Reinforce company’s image to exhibit the company’s brand promise OBJECTIVE 2.07 Reinforce company’s image to exhibit the company’s brand promise

WHAT IS A BRAND? Brand: is all of the impressions and experiences consumers associate with a company, a product, or a service. Brands relate to customers on an emotional and rational level. A brand is a name, term, symbol, design, or combination thereof that identifies a seller’s products and differentiates them from competitors’ products.

WHAT IS BRAND PROMISE? Brand Promise: what your business will consistently deliver to the customer. This established your customers’ expectations for the quality and consistency of their experiences with your business. Businesses want to control perceptions, thoughts, and feelings customers have about them. It provides guidance to employees as they interact with customers daily. A brand must promise a relevant, compelling and differentiated benefit to the target customer.

BRAND PROMISE… The brand promise is what audiences are assured of receiving as a result of their relationship with the brand.

WHAT IS THE IMPORTANCE OF A COMPANY’S BRAND PROMISE? A company’s brand promise establishes a base line of customer service to be expected. It reflects the core values of the company and should be demonstrated by every employee throughout the company. This has a direct impact on the customer’s experiences with the company therefore developing a long term business relationship with customers.

THE IMPORTANCE OF A BRAND PROMISE… A brand promise is very important to a company because it tells the customer what to expect from the company. It makes the customer feel comfortable.

WHAT ARE FACTORS IMPACTING A COMPANY’S BRAND PROMISE? Brand Champion the one that analyzes the business’s strengths. Brand Champion is the CEO or manager. 100% commitment to core values starts at the top. From the CEO to the mailroom clerk or doorman, customers need to know they are the first priority. The champion keeps the brand alive throughout the company.

BRAND PROMISE…. What does your business do better than anyone else? What does your business have, done, or provided that your competitors don’t? What makes your business unique?

IDENTIFY A BRAND PROMISE… You can identify a company’s brand promise by looking for text that looks kind of like a slogan. You can look in magazines, on the company’s website, and on their buildings.

PHILIPS BRAND PROMISE… Philips’ brand promise is “sense and simplicity”. By “Sense and Simplicity” Philips means everything that they do for their customers will be easy and simple. Basically, really simple to understand.

NIKE’S BRAND PROMISE… Nike’s brand promise is “Just Do It”. By “Just Do It”, Nike means Just get up and do what you’re supposed to and make it happen. http://youtube.com/watch?v=ItHarevJZYw&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=active

WHAT IS A VISION AND MISSION STATEMENT? Mission statement: is a brief summary of what you want your business to be doing. Vision statement: is what your business will become. Review your business plan for valuable brand clues. Understand your customer’s wants and needs. Understand the core values of the business. Consider your brand internationally and on the internet.  

WHAT IS COMPANY IMAGE? A corporate image is the perception that the general public holds about a particular business. Many companies invest a great deal of time and other resources in an effort to influence the opinion that consumers hold about the products offered by the business, as well as the business itself.

COMPANY IMAGE… (Continued) Image is be based on: quality of products solid and long positive reputation highly trained sales team lowest prices in town integrity of staff positive community relations customer service.

COMPANY IMAGE… (Continued) One of the most basic ways of shaping a corporate image is establishing and maintaining positive relationships with the general public. This effort usually begins by offering products that successfully meet the needs of customers….generating goodwill.

WHY IS COMPANY IMAGE SO IMPORTANT? Companies with strong corporate images, such as Sony and Nike have an advantage in the market place because their names adds value to their products and reduces uncertainty in the eyes of distributors, retailers and consumers.

HOW CAN EMPLOYEES REINFORCE COMPANY IMAGE? Employees should be trained and motivated to project a positive image of the company. From training employees on answering telephones and how daily decisions are made to establishing dress code requirements Shows that companies understand how important communicating a positive image is to the company’s success

CONTINUED… Employees are walking, talking demonstrations of brand values every day in everything they do. Employees connect brand values with customers through touch points (all opportunities that businesses have to connect with customers and reinforce brand value) to make brands come alive. Employees both reflect brand values and help shape them.

