Posts Tagged ‘customer expectations’

Brand Promise – Are You Keeping Pace with your Customers?

By Colin N. Clarke, December 1, 2010

brand_promiseWhen a customer makes a decision to purchase from you, it’s usually based on some belief that your product will meet their needs. It could be your presentation, delivery, reputation, marketing materials or the product itself, but there will be something that causes them to choose you over someone else. They now have a set expectation and you need to deliver.

Every day companies just like yours make a “promise” to their customers in some means or another, and over time customers grow to count on certain things when they interact with your business. Whether you intended to or not, your customers have formulated a “brand promise” about your business.

A little example… I’m a big fan of McDonalds hamburgers. You know, $.89 with ketchup, pickles and onions. I love ‘em. And over time I have grown to expect that hamburger to taste the same way whether I buy one in Anniston, Alabama or Spokane, Washington. To ME it is part of McDonalds’ brand promise of consistently delivering the product, regardless of location. I’ve grown to expect that consistency.

So here is the issue that you face as a leader in a growing business; can you deliver what your customer expects on a consistent basis?

Over the years I’ve witnessed numerous businesses that have grown on the shoulders of strong product quality and innovation, attracting new customers and business along the way. And as these companies got busier they made changes in their successful processes to keep pace with the growing demand – different people, different inputs, different control measures, etc. The risk? Changes in those successful processes lead to decreased quality and chance of failing to deliver on the brand promise… the same promise that brought them success in the first place.

Too many companies have grown aggressively while losing sight of the success factors that brought them there. As your customers formulate their own beliefs in what your brand promise is and the front door starts to swing open more often, keep close watch on quality. The fastest way to destroy your pristine brand promise is by failing to meet customer expectations.

Stay focused on your brand promise, grow carefully and maintain quality and your customers will believe in your business for many years to come.

 

Dr. Colin N. Clarke is a senior strategist for Flint Group. Follow him on Twitter @colinnclarke or on Facebook at Facebook.com/cnclarke

Posted in AadlandFlint, Flint Communications, Flint Group, Flint Interactive, HatlingFlint, SimmonsFlint, WestmorelandFlint | Comments

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Departmental Convergence – How Digital is Changing Your Business

By Colin N. Clarke, January 12, 2010

Traditional evolution of business has lead to segmentation by department for many companies. Marketing, sales, customer service, human resources, finance and fulfillment are some of the most common. But digital communications is creating a virtualization and convergence that is dramatically changing the way businesses operate.CubeFigures

How customers engage with companies has changed with the explosion of digital and social networking tools. Customers have wrested power to engage with companies on their own terms and in a fully visible environment. One-to-one conversations have now become open forum, placing greater pressure on companies to be well organized and prompt in response.

Customers can choose to engage on your company website using Google Sidewiki or your own message boards. They can also engage via social media outposts should you have a presence there. And if you don’t have social media outposts, they can still engage your brand in discussion whether you are present or not!

A service question, warranty question, sales question, human resources question, finance question or shipping question or concern can all be directed to the same place in the digital environment. Customers look at your company as one entity, not as a network of departments, and they expect your company to respond as one entity. The lines blur, the departments converge and at the end of the cycle only one thing matters – have you answered the customer’s question?

Your company’s success is based on the brand promise that you communicate to your customers. How well you manage customer expectations through their engagement with your brand, your company, ultimately determines your long-term viability and growth.

Step back and have a look at your organizational structure. Now look at all your customer touch points. Are you prepared to respond to your customers in an efficient, timely manner regardless of question? Do you have a strategy for managing customer interaction in a digital open-forum environment? Are your departments prepared and trained to work cross-functionally?

If not, it is time for digital strategy and social media strategy to integrate with your company’s management and planning process. Your customers are already converging. Are you prepared?

Colin is a senior strategist for AadlandFlint and the Flint Group. Follow him on Twitter at @colinnclarke.

Image courtesy CubeFigures.com

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