What makes a company
brand magnetic -- one that seems to effortlessly attract customers,
revenue, media attention and employees alike? It only requires a look at
nature itself to discover the answers. Invisible forces such as
magnetism and gravity have a constant influence on our lives. They
govern us without our awareness of their presence. Their enegies are not
overt and go largely unnoticed, yet they govern so much of what we do. Just
as in science, magnetic companies and brands are ones that are aligned
and “pulling” in the same direction. Magnetism works when electrons are
charged and line up in the same direction. In much the same way, when
businesses are charged behind a unified and coherent message, employees
and customers alike will begin to align themselves to that vision. The
target customer is no longer a “target”, since they begin to find you.
The emphasis slowly shifts from atrificially capturing customers to
naturally attracting them.
Magnetism then comes from a distilled
and powerful sense of purpose. This purpose revirberates throughout the
organization and intuitvely instructs the organization’s members to act
and behave in ways that promote this vision. The cost of top down
driven, internal messaging is greatly reduced. The process becomes more
natural, more fluid and instinctive.
So is this purpose the same as a mission statement or brand strategy?
Yes
and no. Most mission statements are written in boardrooms and sit in
nice plaques on the walls. Purpose is something that comes from the
heart, and it needs to come from the heart of top management. Again,
this is about alignment, and if top management is all about maximizing
the bottom line, it cannot create a magnetic company whose mission
statement expounds the virtues of altruistic, self sacrificing service.
It just won’t vibrate, resonate and ultimately attract the desired
customer. So you can also say magnetic companies are genuine in nature.
Their values are consistant at all levels of the organization. Profit
then becomes a natural byproduct of doing what the company believes in,
whether it’s delivering on price, quality or service.
How does a
company find its purpose? It’s already there, waiting to be
acknowledged and promoted. For example, many owners I’ve dealt with felt
passionate about their quality, but also felt compelled and pressured
to compete based on price. They are brainwashed by their sales force or
other outside influences to believe they can only compete by selling for
less. When these company presidents/owners begin to realize there is an
audience that doesn’t purchase on price alone, they become emboldend
and that energy translates throughout the company- enegizing everyone.
Soon “the talk” is about product quality and innovatioins, new customers
appear and old (time consuming, complaining, incongruent) ones begin to
leave. The company, the brand, the image, begin to align and “pull” in a
quiet but powerful way.
An Optometrist came to me years ago,
desparte to create an image of speedy service, to combat the one hour
vision centers that were devouring the market. When I asked him how long
it took him to provide the service, his reply was “one week, but I
think I can get it down to three days”. Someone looking for glasses in
one hour is not going to be thrilled with waiting three days. So I
designed a campaign with a headline that read “We take time.” It went on
to extoll the vital role of vison in our lives and why it’s important
to wait to make sure an eyeglass prescription is done right by a
professional. The doctor felt I had completely missed his point, but he
trusted my judgement and ran the campaign. The phone began to ring and
one lady said “I haven’t had my prescription filled because I was
waiting to find someone who took more than one hour to ‘grind’ my
glasses”. He has run the ad for over 15 years and “taking the time” has
now become his position in the market. His revenue, share and bottom
line all increased when he became comfortable and congruent with who he
was and what he did best- regardless of the market.
Transforming a
company or brand from mediocre to magnetic requires refocusing on the
passion that created it and aligning all else around it. Rather than
chasing the market, the market will find you. And that makes work, and
life in general, much more attractive.
About the Author
Phil’s life goal of “creating environments where people thrive”
reflects his desire to assist in both personal and corporate growth.
With 18 years experience as the president and owner of a full service
advertising and branding firm, Phil posseses a marketing "sixth sense"
that has helped launch several national and internet companies. Phil
resides with wife Michelle and four energetic offspring outside
Asheville, North Carolina. |
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