How to make your brand more loveable in the next fifteen minutes.
January 21, 2014
6 Comments
Imagine I’m having a massage at the new place in town, the one with the cool logo. A girl in a sharp uniform shows me to a relaxing smelling room and smiles while she gives me instructions. I’m looking forward to this.
Just as she starts the massage I get tense. It’s not because of her technique, it’s what I can see in the corner. Dust. Just sitting there. Looking back at me.
They didn’t see the dust? Or did they see the dust and not care? My eyes start to scan the room – I wonder what else they didn’t care about? How clean is the sheet touching me? How clean is the person touching me? Are they qualified?
I no longer trust this place.
When most people think about branding, they think about a logo – the graphic representation of who they are and what they stand for. As a graphic designer you’ll never hear me say that logos aren’t important – I think they are, but as part of your brand they are just that – a part of your brand.
For me a brand is made of small things. Clever little things that make me smile, make me feel understood – small touches that connect people. Your brand isn’t just your logo – it’s all the small things added together. And yes, it’s the dust in the corner.
You can have a brand new beautiful shiny logo that wins design awards and treat your customers badly. You can have a wonderful marketing campaign and not reply to emails. Every business – from the individual making a living from their kitchen table to the huge global players – gets a chance to get the little things right.
The little things – the way you answer your phone, sign off your emails, or inform me of problems – become your brand. They all make up my opinion of your business, and my opinion (together with the opinions of everyone else) creates success or failure for most businesses.
Your brand makes me trust it:
When your label makes me smile because you’ve thought of that little extra thing to write on it.
When the open and closed sign isn’t generic.
When I get an extra surprise I wasn’t expecting.
When your business card shows me your personality (and what you do).
When you answer your phone like I’m the most important person to call today.
When your packaging is as exquisite as your product.
When I get that you understand my customer experience.
When you have thought of the little clever things then I get to relax. I trust you.
When you call me the moment you know there is a delay / error / problem (rather than waiting for me to find out).
When your 404 page makes me laugh, and not feel frustrated.
And I start to worry:
When there are obvious grammatical errors.
When you leave Christmas decorations up all January (or beyond).
When I see you ignoring another customer.
When I can hear your staff gossip and grumble while I sit in your lobby.
When you have a dead plant.
When you haven’t dusted your fake plants (although I’m not sure fake plants have a place in any business).
When you mumble when you answer the phone because I’m just another interruption in your day.
When your phone number or email address is crossed out on your business card.
These little things don’t take cost much money or even time or effort, but they do require you to care about your customers. Give some thought to their experience – what they think of your business is your brand.
Your 15-minute brand makeover
1. Take 15 minutes and experience what your customers experience. For example:
Sit in your lobby,
Lie down on your massage table,
Send your helpline an email,
Go through the same process as your customers, see where you are missing the chance to make them smile or show you care.
2. Notice what you feel. it will give you an insight into the little things.
3. Change something. Make it better.
4. Repeat often, noticing the customer feedback (you are aiming for delight)
Repeat this exercise anytime you have a spare 15 minutes. There may not be a better way to spend your time than trying to always improve the customer experience.
I’d love to know:
What little things have made you love a brand?
Have you ever been surprised by how much difference a small change has made to your business?
How do you delight your clients?
Aaron Lozier
January 21, 2014 at 9:00 amI love this. I recently sent out a request for testimonials. I was surprised that the most common praise I received was not about my knowledge or technical skills, but simply that I answered the phone and returned calls. Reminds me of something I realized when I got my first sales job over a decade ago. If you return phone calls, you’re already in the top 10%. Thank you for helping me expand my vision of what “branding” means.
aileen
January 21, 2014 at 4:14 pmAaron – the simple things really matter – including returning phone calls. How you treat people is so important.
Chip Rooney
January 21, 2014 at 3:44 pm“Luxury is in the Details” My depression era Nanny used to say that to us as kids. It didn’t matter if you were in the fanciest place in town, or a Mom & Pop type of business. It was the details they fussed over that always made a place special. Customer service is one obvious detail, but the dust balls and dying plants speak volumes to me about the lack of care so many business owners don’t put enough time into. I wonder how often the little negative things are even “subliminally overlooked” by the customer, who leaves with that feeling, that something just wasn’t quite right… Great stuff Aileen! Thank You for keeping me on my toes.
aileen
January 21, 2014 at 4:06 pmChip – you are a master at the details. The new project looks exciting, can’t wait to learn more. I’m here if you need me for anything.
Jacqueline Myers
January 21, 2014 at 5:04 pmYou hit so many of the ones that make or break a deal for me already, but how about: Deal-breaker: When your bathrooms are always dirty & out of supplies and When your reception staff is rude to customers. I have left wonderful establishments (including doctors) and never returned because they can’t hire friendly people to work in the front office. I mean, I spend most of my time with those folks anyway, right? Thanks for this post! It seems like customer service is often overlooked these days.
Vickie Nettles
January 24, 2014 at 1:57 pmThe first thing I did when I went into the office after reading this was to dust our (live) plant! Thanks for reminding us of the little things that speak volumes.