“Your brand is a story unfolding across all customer touch points.” – Jonah Sachs
Picture this: Apple, a company with a $3 trillion valuation, has a brand worth over $1 trillion – that’s greater than the whole market cap of any company outside the top 8 globally!
How did they get there?
The answer lies in the power of their brand – something that goes far beyond a logo or a catchy slogan. Imagine your brand as a living entity, one that breathes life into every interaction your customers have with your business. What story does it tell, and does it add significant value to your business?
In our competitive global market, creating a memorable brand is not a luxury but a necessity. Whether you’re running a global conglomerate or an SME, building a brand that resonates with customers at every point they interact with you can unlock exponential growth.
Consider some of this research: brands with outstanding customer experience generate 5.7 times more revenue than competitors who fall behind. What’s more, 86% of buyers are willing to pay more for a great experience, and companies that view customer service as a value centre, rather than a cost centre, achieve 3.5 times greater revenue growth. These aren’t just statistics; they’re the reality of business today.
Building a brand that resonates with customers at every touchpoint can unlock exponential growth, so let’s explore how to create a brand that not only stands out across all touch points, as Jonah Sachs mentions, but captivates your audience, too.
What Is a Brand, Really?
More Than a Logo
It’s easy to think of your brand as just a logo, a name, or even your company’s product. But your brand is far more than that. It’s not what you say it is – it’s what others say it is. As Scott Cook encapsulates this so well, “A brand is no longer what we tell the consumer it is – it is what consumers tell each other it is.” In a world of online reviews and social media, your brand is shaped as much by your customers’ experiences as by your marketing team’s efforts.
Core Definition
A brand is the sum total of the perceptions, emotions, and experiences people associate with your business. It’s what your customers, suppliers, employees, and the general public feel when they interact with, or simply hear about, you, long before they make a purchase. From the quality of your products to how you answer the phone, every interaction builds – or breaks – your brand.
Example
Take Apple, for example. Their brand is synonymous with innovation, simplicity, and customer-centricity. It’s not just their products, but how those products make people feel. Every detail, from product design to the customer service experience at their stores, is part of their brand identity.
Key Takeaway: Your brand is the emotional connection between you and your customers, influencing how they feel about your business long before they make a purchase.
Why Your Brand Matters
Intangible Yet Powerful
Brand value is an intangible asset that can significantly outweigh the physical assets of a company. Consider Apple, whose brand alone is worth far more than all but eight companies around the world and nearly 20 times Apple’s net asset value. That’s the power of a strong brand.
Brand Loyalty
A strong brand doesn’t just attract customers; it retains them. Brand loyalty can reduce marketing costs by turning your customers into advocates, helping you stand out in a crowded marketplace. Remember, in last week’s article we saw how powerful word-of-mouth is, and how much trust is placed in recommendations from friends and family.
Trust and Credibility
Building trust is perhaps the most crucial function of a brand. In a world where customers have endless choices, they will always gravitate towards brands they trust. A strong brand simplifies decision-making for consumers and builds credibility for the business.
Competitive Advantage
A well-defined brand can set you apart from competitors. It becomes a reason why customers choose you over someone else. This is particularly vital for SMEs that will typically not have the marketing budgets of larger companies.
Key Takeaway: A memorable brand acts as a multiplier, increasing your company’s perceived value and solidifying long-term customer relationships.
Building Your Brand from the Inside Out
Start with Core Values
A brand isn’t just an external promise; it’s something that should be lived by every member of your team. Your core values should drive your business operations and customer interactions. If they don’t, customers will spot the inconsistency a mile away.
Define Your Brand Purpose
Why does your business exist beyond making money? What is your unique value proposition? A brand built on a strong purpose not only inspires employees but also resonates more deeply with customers.
Identify Your Target Audience
Understanding your customers – what they value, how they make decisions – is crucial. A successful brand speaks directly to its target audience’s needs and aspirations. Develop your ideal customer avatar to focus more clearly on your target audience.
