Don’t pack up the brand. Pump up the customer experience
Most successful companies deliver clear, compelling value and make good on their promises. If you are not confidently among them, do not lose heart. Most organizations can get lost in the weeds when facing tough decisions. As brand stewards, we are uniquely positioned to help inform and color decision-making processes that impact the brand.
Consider the airlines, post 9-11. Conventional wisdom and economic necessity said that to weather the storm, all non-essential services should be pared down, and every effort should be made to deliver on-time service. Conversely, JetBlue and Southwest bucked the trend. They reinforced their value, relying on innovative operations and hunkering down with unrelenting focus on customers and attention to detail to seize the advantage. Even a near-tragedy in LA in 2005 quickly turned into a success story for JetBlue, largely due to the surplus equity created through flawless brand implementation. Talk about branding in turbulent times (nod to Peter Drucker)! JetBlue has even done a lot right with the Valentine's Day massacre of 2007 — decisive, clear communication has helped an otherwise terrible situation stabilize for the airline.
Clearly, even with its recent bad luck, most companies would prefer to be JetBlue and not just blue. Now you can help leaders see the light. The chart below identifies common warning signs and offers customer-focused branding approaches for realigning what you say and do as a company. Please note that if several of the warning signs at left resonate with your organization, the time has come to get back to basics. Now get out there and pump up the customer experience.
Brand & Customer Experience Alignment Checklist
Warning signs of brand deterioration | Customer-focused branding approaches |
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| Low customer satisfaction and retention evidenced by low repeat business, high churn rates. | Consider market research to identify causal links and define the priorities for improvement. |
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| Flat or falling market share. | Evaluate competitors and potential substitutes against your brand criteria and market dynamics. |
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| Poor internal communications. | Evaluate strategy, organizational structure, bottlenecks, breakdowns and competing interests. Push for organizational accountability. |
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| Low advertising and marketing spend versus competitors. | Evaluate marketing channels and effectiveness. |
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| Inconsistent brand messages or themes across geographies. | Evaluate your brand positioning and execution. If necessary, refine the core story and messaging. |
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| Influx of new or out-of-category competitors and messages. | Identify your top 2-3 points of differentiation and execute well every single day. |
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| High customer service costs vs. industry standards. | Look for ways to streamline, simplify, and improve transactional communications while cutting costs. |
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| High ratio of ad hoc to planned communications. | Evaluate your communications strategy. An audit may help you to identify opportunities to standardize and automate communications. |
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Decentralized, or non-performance
based workforce and low employee morale. | Provide tools to educate and orient employees while enabling them to focus on satisfying customers. Reward those who adhere to standards. |
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| Risk-averse company culture. | Reward innovation and risk-taking within acceptable limits to management, Legal
and Compliance. |
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