Why It's Good To Be a SocialiteEat Food. Not Too Much. Mostly Plants - And Other Keys to Successful Brand Management
In a 2007 New York Times article on how to best become healthy (and the opening line of his new book In Defense of Food), Michael Pollan whittles down the glut of advice and misadvice on dieting and exercise with those seven little but powerful words. Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.
While there are certainly a plethora of ancillary good ideas, rules of thumb, and other practical steps to getting healthy - I can think of exercise for one - he doesn’t concern himself with that and reduces the big idea down so that people can understand the keys to getting there from here.
In my own earnest attempt to help us understand and navigate the proliferation of marketing concepts and brand advice in the same way, I’ll reduce successful brand management to the following six words in the spirit of simplicity and pith (you’ll notice similar wording in the Merge Left Marketing positioning statement). I’ll, of course, allow you to be the final judge of my success.
Be distinctive. Be clear. Be consistent.
Of course, similar to Mr. Pollan boiling it down, my own six words come after much time and effort to get there from here. For instance, be distinct with what? And how do you become distinct? Since I am following the model Mr. Pollan presented, and he followed his seven-word introduction with an entire book, I’ll feel okay that I take the liberty of a few hundred words to more completely elaborate on my six.
Be Distinct.
I talk more about becoming distinct in my article, “I Remember You…Sort of," where I suggest that without differentiation you are everyman. Remember, successful branding shouldn’t be just about you. It helps the customer make fewer decisions and thus desire to purchase more from you. If they have to decide every time whether to use your service or not, you are making them work too hard. If you can’t whittle your own brand down to one, specialized distinct quality, feel and promise, you’ll find your consumer isn’t listening.
To become distinct, you must discover who and what your company or organization is, and be able to relay this distinct quality in everything you do. While this might not be an easy first step - it is the first step that every company must make. There are various training and principles you can follow to help you discover that distinct quality. But you have to put in the time and effort. Your distinct brand will not come to you over a single night. But if you haven’t fully vetted your distinct quality, you may be stepping in the wrong direction.
Be Clear.
I’ve said this before: Know your brand and then always...ALWAYS...deliver on that brand. Don’t muddle things with the extra details that can get in the way. Yes, you must find your distinct quality and defined path towards success. But even if you find what you do better than anyone else - and let's say that becomes you distinct brand - you then have to be able to talk about it clearly, in every single thing you do.
Every single thing you do.
That means your print and web can’t talk about different elements of who you are without acknowledging that the rest of you exists. That means that your receptionists need to know as much about whom and what you are as you do. Here is a profoundly simply, yet frightening test to see how clear you are about your brand.
Go to your front desk people - the people who handle phone calls. Ask them this: What is our company brand? If they can’t answer with what you’d say – the exact same words – then you need more clarity.
Be Consistent.
Once you find your distinct brand - who you are and what you do - and you can easily communicate it internally and find the words to also share externally in your print, television, radio and web in a clear manner, you then must be consistent in the application.
Ever walk on sand? It's difficult because there is no stabilizing foundation. When you change you communications and what you say frequently, you are giving your consumer sand instead of rock-hard concrete to walk on.
The more you are consistent in your communication and clarity, the more you will build confidence and trust with your consumer.
In many ways, Mr. Pollan can be accused of sounding glib. After all, he wrote an entire book after making that short, sweet statement as an answer. But he was dead on target by expressing his desire to reduce health down to a fundamental, trustworthy communication. You should do the same when communicating your brand, whatever it may be. Reduce your brand to a fundamental, trustworthy communication by becoming distinct, being clear, and remaining consistent.
Copyright Merge Left Marketing 2009