TOUCH POINTS Every instance a customer comes into contact with a brand. Think about Sundrop. Make a list in your notebook of how many ways you come in contact with the brand Sundrop.

HOW EMPLOYEES CAN REINFORCE THE COMPANY’S IMAGE THROUGH THEIR PERFORMANCE… Every interaction a company employee has with a stakeholder communicates something of the firm’s identity. This means that employees should be trained and motivated to project a positive image of the company. From training employees on answering telephones, how daily decisions are made, to establishing dress code requirements shows that companies understand how important communicating a positive image is to the company’s success.

BRAND IMAGE IS NOT JUST YOUR LOGO Brand image is more than your logo. It is every customer/prospect’s interaction with your company that creates an impression. It’s your company’s character. It should communicate the difference between you and the competition – your reason for being. How you stand out in the crowd

BRAND IMAGE Brand image is something you have whether you try or not – it is what the public sees – it is the image they have of you – either good or bad. The Nike logo was purchased for $35 in 1971 from Portland State University graphic design student Carolyn Davidson. According to Davidson, Phil Knight, Nike founder said at the time: “I don’t love it, but it will grow on me.” What does the Nike swoosh mean to you?

CREATING A BRAND IMAGE Brand image should be created BEFORE you actually start your business. It should be positive. It should look like you, feel like you and smell like you. It must be a reflection of your best traits. Example: You are the brand of your lawn company. It’s you that makes a difference. It’s you that people remember. It’s you that is responsible for the success of your lawn care business. Build your lawn care image by being a consistent positive performer; associate with quality things and people; deliver what you promise.

A STRONG BRAND Creates a preference to purchase and an inclination to continue purchasing (aka brand loyalty). Branding forces the small business owner to focus on what it is you do, what you want to do and what you will become.

YOUR BRAND IMAGE Using the company you created in 2.04 – Creating your own little world answer the questions on the next slides in your notebook.

IDENTIFYING YOUR BRAND IMAGE Why are you in business? What makes your business unique? What can customers get from you they can’t get elsewhere? Price? Quality? Service? Guarantee? Product? Is there something about your service your customers actually enjoy paying you money to do? What are those qualities/services? Think about what your customer would say and not what you think they would say.

IDENTIFYING YOUR BRAND IMAGE What part of your business are you passionate about? Can you formulate that passion into one sentence? Pretend you have employees – what do you thing their perception would be of your company? Why? What is your target market? Do you have a clearly defined service? Customer profile? Prospect demographics? What do you offer your customers? In a sentence, what is your company’s promise to its customers? To its employees?

BRANDING IMAGE ELEMENTS In general, there are 3 building elements used in your branded image: Logo Slogan Image

BRANDING IMAGE ELEMENTS Is your company image distinctive or does it look the same as most of your local competition? Logo – is it distinctive and does it imply professionalism? Are you comfortable with your logo? Does your logo reflect your company’s image? Slogan – in a phrase, what does it say about your business?

BRANDING IMAGE ELEMENTS Are you using an image identifier that supports your core concept? Are you using that image identifier throughout all of your business elements? Letterheads/envelopes/business cards Brochures/estimate forms/folders Advertising media Truck signage Professional attire for techs working onsite Web site Every single piece of communication to customers and prospects

IMPLEMENTATION OF BRAND IMAGE Steps in implementation: Development of the three elements Installation of the elements Educating the staff and management as to the importance these elements imply Are the three elements aligned? Does the implementation include vehicles, equipment, uniforms, signage, paper products, electronic media? Do employees believe and support the image?

REVIEW OF BRAND IMAGE IMPLEMENTATION Once installed, review the results and make changes as needed. Don’t wait, don’t procrastinate, seek areas for improvement. Do you plan to do follow-up discussions on how effective the implementation has been? What needs to be improved? Will you discuss what the market place thinks and says about your company? Can you be objective in those discussions?

ASSIGNMENT: YOUR BRAND Create the 3 elements of branded image about YOU. Create your logo? Create your slogan? What is your image? What do you want others to perceive about you? Create a survey of 5 questions that classmates can complete about you to find out: What they really think about you?