Develop Your Brand Voice and Personality
A consistent brand voice across all platforms, from your website to your social media channels, is essential. This voice should reflect your brand’s personality, whether it’s playful, professional, or somewhere in between.
Visual Identity
Your logo, colours, typography, and imagery should all align with your brand’s message and resonate with your audience. It’s not just about aesthetics; it’s also about ensuring that your brand is instantly recognisable and cohesive.
Consistency Is Key
Every interaction – whether it’s a marketing email, an advertisement somewhere, the way staff answer the phone, or a customer service call – should reflect your brand values. Inconsistency undermines trust and can dilute your brand’s impact.
Example
Zappos built its brand on exceptional customer service, and that culture is reflected internally, from employee satisfaction to operational processes. Everyone at Zappos lives the brand’s commitment to customer-centricity.
Key Takeaway: Consistency within and outside the company is critical if your stated brand values are to be believed.
Creating Memorable Customer Experiences
Beyond the Transaction
It’s not just about the sale; it’s about the entire customer journey. Every interaction, from the first click on your website to after-sales support, shapes your brand. Identifying and optimising these encounters ensures a consistent and positive experience. And studies show that customers spend up to 140% more after a positive experience compared with those who have negative interactions.
Why Brand Consistency Across Touchpoints Is Critical
Whether it’s a social media post, website visit, or an in-store purchase, every interaction should tell the same story and give a consistently great experience. Develop your brand manual with guidelines to ensure consistency across all customer-facing platforms; Coca-Cola’s consistent messaging worldwide, from digital ads to packaging, provides a great example of such consistency. Having a unified brand message builds trust and strengthens customer loyalty.
Personalisation and Emotional Connection
In today’s market, personalisation is key. Customers expect brands to know them and tailor experiences to their needs. They want to feel valued. By creating personalised experiences, you build emotional connections that foster loyalty.
Storytelling
One of the most powerful ways to create an emotional connection with your customers is through storytelling. Share your brand’s journey, its values, and its mission. Stories resonate far more than just facts or figures.
Customer Experience as a Brand Differentiator
Exceptional customer experiences set your brand apart from the competition: in a crowded market, it’s often the experience, not the product, that wins customer loyalty.
Case Study: Disney
Disney is a prime example of a company that excels in crafting memorable customer experiences. Every detail of the Disney experience, from the theme parks to customer service, is meticulously designed to create lasting impressions.
Key Takeaway: Memorable experiences create lasting impressions that foster customer loyalty and brand advocacy.
Living Your Brand Values
Internal Alignment
Your brand values should be deeply ingrained in your company culture. Every person within the business, from the Board and CEO down, should not just understand, but actively live, these values, creating an internal consistency that is reflected externally.
External Communication
Your brand values must be communicated consistently to your customers. This goes beyond advertising – it’s about actions matching words. Customers will spot – and quickly reject – any discrepancy.
Employee Engagement
Engage employees in the brand-building process to ensure they embody the brand values; engaged employees are not only more productive but can also become brand advocates, enhancing the overall experience still further. When leadership sets the tone by living the brand values, others follow suit, creating a unified and compelling brand experience.
Key Takeaway: Authenticity and consistency in living your brand values build credibility and trust, both internally and externally.
Measuring Brand Success
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
To gauge your brand’s success, you need to measure it. KPIs such as customer retention rates, net promoter scores, and customer lifetime value can provide valuable insights into how well your brand resonates. Compare your scores with those of your competitors for the same metrics.
Adjusting Based on Feedback
Customer feedback is a treasure trove of information. Whether through surveys, reviews, or social listening, use this data to adjust your branding strategy and address any gaps.
Key Takeaway: As Peter Drucker said, “What gets measured gets managed.” Measuring your brand’s success helps ensure ongoing customer satisfaction.
The ROI of a Memorable Brand
Long-Term Value
Building a memorable brand isn’t just a marketing exercise; it’s a long-term investment that pays off through customer loyalty, reduced customer acquisition costs, and premium pricing.
