Today's customers may be more demanding, but they have a difficult time distinguishing one company's product-service offering from the others. To date, we have been a mass-communications culture, resulting in “lowest common denominator” messages and no differentiation among providers.
To stand out in the current climate of increased competition and decreased differentiation, providers have to clearly communicate what makes their offerings special - better than those provided by the competition. If you are pretty secure in the differentiation of your branding message, you should have no problem completing this sentence: We are unlike any other provider because (it is how you finish this sentence that matters).
And please note, the “because” statement must refer to something the consumer actually cares about! Remember, as far as your customers are concerned, “It’s all about ME!”
While the brand message must differentiate and relate, it must also be delivered at every touch point with a correspondence and service offer consistent with the claim. It’s not only a matter of the message itself being consistent over the various touchpoints, but more importantly, the value message must be consistent with the service levels provided, or the message is deemed untrue. Think of the millions of dollars spent on communications to deliver a brand position that is destroyed the moment that service does not match the claim. Some of the more successful institutions are beginning to connect more readily to customers through ubiquitous marketing, sales and service media. What’s at the heart of their success? Clearly communicating what sets them apart and making good on that claim.
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