By Steve Sherry
June 24, 2010
You’re traveling down a country road and you notice a roadside vegetable stand with a handwritten sign that reads “Jimmy’s Fresh Produce.” Conjuring up “fresh-from-the-farm” imagery, you stop and purchase a bag of the largest, ripest tomatoes you’ve ever seen. You drive away pleased with the experience and, in fact, hope that Jimmy is there the next time you travel the same road.
As you continue on your way and turn on a winding bend you notice another roadside stand with a hand painted sign that says, “Ron’s sky diving lessons.” Upon seeing this sign you find yourself speeding up versus slowing down. You may have always wanted to learn to sky dive, but clearly don’t feel comfortable with Ron’s presentation.
Why stop and buy from Jimmy, but not from Ron? In reality, Ron may be more competent and reliable than Jimmy. But the presentation of his company conveys a different perception.
A “brand” is not just the company name or the style of logo. Everything that your company does, says and exudes (whether it is verbal or visual) creates a consumer perception. Many companies, large and small, inadvertently misrepresent their corporate brand image. It’s easy to do in a rapidly changing marketplace by not staying in touch with consumer needs and desires. Companies constantly need to reevaluate their brand positioning. They must present a brand image that consumers can relate to and connect with emotionally.
Start From The Inside
Start by conducting a shared values exercise—this compares what your company offers with what your customers want at an emotional level1. Using washing detergent as an example, many brands sell a product feature—Brand X gets your dirty clothes clean and bright. Other brands sell the benefit—Brand Y rewards the responsible mom who makes her family look good with clean clothes. But few brands sell the emotional connection—Brand Z, being a “green” formula, allows you to make the world safer for your children and grandchildren.
A shared value is a belief that both your brand and your consumers have a higher purpose or passion that has meaning in their lives beyond a specific product category. This mindset shifts from a traditional marketing approach of defining product features and benefits to determining how the consumer views success when using your product or service. Gather your senior executives and create an insight generation session that defines how your core values are perceived by consumers and begins to link the granular elements of your product delivery with contemporary, elevated needs of consumers.
You Can’t Do It Alone
While the insight generation process may not yield concrete shared values, it will provide you with skeletal concepts worth researching. Partner with research firms that can dive deeper utilizing psychographic and ethnographic studies to help you define the needs of your customers and consumers. It’s all about resonating with your audience and this requires a clear understanding of their aspirations and motivations. This way of gathering information sounds like an action only large corporations would take, but even mid- to small-sized companies can efficiently benefit from this approach. In fact, micro firms would learn a lot by conducting this internal exercise and then performing informal research with their current customers, referral base and prospects.
Build Advocates To Expand Your Revenue
Providing relevant value to customers without expecting anything in return will elevate your company profile. It centers on increasing performance on the basics and then providing unexpected value to your customer. Smart brands befriend consumers and enter into relationships like those between true friends. Good deeds are quickly shared through online communities and this “word of mouth” grows exponentially. When you reach the status of “close friend” it means that consumers identify with your brand and are willing to endorse it. This true advocacy builds your core business.
What If
Let’s go back to the opening scenario. What if Jimmy promoted a website to his customers providing them with the ability to import his weekly location to their onboard GPS system or smart phone as well as providing a listing of the organic, pesticide-free produce that he is currently offering? Would those actions create an emotional connection with his customers and thereby promote repeat visits?
What if Ron, after moving his operation to the local commuter airport, had a professional sign produced spotlighting his website and used social media to communicate video testimonials from satisfied customers? Would that enhance consumer confidence in his company and stimulate trial by new customers?
By reaching out to customers and appealing to their needs and emotions, as well as giving them a way to easily take action on your product or service, you not only add brand credibility to your company, you can also boost sales.
Steve Sherry is president of The Sherry Group, a marketing and branding consulting company, headquartered in Winston Salem, NC. He can be reached at steve@thesherrygroup.com.