Real-World Example: Apple
Apple’s ability to charge a premium for its products comes from the trust and emotional connection it has established with customers, as is the case with other premium brands around the world whether for products or services. People are willing to pay more for a brand they believe in.
Key Takeaway: A memorable brand creates a competitive edge, allowing you to charge more for your products or services while reducing the cost of acquiring new customers.
Conclusion
Your brand is not just a logo or a tagline – it’s a promise to your customers. Every interaction, from your website to customer service, tells a piece of your brand’s story. To build a brand that stands the test of time, focus on living your values, creating memorable experiences, and maintaining consistency.
So, take some time to explore your brand internally and externally, speaking with your team and your customers and suppliers. Does it live up to your expectations or, is there misalignment, as with so many others, meaning you’re leaving money on the table?
It’s your turn now: What steps are you taking today to ensure you have a memorable brand that stands out in the minds of your customers? Share your strategies and insights in the comments!
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This month we’re focussing on A Passion for Your Customers, with this being the second article in this series. In case you missed it, here’s the link to the first article:
Transform Your Business: The Power of Exceptional Customer Service
Stay tuned for more articles on this theme over the next few weeks – or, better still, subscribe to my blog and receive the latest articles automatically, simply by clicking here.
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Related Posts
If you’d like to learn more about customer service, sustainable business growth, leadership and the areas we’ve covered here, the following articles and posts might also be of interest:
- Fine-Tuning Your Brand Positioning: A Compass to Guide Your Business Growth
- Finding Your Why – “People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.” – Simon Sinek
- Establishing Your Values – “Values are like fingerprints. Nobody’s are the same, but you leave them all over everything you do.” – Elvis Presley
- Defining Your Mission – “Mission statements guide you to do the right thing when you’re standing at a crossroads and don’t know which way to go.” – Anita Campbell
- Defining Your Ideal Customer Boosts Profits
- “Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.” – Bill Gates
- “Customer service shouldn’t just be a department; it should be the entire company.” – Tony Hsieh
- “There is only one boss. The customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman down, simply by spending his money somewhere else.” – Sam Walton
- “It’s not the employer who pays the wages. Employers only handle the money. It’s the customer who pays the wages.” – Henry Ford
- “Wonder what your customer really wants? Ask. Don’t tell.” – Lisa Stone
- “Price is what you pay. Value is what you get.” – Warren Buffett
- “Excellence is Not a Skill. It is an Attitude.” – Ralph Marston
- Performing a Competitor Analysis – “Study the past if you would define the future.” – Confucius
- “If you don’t have a competitive advantage, don’t compete.” – Jack Welch
- “What business strategy is all about – what distinguishes it from all other kinds of business planning – is, in a word, competitive advantage.” – Kenichi Ohmae
- Conquer New Markets: Strategies for Explosive Business Growth
- “Businesses often forget about their current customers [audience] – the people who are already listening, buying, and engaging.” – Paul Jarvis
- 4 is the New 2 – How Becoming a B4B, or B4C, Business Will Boost Your Company
- “The Lifetime Value of Customer” Concept
- Service – the Quick Way to Kill a Brand
- Who Controls Your Brand?
Backgrounders
Surveymonkey – 10 brand metrics to track your performance
HBR – The Right Way to Build Your Brand
Fast Company – How your core values affect your branding
Forbes – The Importance Of Branding In Business
Entrepreneur – Creating a Brand: How To Build a Brand From Scratch
Netcompany – 23 Customer Experience Statistics You Must Know in 2023
Interesting!!
57% of respondents said their company positions cybersecurity as a competitive advantage for customer trust.
Nearly half said the same for brand integrity and loyalty.
Those findings suggest that cybersecurity is evolving as both a key market differentiator and a critical business priority.
More from the PWC 2025 Digital Trust Insights Survey here: https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/issues/c-suite-insights/the-leadership-agenda/cisos-facing-preparedness-gap.html