MODA: Google and Brand Success…Bonus Fashion Video
Fortune 100, 500 and any growing corporation….
A vital key to success is still excellent management; however, the key to success is a clear understanding of the word BRAND. I have worked with companies at all levels, and I can say with authority that Brand is now the buzz word of the entire business and entertainment world. And it should be.
There is one problem.
Not everyone understands what Brand is, and if you cannot define it, you cannot communicate it. I have heard people say, brand is our product, brand is our values, brand is our logo and brand is our marketing programs. None of these answers are right.
Issue #1
Your corporate Brand is not what you say it is, nor is it what the manuals say it is, your actual brand is what the public, your employees and your customers say it is. Brand is the emotion and gut feeling that people associate with your company, your products and the people that work in your business. We can define what we want Brand to be by words, but the words mean nothing if they are never employed into active service. Brand audits and brand reviews can be phenomenal tools, but they are just the beginning for creating cultivating a winning brand. I have visited businesses, professional service firms, associations and even Universities across the country that have spent hours and hours writing great manuals about brand, only to fail because they did not educate the very people who share it…employees and peers.
This is the management disconnect. Management has one view of what defines their brand and everyone else has another. This was true when JC Penney hired a new CEO only to have him leave because he decided that the brand of JC Penney should be one thing, but the customers wanted something else.
Issue #2
Your team never disagrees. If you want to build a winning brand, then do what Google did and rid your company of the egos at the top of the management train. Tell the well-educated and super-efficient bosses to step back and gather a team who thinks creatively. Management must ask the people who interact daily with the public and their peers at all levels for feedback about their company brand. This will help define what the company really stands for. Open thought is great in shaping your brand and sometimes a fresh perspective with fresh eyes and minds exploring all the opportunities is the best route.
Issue #3
Failed integration. Your brand is ALL of the business. Think about every area your brand message. A consistent and thoughtful message should be sent out from social media, heard in how you answer the phone or correspond internally and externally, seen by the visual image of all employees, seen in all written communication, felt through all business etiquette and so on. Finally, keep up with the times and put someone in charge of this creative process. This is someone who can be creative and also steer that creative energy into a process and system.
Brand is experienced and it is seen…Telling others what it stands for means nothing until we can see it and experience it. Brand is more than words, it is a process. It is a way of living and working. Apple built a brand. Starbucks built a brand. They built these brands not only on words, but on the demands of its leadership that were reinforced by the actions of its people. Brand drives everything.
Do you and/or your colleagues represent, reflect and complement the company brand at every level and in every interaction? Review all possible points where your brand could fail to be inconsistent. Fashion, image, tone of voice, internal and external communication, presence and presentation, written communication and so on…
MODA Image and Brand Consulting is the only company that is able to train your employees about personal brand, corporate brand representation, image and fashion. Click here to visit our corporate training page for more information.
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