
Almost everywhere you turn today you hear the term “brand” or “branding” being thrown about. This week I’m attending a trade show in Chicago and heard variations of “brand” at breakfast, during meetings, on the shuttle, and at dinner.
“We’ve got an important new branding initiative…” said one. Another talked about “creating a branding campaign that would…” I even heard about how someone’s “brand needed more traction.”
Truth be told, I’ve always been taught that a brand cannot be created overnight, but rather over time. I’m a firm believer that a “branding campaign” is not about branding at all; but rather about advertising. I become perplexed when I see marketing communications, advertising or publicity that talks about their brand, as if nobody knew about it.
Tragically, these companies miss the whole point. To me, a brand is a set of customer expectations. They expect the menu to be priced consistently from location to location., the place to be clean, the personnel to be observant and ready. The quality to be high. If they are not you can run all the ads you want, but it won’t be true and the customer will either know it, or find out quickly.
So, what’s the point?
Besides holding a brand to a customer’s expectations, it runs much deeper than what you say you do. It’s actually what you do, day-in and day-out. Brand is actually a verb first; a noun second. Brand is the company in action. Brand is what the company sees demonstrated. It is not what the company says that it is.
Case-in-point: I have rarely seen a brand so clearly communicated and demonstrated than by the Hilton Garden Inn here at O’Hare Airport. They so clearly get it that even their comment cards (placed everywhere) don’t take the usual approach of “how can we improve?” but instead “Catch us doing something great…”
In the hotel business, service stands-out above the usual “clean beds” and such. But when you and others talk about the level of attention you’re getting from the hotel, while riding on the shuttle, well, that’s plain amazing.
What this hotel has done is teach every employee that the customer is the most important person, and to do everything in one’s power to accommodate them; often before they actually ask for it. The hotel manager’s business cards are plainly visible (and available) at the front desk, where his cell phone number is boldly printed if ever necessary!
As the shuttle picked us up from the airport, the driver cheerily greeted us, handed us each a fresh and cold bottle of water (on a very hot day) as we entered. He called-ahead with our names, so that we would already be checked-in, with keys ready and waiting.
Rooms had both free wired and wireless Internet (no registration, no codes, no fees). Plus, free printing services from the room.
Need to go somewhere? Anywhere? A shuttle would whisk you to your destination virtually any time of day or night; simply call the driver for a pick-up. No charge.
When boxed materials were sent to the hotel instead of the convention center, the hotel clerk cheerily noted that they had already been put on the shuttle to be delivered to the booth! No charge.
I could go on about the surprises that lurked around every corner. But what this hotel in Chicago did was to live its brand through its actions. You didn’t need a branding campaign to tell others about how good they were; the actual customers would do that by talking to others about their great experience. And, after all, isn’t word-of-mouth the best, most trusted, cost-efficient methods of marketing?
So, when you’re embarking on your next marketing initiative make sure you apply the principles of branding-as-a-verb from the very beginning. As you develop your messaging strategy. As you write copy. As you plan the Web site experience. As you implement touchpoints, forms, processes, follow-ups, opt-ins and such.
Think ahead of what your customer / visitor expects from you and your brand. If you execute on these with flawless precision, your brand will show itself automatically.
Now it’s your turn:
Agree? Disagree? Have a success story? Have a question? Share it with me at: bob_chernet@viewmark.com
View a complete list of Bob’s Marketing Insights articles.
© 2008 Bob Chernet
Reproduction in any manner is unlawful, without the written permission of the author.
