SOCIETY OF PROFESSIONAL MARKETING SERVICES
I’d like to introduce you to a new friend of mine… Sara Gammill. Sara is a both a talented and competent marketing executive that’s been serving the Houston architectural community for over 10 years. Sara also plays a major leadership role for the Houston chapter of the
SMPS (Society of Professional Marketing Services).
Sara recently invited me to speak at their Lunch-N-Learn series on August 5th, 2009, which was held at the AGC office in Houston, Texas. The event was sold-out, and I had such a great time meeting some of Houston’s finest marketing leaders within this community. Thank you Sara for your invitation, and I look forward to interacting with this wonderful group again.
Yesterday, I was solicited to write an article for the AGC (Association General Contractors of America) newsletter on the subject of branding. Listed below is the article I submitted… and I thought it might help you in your business or organization as well. Enjoy.
BRANDING ARTICLE
Two men spent 7 years building a contracting company into a successful business. In 1995 these businessmen were offered $400,000 for the sale of their company. The company had no assets, employees, inventory, non-proprietary products or services, no accounts receivable, and no real estate. Even their client list was a low priority since there was very little repeat business. Furthermore the client list was only of any value at all… if and only if the clients perceived that in light of a transfer of ownership, they would continue to receive the same standard of quality.
What was the buyer after? The brand! After 7 years of work, the brand alone was valued at $400k.
Your brand is undoubtedly one of the most valuable assets your business can possess. What is a brand? A brand is the perception of your business in the eyes of your clients, prospects and surrounding community. Unfortunately… it’s impossible to be in total control your brand… but you can most certainly affect it for the good. How you might ask? You affect your brand every time you interact in front of and/or with your audience. Consider a few of the following questions about your brand…
1. Does your business project and consistently deliver professionalism and the highest standards of quality?
2. Does your leadership treat your staff and customer base with an outrageous level of service and authentic concern?
3. Does your marketing collateral and advertising communicate the right and intended message? (i.e. quality, integrity, authenticity, credibility & friendliness)
4. Do you deliver your services in the timely manner you promised throughout the sales process?
5. Are you consistently innovating new and improved solutions? Are you getting better and better every day? (You’re always moving.. are you moving forward or backward?)
A brand is a promise… that you’ll do what you say you will do. Why is your brand important to you? A strong brand can offer your prospective clients and customers decision-making-shortcuts in a fast-paced world. Consumers will regularly choose a well-branded product or service that’s inferior and more expensive, over a non-branded product or service that’s superior and less expensive.
Your brand is more than a symbol… it’s a warranty. Your brand is a promise that your service will live up to its name. Actually… your brand is more important than a warranty because no warranty compensates the customer for lost time, suffering, frustration and inconvenience.
Your brand is important because it is the closest thing to a guarantee your customer will get. Brands are even more important to “service-provider” customers because few services have warranties… largely in part because most services are virtually impossible to warrant. How does one warrant that their legal counsel will unequivocally be sound? Does your CPA guarantee you that they will absolutely find every permissible deduction?
Left without a warranty, the client has only your brand on which to depend, and depending on brands is just what service clients do. A service is a promise, and building your brand, builds your promise.