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I would bet in at least one case, something more than just thoughts came to mind. Maybe you could taste the fizzy soda or feel the refreshment on a hot summer day. Maybe you smiled and relaxed as you imagined sharing your favorite caffeinated beverage with a close friend while you took in the tantalizing aromas. Or, maybe you immediately felt a surge of confidence, knowing you could find the info you needed within seconds.
That, my friend, is the power of brand. What we often think of when we hear the word brand is logos, tag lines or color schemes. We think of marketing strategies or ad campaigns. Brand, however, is something much, much more. Your brand is the total sum of the interactions that others have with everyone in your organization. It’s the relationship that’s been created over time between your organization and others.
Some companies spend millions of dollars trying to create a brand through externals. The smart ones, in my opinion, direct their primary resources internally. Why? Because while externals do play a part, more important for your brand are the personal touch-points your people have with those using your product or service.
Consistency is one of the most powerful and important aspects of developing and maintaining a brand. Every touch-point you and your people have with others has the power to either reinforce or erode the brand you’re attempting to establish or maintain. The more consistent the customer’s experience, the stronger the brand becomes, even if the audience is small.
You might be thinking, “Branding is for large companies with a lot of resources.” Not true. Actually, if you’ve been in business for any length of time, you already have a brand whether you knew it or not, whether you like what it is or not, and whether you tried to create it or not.
You’ve developed relationships with your prospects, customers, suppliers, and possibly the community, through both intentional and unintentional means. They have all formed opinions about you as a result of the various interactions they have experienced.
So, how do you get the brand you want?
A Key Ingredient
One of the things that has the biggest impact on your brand is the behavior of your people. The more consistent your customer’s positive experiences with your people, the stronger the brand. The stronger your brand grows, the more likely you’ll be to have loyal customers. And, you know as well as I do that it’s significantly more profitable to sell more and/or more often to the same customers than to find new ones.
One of the best ways to drive the kind of behavior you want from your team is to do the hard work of identifying your organization’s core values and then actively using them to shape the way you hire, fire and reward your people.
Here are a four key steps in putting together your core values and integrating them into the life of your business:
1. Make sure you identify your actual core values. One of the biggest mistakes companies make is choosing what Patrick Lencioni calls “aspirational” values. The major difference between core and aspirational is that core values already exist. Aspirational values are those we lack, but wish described us.
Both kinds of values can be helpful. But the best way to consistency is to be more focused on and intentional about who we already are, rather than trying to become something we’re not. So, don’t create a set of core values, uncover or identify them.
2. Be intentional about activities that will reinforce your values. Andy Stanley shared during one of his podcasts that, “Make it better” is one his organization’s core values. They are all about continually improving what they do. So, every week, at the leadership team meeting, the participants are asked to tell the rest of the group what concrete steps they have taken the previous week to improve the organization. This is a simple, yet powerful, way to drive home that value within the organization.
Here’s another example. Let’s say you had a value called, “We celebrate our wins.” If that’s the case, you better have things in place to regularly and consistently celebrate the various kinds of wins that can take place in your organization. Each department should clearly understand what some wins are for them and know how they are going to celebrate them.
3. Integrate your core values into your performance review process. Every person on your team should be reviewed regularly in terms of how they are living out the values. People that are living out the core values should be rewarded. Those who are not, need to be confronted with that reality and given the opportunity to correct course.
People who consistently behave contrary to your values are damaging your brand. They must not be allowed to stay, especially if they show no desire for, or intention of, turning the corner. And even those who demonstrate a desire, but not the ability to live out your values, must eventually make their exit.
In many cases, if you do this well, people who don’t fit will leave on their own. That is the best of both worlds.
4. Integrate your core values into your hiring process. Don’t hire people that don’t share your core values. You can and should hire people that have different personalities. That’s actually very healthy. But, you don’t want people who aren’t going to fully embrace and represent your values. Values are beliefs. What people believe is what typically determines their behavior.
It’s important to develop behavioral questions to be used in your interview process that help you determine whether or not this person shares your most fundamental values. If not, no matter how talented they are, take a pass.
Hire for attitude and character, train for skills. People who don’t fit erode the brand and poison the culture. This doesn’t always mean they’re bad people. They’re just bad for your environment.
Eyes Wide Open
Core values are a foundational to achieving the ultimate levels of success for your business. They are an essential element in creating a strong and vibrant brand. Integrating them into the life of your business will enable you to lead an organization of integrity and authenticity. That’s the kind of business most people love to deal with.
Question: What is the biggest stumbling block for you in this area? Share your answer in the Comments Section.
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