Branding Has a Bad Name

Spend enough time on the internet and you’re bound to hear someone talking about formulating their “personal brand”. From Linkedin to reality tv shows, the idea that you have to embody a curated, linear version of yourself is pervasive. It also permeates business branding. And it’s wrong. Saying what you are is only part of the story.

In truth, a thoughtful brand story should not be akin to a chosen identity that is projected online. Rather, a brand story is the amalgamation of what a company claims to be, plus how they behave. When embraced properly, a brand story is like a living, breathing member of the business that holds the line for the collective actions of the business. Too often, branding is used as a PR agency to cover or explain poor company operations.

Do you claim to be a customer first organization, and then have a business infrastructure that prizes production over all else? In that case, your brand story may have an issue. And, in time, your business may have an issue too. It may also have opportunity, but to capitalize careful thought needs to be brought into how to marry the potentially competing values at the heart of the company.

Poor brand stories are repellant. Have you ever sat through a sales meeting where the rep has clearly skipped their research? Inevitably the pitch will mention something that portrays a lack of preparation, while claiming service or attention to detail. It’s off putting even if you’re sensitive to the volume pressures some sales reps face. A brand story that claims service but fails to deliver, or claims environmental concerns and packages with non-recyclable plastic, or claims uniqueness but can’t readily differentiate their product, all damage their brand story in the same way. Trust is lost. The need to have a properly conceived of, and followed brand story is not optional. It’s as essential as a business plan, or quality employees. As a matter of fact, a good brand story can make it easier to get both.

Therefore, it is essential that brands have an operational understanding of what they claim to be or do, what they actually do, and how that is perceived by stakeholders from employees to customers. The digital imperative of social media, websites, and ecommerce is that businesses must adopt their brand story as a strategic map that updates in realtime according to action. Assimilating digital listening strategies affords brands an opportunity to evolve their story and actions with data backed insights. But, they must also be careful to not waver from their core. Like a ship crossing the sea, the route may bob with tides but does not deviate from the chosen line.

A lower tech approach still serves. Simply finding values and then being uncompromising on them is a profitable business strategy, so long as brands effectively communicate it. The trick is to mean it.

The prize for a good brand story is a more readily identified (and communicated to) customer base that is more loyal than ephemeral. In addition, a good brand story is a guard rail on business strategy, keeping objectives within the logical framework of operations and customer needs.