As I look for new guests to interview on Today’s Entrepreneur, our saturday noon radio show on CJAD 800 AM, I cannot help but to notice how well prepared the younger generation of entrepreneurs is, coming out of start-up accelerators with a thought through business plan, just enough information on their minimalist website, appropriate cashflow projections, and a clear understanding of their target market. And they also take great care in making sure that people clearly understand who they are and what they do. Can you say the same?As you likely know, your brand is way, way more than just visuals. When people come out of a conversation with you, how would you like them to describe their experience? Warm and friendly? Approachable? Knowledgeable? Ask yourself: is everyone in your business conveying the same experience when they are out and about, acting without knowing as your brand ambassador, whether in public or private settings?The COVID-19 pandemic is the perfect excuse to take a moment to reshape what you are trying to create in terms of customer experience, and you need to organise your team members to REFLECT what you are trying to convey. This can be done by tightening your processes, methodology or your approach to problems your clients or customers need your help with, the (promised) turnaround time to fix their issue, pricing for their perceived value, the right style and tone of all your communications, etc.
In addition, it is nice to know what your “brand promise” is, but you also need to communicate it clearly, BOTH internally and externally. In other words, internal marketing and communication is as important as communicating externally, whether in notes from management, accounting, HR, IT, etc. You need to ensure that all your people REALLY understand what you are trying to achieve, so that they can convey – read EMBODY that feeling, that impalpable “warm and fuzzy impression” – that you want your customer to feel whether in a one-on-one meeting, your prospects during a live or virtual networking event… all the way to your seat neighbour at a concert (yes, they will be back one day). You never know whom you could be seating next to. In fact, you should never have to explain your brand, as people you interact with should LIVE it.While visuals are not everything, consistency in the way you display your “look and feel” is paramount, from team members following the appropriate dress code, displaying professional behaviour at all times, using polished language, etc.… all the way to the use of modern letterhead, presentation templates and well articulated verbiage to explain your offering. The devil is in the details: having the logo prominently displayed everywhere, always mentioning your website, using your company’s colours and fonts consistently, and following the motto less is more in your marketing materials… Every bit helps to maintain a consistent image of who you are, as a company.
Lastly, giving your brand a facelift and even revisiting your communication channels, adopting new ones that are more adapted to your clients’ reality will definitely help you navigate through the pandemic, and hopefully successfully bounce out of it, as we are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.Finally, you need to do this TOGETHER, across all levels and areas of your business, working like a well-oiled machine, so that the experience you deliver as a team is CONSISTENT. That’s the hard part – but this is when word of mouth spreads because people who live your brand start (or continue) trusting you as their preferred vendor, to the point of recommending you to others, becoming free brand ambassadors for you.
Good luck!
