A brand should reflect the personality of an organisation. When we hear the word "brand", we immediately think about the name, logo, or other visual elements and marketing collateral associated with a company or product. If recognised, the brand will invoke a set of perceptions, expectations and associations.
Simply put, a brand resides in the hearts and minds of the customer. How the product or service is delivered and experienced will ultimately determine the growth and enhancement or diminishing/demise of the brand.
The power of branding has been evidenced over time by major organisations such as Coca-Cola, McDonald`s, IBM, Virgin and others. Billions of dollars have been spent on creating and sustaining these brands.
When Rolls-Royce was sold to Volkswagen in 1998, BMW paid lb40 million to buy the actual brand! Products and services may come and go, but brands are eternal. In a service-centric world, with more intangible business offerings, differentiating the company`s brand is critical to long-term growth and success.
Strategic goals
When an organisation looks at what it wants to achieve strategically, it needs to ask itself: "What do we need to be known for to achieve this?" and "Is this what we want to be known for?"
Trying to reflect a profile or persona that does not map with core values and beliefs is a waste of time.
Brand identity is underpinned by what an organisation stands for.
Bryan Hattingh, founder and CEO of the Bryan Hattingh Group
Brand identity is underpinned by what an organisation stands for. When creating a company, you don`t start with designing the logo! The firm needs to first define what it wants to be known for. This is an empirical question. Unless the company can quickly, cohesively and fluidly communicate that, how will it ever know if it is on the right track to achieving its vision?
A surprising number of companies seldom drill down to these depths. Stemming from "what do we want to be known for?" is the question "what do we have to do to express that?" How well it meets customer requirements, how well it engages with them, how equitably it deals with staff, how it interfaces with and responds to the public at large - these are the things that differentiate a company.
An organisation can never count on product features and benefits to be its differentiator. In a commoditised world, differentiators reside in how it engages with people on an ongoing basis - and essential to that is how it engages with employees.
The company cannot be dependable, responsive, empathetic, considerate to clients if it does not behave that way with its own people. That would be tantamount to living two separate lives.
Leadership gaps
A company must identify what is required of its leadership. It must clearly define what skills, attitudes, values, competencies, passions and capacities need to be an intrinsic part of its team to enable the leadership team to express the brand`s purpose and promise on an end-to-end basis.
Having mapped these out, it must then assess if there are fundamental gaps in the collective makeup that will make its vision and strategy unattainable. Alternatively, how can it start narrowing the gaps? It may need to export or import talent. It may need to conduct a group leadership development and/or transformation programme, or have individual coaching and mentoring for the executive team.
This groundwork will enable it to build a roadmap for the organisation going forward. The key is to keep things simple. If there is no "to do" list of prescribed values and associated behaviours that consists of 20 items, the company is setting itself up for failure. Limit the firm to the core values and the associated behaviours that express those values and in turn they will become the cornerstone of its brand. It is important to remember that simple does not mean easy - it requires commitment, discipline and at times sacrifice.
Central to this exercise is the CEO of the business. He or she has to set the stage in terms of what these values are and how they are lived out. They and other leaders in the business should be simultaneously assessing the congruency of the company brand with their personal brand by asking themselves: "What do I want to be known for and will this be realised and expressed through my role and participation in this business?"
Key to all of this is ensuring the brand lives up to the company`s own aspirations, goals and pursuits. It is vital that the organisation is impassioned and energised by what it does. No matter how fluid or effective systems and processes are, systems and processes are not contagious. Attitude, energy and passion are. And these are the things that will differentiate the business and set the benchmark for attracting, retaining and inspiring talent.
Be absolutely clear as to what the brand means and stands for, and the value contribution that it makes - and live it passionately.
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