Don't try to be everything to everyone, your customers don't have the time to remember the 10 things you are! To find the one sole image that you want deliver and focus on it.
Too often, we try to be too much and try to do too much and not focusing enough. Yes, all the details are important, and all the good factors are plus. The more pleasurable surprise that you are able to create for your customers, the more your customer will enjoy it. However, we need to be realistic. It is not possible as we know that we are bound to the nature of "unlimited wants under limited resources". Therefore, what is the key takeaway for customer?
Recently, I am leading the re-branding project at the company. The company has been on the market for over 50 years. Somewhere along the line our image started to go astray. The products that we are delivering to the market look like products that came out from different companies. The exhibition booth design at the different trade shows feel like they are from different companies. Our company logo appears differently on the same background. For example, the logo could be displayed as red or white on a same black background...In another words, there is no alignment and control over our brand image. Does this sound familiar to you? I'm sure that many companies are going through the same difficulties as us.
After several meetings, we agreed that we need to align our image across the different channels: physical and digital. So, the next question is where do we start?
Re-branding starts with reviewing what has been done in the past? What improvements could be made this time around?
Taking one step back, we went back to what has been done in the past to lead us to where we are with our company image today. Therefore, I went back to review our previous marketing agencies' work. I broke down their work into 3 parts.
1. Company image positioning (Corporate Identity System: CIS)
2. Company image design (Visual Identity: VI)
3. Company image promotion (Behavior Identity: BI & Mind identity: MI)
CIS
When identifying the company image position, the marketing agency did an ample of research, including SWAT analysis, industry benchmark study, competitor analysis, market analysis that includes policies, society trends, technological trends...In the end the agency came up with a list of things that our company should be. For instance, our products should be innovative, efficient, beautiful, high quality, sustainable, high ROI, good worth for its money for our customers. In terms of service, our service should be passionate, pleasurable, professional, fast, flexible, quality...going on and on and on...The first mistake that was made was, we are trying to be everything to everyone!
Don't try to be everything to everyone! Focus on the one sole image.
Don't try to be everything to everyone, if you are finding that you have more than one sole image that you are trying to deliver, then you are trying to be too much. You need to start narrowing down your selection. Why? because customers can't remember that much, they have too much going on in their lives to be putting attention into remembering the 10 things that you are. Successful business has captured this essence. For example, the classic example The Coca Cola Company, the core image that they are trying to deliver is "happiness shared". Coca Cola does not actively promote how great their drink taste, how sweet it is, it's good when its drink cold. It doesn't actively promote being affordable to all people, how easily accessible it is at the grocery stores, restaurants and gas stations...how it is packaged for you to consume conveniently . Yes, all these are important features that goes with the drink. However, the one sole take away that Coca Cola is communicating to their customer is that "this is a drink that should be shared with friends and families over happy occasions". It is about sharing happiness, and Coca Cola had done a hell of a good job communicating this image to its customers. That's why, when we hold birthday parties for our kids we think of Coca Cola, that's why when we are having a BBQ among friends and family we think of Coca Cola, that's when we go to the cinema to watch a movie, we think of Coca Cola, that's why when go to a Friday NBA basketball game we think of Coca Cola....Coca Cola has successfully communicated its one sole image to its customers.
In the next article I will share about one more key factor that is crucial when developing your company's image (CIS), which is to think from the customer's perspective and not for your company's! and more on how to align your corporate Visual Identity: VI, corporate Mind Identity: MI, and your corporate Behavior Identity: BI , to your CIS that you have positioned your company to be...