In my digital world, it’s a relief to hear someone talk about the brand; the essential idea that brings people to the door wanting more. Sound too fluffy for you?
It shouldn’t.
While the concept of “brand” isn’t the only thing in a company’s structure, it’s also everything. It’s how you connect with your audience--by relaying your company’s values and personality. It’s also how you reflect your product or service (tangible or intangible), and what makes you different from your competitors.
Ultimately, your brand provides your customers a roadmap to their purchasing decisions. So why, then, does it often get lost in translation?
Nobody Puts Brand in a Corner
On my weekend travels I like to listen to NPR’s How I Built This. I know I’m not alone.
“Your brand provides your customers a roadmap to their purchasing decisions.”
Have a listen to the ‘cast with Jen Rubio, the co-founder of #away. If you’ve ever worked deeply inside the layers of large companies like I have, it’s hard to peel back the onion skin of time to recall the idea of the brand.
But in the mid-market space, you can find the brand closer to the surface, waving: “Don’t forget me! Don’t get so caught up in features and marketplace shifts so that you forget why you’re here!” It’s the customer, of course.
That’s not to say brands don’t need guardians who keep them safe from competition, manufacturing snafus, hackers, and counterfeiters. But it was refreshing to be reminded that within my own little ROI-based world, the brand--and her disciples--really run the show.
