Commentary
The Brand Promise Vs. The Brand Experience
- by Cory Treffiletti , Featured Contributor, June 2, 2010
As usual, we love to overcomplicate things in this business. Social media is no different, and if anything it's the most overcomplicated category of all because everyone is out there, searching for a silver bullet that just doesn't exist.
Social media is media, pure and simple, but (as I mentioned a few weeks back in one of my articles) the message is of utmost importance, as it is what drives action in the social environment. The way the medium is used is really no different from the way generations of consumers have used media and interacted with messaging in the past, with the exception that the viral nature of the format is easier to ignite than other formats. Sharing is at the heart of social media, but the sharing of information is an extension of word-of-mouth. It's word-of-mouth on steroids.
I bring this up because last week I had a re-epiphany in conversation with a colleague. A re-epiphany is an epiphany that I had in the past but forgot about, and when you remember that first epiphany, things tend to fall into place. The epiphany was that no matter what messaging you attempt to put into the marketplace to try and convert the audience into customers, the promise of the experience has to match the actual experience of the brand, product or service. Simply put, if you say one thing and do another, then you'll fail.
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Social media, and the strategy behind it, isn't worth a hill of beans if you don't first analyze the consumer experience of your brand and make sure you know what the consumer thinks of you. Any brand that is going to make the investment in social media must first know what the consumer thinks about them. This goes much deeper than just listening in social media, it extends to true customer research while you're developing your messaging. Old-world focus groups, or even just directional consumer surveys, can accomplish this quickly and easily and allow you to sit one-on-one with your audience to see what they really think. I feel as though generations of companies are skipping right past these influential, and truly necessary, steps in developing their brands -- and it's a shame.
Let's take Facebook as an example. Facebook continues to make missteps, albeit revising and retracting quickly, because its strategists do what they want without engaging in true research with their customers. Facebook keeps gambling that privacy is not the issue -- but when it make changes to its platform, it keep getting consumer-slapped with feedback and is forced to revisit its changes. The fact of the matter is that Facebook is just "doing," not listening, and not properly thinking about the consumer's desires. If the experience of Facebook doesn't match the promise (social conversation between friends), then it fails. Opening the privacy gates up to the Web at large is a core violation of what most consumers feel is the experience of Facebook.
No matter what kind of brand, product or service you might be, you need to be clear on what the consumer considers to be the experience of your brand before you make changes -- and certainly before you message out to the world. If you say one thing and do another, you get in trouble.
What kinds of brands have you run into that suffer from these kinds of issues?
Cory, I couldn't agree more. Often times there's a gap between "Marketing" and "Operations." They often operate in two separate silos. For example, one time, while I was VP of Marketing for a certain company, the company ran out of a certain product, so it sent out to customers another product instead without asking them in advance. This was in clear conflict with my marketing message of integrity and trust.
I believe that companies need to organize themselves and integrate their various departments so that these types of disconnects are eliminated.
I agree as well Cory. Silos are good for one thing, keeping weevil bugs out of the corn – they don't belong in business. Most companies don't seem to understand that every single person in the company bears the responsibility to deliver the brand promise. And, whether they realize it or not, they are delivering to every single person who interacts with them, the company, the product, etc.
What's even more surprising to me is that many companies don't put in the effort to create a brand promise, they assume if their product or service is good then that's all they have to worry about. The brand promise is the key and every person on the team should live it and deliver it as if their name was on the front door.
I recently had a horrible experience with Hermes that I found shocking. I think Hermes and think luxe. Expensive. Chic. I ordered a gift for a friend and during the online checkout process was told they wanted to charge me $20 to ship the scarf. (How much does a scarf weigh? SERIOUSLY, $20?) While I was totally willing to fork over several hundred dollars for the silk scarf, it felt like robbery to be charged that much in shipping. So I called the local stores, who said I had no choice to but to order online because the only store that had the inventory was in Vegas. Grr. Ok, fine. I wanted the scarf (or rather, wanted to GIVE it as a gift). Imagine my shock when the package shows up in an unmarked, gray flimsy box. Like something #10 envelopes would come in. Again, seriously? No Hermes packaging? Isn't that part of the joy of buying a premium gift? I don't want to wrap it myself, I wanted to hand it over in branded packaging. I expected something akin to the Tiffany blue box, a "signature" experience. Instead, myentire shopping experience sucked. Hermes doesn't know who I am, or probably care, but I was completely turned off by the disconnect between the brand promise and the actual experience.
Great article Cory - you hit on a lot of great points in a minimum amount of real estate.
Too many people confuse strategy with tactics. I can't tell you how many times I've been approached by people asking about our Facebook or Twitter strategy. Addressing the ends before the means - let's go do stuff - yeehaa!
You really hit the nail on the head with this: "Social media, and the strategy behind it, isn't worth a hill of beans if you don't first analyze the consumer experience of your brand and make sure you know what the consumer thinks of you." In fact, that should be the starting point regardless of strategy, social or otherwise.
Gaining a true understanding of your audience - where they live (online), what they like and what motivates or excites them - is critical and doesn't have to be difficult. And, they should be invited into your processes (points at Susan, re: the "silos" comment) not excluded from it. It just makes sense.
The organizations that are winning are the ones that focus more on providing the best possible product/service and experience to their audiences, rather than the ones motivated solely by profit. Accomplish the former and profit will fall in line.
Cory, I wholeheartedly agree. It's all well and good to embark on a social media but without a purpose or understanding of why you're doing it...well, that's not going to get you anywhere.
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