Branding. Brand Image. Brand. Brand Experience. Brand Name. Brand Recognition.
Hhhmmm. I stumbled across these terms, plus some, doing some research about Brands in Wikipedia. (I wanted to provide the link but I can't figure it out...even with the tutorial I read yesterday. Sorry!) The first thing that comes to my mind when I think about a Brand is a Brand Name...something like Coca-Cola, for example. A brand name is usually something that becomes a household name...a product, or service, is easily identified by it's brand name.
One of my favorites is Brand Image. The term will be forever embedded in my brain...once a upon a time, when I was supervising a staff in the retail world, this term was part of our dress code! Not only did it specify "No sneakers, No visible tatoos or piercings, No other visible Logos" but it specified it had to be Brand Image. Funny concept, especially when you are dealing with a staff of almost-20 year old college students on a limited budget. How did I relate it? I told them to think of their clothing as a uniform...if they chose to work at, McDonald's, for example, they would have to wear a uniform to present that company's Brand Image. At a regional meeting, a whole portion was directed toward Brand Image. They took pictures of associates that were all dressed according to the dress code. What was the point? Yes, everyone was dressed appropriately but only a few represented the Brand Image. Talk about the WOW moment. Later that month, I hosted a Fashion Show in my store for my next staff meeting to show my associates the difference between being dressed in just dress code and being in dress code and being Brand Image. Brand Image is the association and expectation that people envision in their mind of the product or service.
Another favorite is Brand Experience....I'll share a not-so shiney moment from a few years ago. I was the subject of one of those retail Secret Shoppers. You've seen the advertisements for them online, I'm sure. Well, not only was I secret shopped (which is a worst nightmare come true if you work in retail), I was being video taped and didn't know it! Little room for interpretation when you are sitting in front of your Regional Director and he is NOT very happy with what he saw! My first impression of myself was this: Eww, I look fat in those jeans (Yes, that was my first response!) and wow, was I having a bad hair day! Then, I nit-picked myself, for real. I became my customer because I was seeing myself as she saw me! Here we go...another WOW moment! I saw how I presented myself and the product from her vantage point. Honestly, it wasn't completely bad. Yes, I did have limited eye contact with her and yes she was annoying me and you could tell by my facial expression...OK, not so great, but it wasn't completely a disaster. I didn't get fired---as a matter of fact I got promoted not too long after that. But what I did do, was learn from it. I learned the difference between just providing a service and providing a branded experience!
Tying the package all is up is Brand Recognition. It's funny how people really do have certain expectations about brands! I saw it with some of my regular customers. They would tell me how different things were in my store (Good different---not Bad different) as opposed to how things were in our sister location. And when a customer wasn't happy, for what ever reason, they'd reach into their bag and pull out the "Give me your customer service number" card. There are just some people out there that can never be pleased, no matter what. I always presented that number with a big smile on my face and made sure they had my name for appropriate reference.
OK, OK...you still there? Lost you yet? The point of this long winded blog is that I want to Brand myself and my company and my service. I want my staging services to provide a certain Brand Experience. I want to maintain a specific Brand Image for myself and provide a certain Brand Image to my stages. Someone recently blogged about a niche in staging...I'm sorry, I don't rememer who did it---let me know if it was you---to respond, I think that having a certain niche in staging is the beginning of creating a brand. I'm a novice stager and my instinct is to take what business I can get because I am hungry for the business and I want the experience to build confidence. I'm starting to think that maybe that's not necessarily the way to go. Some more food for thought...I'll be back when I've determined that one!
Comments? Ideas? Please share!
Thanks! Abby
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