Branding Begins on the Inside...you are How You Brand

The Dictionary of Business and Management defines brand as:





"a name, sign or symbol used to identify items or services of the seller(s) and to differentiate them from goods of competitors."



Walter Landor, one of the greats of the advertising industry, further explains:



"Simply put, a brand is a promise. By identifying and authenticating a product or service it delivers a pledge of satisfaction and quality."



Businessdictionary.com provides very thorough definition that encompasses all the above:



Brand is a series of elements:



“Unique design, sign, symbol, words, or a combination of these, employed in creating an image that identifies a product and differentiates it from its competitors. Over time, this image becomes associated with a level of credibility, quality, and satisfaction in the consumer's mind. Thus brands help harried consumers in crowded and complex marketplace, by standing for certain benefits and value. .."



A brand is the intangible assets or promises which a company delivers. This promise is visible in the company’s mission and vision.



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Question: Who then delivers the company's promise? Who as creates the unique experience for the customer?



Answer: The company's employees.



Marketing Communications practitioner Mark Schuman ABC, believes that the process of branding begins internally. In his article "You are How You Brand", Schuman states that the company must "create powerful employer brand to bring current and prospective employees on board with the organization's mission and values".



In order to deliver the desired promise and unique experience to the customer, every department of your entire company with the support of the Human Resources Department to understand the company's vision and mission. It is HR’s mandate to ensure that each employee delivers one unique promise to the customer.



If a company's mission is to provide excellence in every aspect of their operation, it is HR's responsibility to ensure that the people in the organization understand the mission and how it must be delivered in every aspect of their jobs. In this way, the company begins to develop a brand in-house of excellence which in the end is the unique experience which the company promises to deliver to each customer.



Some companies engage in employee training and develop a manual of standards or brand in order ensure that the employee understands the brand promise to be delivered. Such manuals would include standards of dress, handling employee queries and complaints, answering the telephone etc.



"Branding" therefore goes way beyond the physical product. It is much more than a mere name and a symbol as many may think. Branding is the process by which an employee connects emotionally with a company, its products and services. This emotional connection is evident in the way the employees deliver to the customer and provide service.



Emotional connection = an understanding of the company’s mission/vision = an understanding of the promise to be delivered = delivery of the promise = unique experience for the client



If a company does not internally understand its promise/brand, then how can they deliver the same promise/brand to the client? Branding must therefore be an internal activity embarked upon by every department in order to deliver the unique experience which in the end differentiates the company from the competition.



Vicki L. Olton



Manager/Marketing Consultant



Effective Marketing Solutions