A few years ago when I travelled overseas, I was in a rural area of a country famous for its wine but not necessarily food.  During a conversation with a couple from ‘North America’ that I’d met, the male stated he was craving KFC and the woman added that the coffee isn’t the same as Starbucks. Why did this couple mention these brands specifically? They didn’t say ‘fried chicken’ or ‘coffee’. For them, there was a comfort in the brands – familiarity, experience, consistency in the product they would receive.

I believe there are three key elements that contribute to a company’s brand. These contributors influenced the couple I had met.

The first contributor to brand is the client’s experience.       

In early March I was at a legal marketing conference and was privy to a panel of  in-house counsel who spoke candidly about what gets law firms on their preferred provider list.  Some of things they spoke of included service level, business knowledge and a collaborative approach — things that contribute to those in-house counsels’ experience.

What is the experience you want your clients to have?

All the actions you take contribute to the overall experience and performing them consistently and better than competitors leads to a powerful Brand.

The second contributor to brand is your company’s behavior. 

Is your organization a good corporate citizen? Do you give back to your community? Are employees encouraged to give back through volunteering?

When I have interviewed potential candidates, questions about what is the company involved in from a volunteering perspective is asked – this is something companies can’t ignore.  Investing in your people factors in the brand as each individual’s interaction impacts the brand. If your people are proud to work for a firm because of contributions back to the community, this will come through the brand.

Some clients align with companies that support certain charities, are environmentally conscious, or have similar cultures. You are what you eat, or in this case, you are a reflection of your clients.

The behaviour of an organization makes an impact on the community, clients, current and future employees perception of your brand. The way your company supports or doesn’t support its people, clients and community contributes to the brand.

The third contributor to brand is the consistency with communications.   

 The internal and external communications rests with all individuals of your company.

Marketing cannot be the only driver of the brand —- in fact, if only marketing is ‘living’ the brand, it will come through loud and clear. For example, have you ever witnessed a company’s advertising that was completely out of touch with the experience you encountered with that company?   I am sure there are many different organizations that come to mind. 

Everyone in your organization needs to live whatever the brand promise is so it works for you as individuals but also adds to the overall success of the organization. Think, feel and act with the brand in mind.  Put the brand promise on your wall as your mantra to the success of this firm. By living the brand in everything you do, it allows for consistency in the message – which keeps the brand alive.

The client experience, the firm’s behavior and your communications all contribute to the success or failure of your company’s brand.  Take a look around you at successful brands and determine for yourself what has contributed to their success .