How Not To Build A Brand

A brand is the perception of value that a customer thinks they get when they buy from an organization or a prospect thinks they would get if they did buy from that organization. The idea is to decide the value you want to be known for and then work to deliver that value.

However, everyday we see organizations blow it in the boardroom and ruin the perception of value that customers have of their organization. Here are a couple of doozies:

On November 18, 2004, I read an article in the Chicago Sun-Times with the headline, "American Airlines yanking pillows away from passengers." On that day American Airlines, once known as an upscale airline company, announced it would stop providing pillows on about half of its fleet. This brilliant move supposedly would generate $300,000 in annual savings. Even though American Airlines had already made moves to save $4 Billion, it felt the pillow move was a great idea. When asked by a reporter at The Wall Street Journal what he would do if he wanted a pillow on the plane, the CEO of American Airlines said, "I would bring my own pillow from home." Do these people have feathers for brains?

Here are some other great branding ideas. Restaurants will soon tell patrons to bring their own forks, restrooms at gas stations will have you bring your own toilet paper, and major movie theaters will ask you to bring your own napkins to wipe the butter off your chin.

After I read that article, I ironically stepped onto an American Airlines flight. I asked the flight attendant what she thought about the idea of taking the pillows off the flight. She said, "It's so totally embarrassing. I never tell people where I work." Contrast that with the flight attendant at Southwest Airlines who told me she loved her work because she knew she was making a difference. (Lesson learned: great brands breed passionate employees, and visa-versa.)

Not too long ago I read about a woman newscaster who gave her newscast while she was completely nude in order to drive up ratings. That's odd. I thought people watched the news in order to hear the, you know, news. Using sex to sell a business, other than Playboy, Inc., makes about as much sense as having a political debate on MTV. Yet companies do it all the time. They're not interested in building a great brand. Their focus is on short-term sales. If all you ever shoot for is short-term sales, you will never build a great brand that will attract a ridiculously large percentage of the market like Dell, McDonald's, Marriott, Disney, and Starbucks have done.

During the Super Bowl, godaddy.com had a commercial where an extremely sexy woman pranced around with a shirt on that said, "godaddy.com." godaddy.com is an internet site where you can buy domain names. I predict this company will be everywhere over the next year, and their ads will get sexier and sexier. Their short-term sales will be impressive. I also predict within three years this company will drop off dramatically as viewers and readers continue to be lost in the disconnect between their ads and their actual value delivered. They're not building a brand. They're simply guiding people to a destination where the value does not match what the customers perceived they would receive. (Go back and read the first sentence in this issue.)

Blockbuster Video has several prominent signs hanging on their stores that say, "No More Late Fees." Even the employees wear shirts and hats that say, "No More Late Fees." I was impressed. What a great marketing move. They stopped charging people for being a day or two late. So I said to the salesperson, "What happens if I'm two years late?" Then the bomb fell. He said, "Oh, if you're a couple of days late, it's no big deal at all. We won't charge you. But if you're seven days late, you have to buy the movie." WHAT????!!!! This was a classic example of a bait and switch. They bait customers into thinking they're getting more value, but in reality they're getting much less value. I wonder if they're going to change the name of their company to Blockhead Video for that stunning piece of marketing.

If you're responsible for your business (Psssst. We're all responsible for our business regardless of our title, income, or authority level), then I encourage you to ask yourself these questions,

"What value do our customers think they get when they buy from us, or what value do our prospects think they would get if they did buy from us?"

"Does this idea we're considering support the perceived value that our customers and prospects associate with us?"

"How can we enhance the value we have to offer, and ultimately enhance our brand?"

It is hard work to build a positive brand, and it's very easy to ruin a brand. Make sure every decision you make strengthens your brand.

Republishing Articles

Each month my e-newsletter gets republished in approximately 20 blogs, on-line publications, and internal publications for businesses, universities, and not-for-profit organizations. If you would like to republish all or part of my monthly articles, please send me an e-mail at dan@thecoughlincompany.com with "Republishing Article" in the subject heading. I will send you the article in a word document. All I ask is that you include my name as the author of the article and a short paragraph at the end of the article about me with a link to my website.

Take care and have a great month!

Dan Coughlin

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