Branded For Success

Whenever I ask someone what they consider to be great customer service, I usually hear similar responses. Most will respond with either doing whatever is necessary to make the experience better for the customer or doing whatever it takes to make the customer happy.

Thanks to all of the posters we have hanging on the walls and the lessons that we have been taught about customer service, most people have been trained to believe the standard clichés like “the customer is always right,” “the customer is the boss” or “a happy customer means a healthy business.”

Are there times where concerns for the customer’s happiness could be detrimental to the success of your business?

Let me tell you what happened to me this week, and then you can decide. I was out this weekend looking for a new car. My son is graduating this year so what a perfect time to give him my 2001 Nissan Altima so that I can get a car that better fits my needs, like the brand new 2007 Saturn Sky. Yeah, I know that my needs may look like my wants, but right now, I need my wants. (more…)

I am always interested in discovering how businesses maintain the brand they have worked so hard to establish. Often when I am out, I will stir up conversations with the people who are ‘just doing their job’ by assisting me. Whether I am in a department store like Wal-Mart, or at a restaurant having a meal, there is always an opportunity to watch, listen and learn how a company’s brand is being portrayed by the way their employees fulfill or fail to fulfill the company’s brand promises.

Just the other day, I went to our local Cracker Barrel with my family for dinner. The assistant manager was an old acquaintance. He stopped by our table to say hi and catch up a bit. Heather and I were able to share what was happening with our family and with Branded For Success. He wanted to know more about the company and how we help small businesses and entrepreneurs become properly branded. As we talked, I could see in his reaction that he knew the importance of having a brand and maintaining its integrity.

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Branding is one of the most important aspects of a successful business. Major corporations spend billions of dollars every year in the U.S. alone to build and establish their brands. Why are these companies so adamant about branding?

There are a number of reasons as to why branding is such a significant tool for successful businesses.

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What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think about branding? When someone asks what I do, and I mention that I am in branding, the number one response that I get is “oh you mean like logos and stuff?” The truth is that logos are only a small part of what a brand is.

Branding incorporates everything from visual communication through graphic design to corporate behavior such as customer service policies and marketing strategies. The word brand means to leave a mark - literally to burn a permanent image such as with a hot iron. A successful brand should communicate all of the information associated with a company, product or service. It should represent the company in the marketplace.

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