Becoming a Must-Have Brand
I've long operated under the belief that brand strategy is business strategy. Meaning the strategic, brand-focused decisions and investments companies make shouldn't be sequestered into a marketing department silo or a single budget line, but should influence and direct the company's decision-making and investments for the business as a whole. And if the last few years have taught us anything, we now operate in a permanent state of disruption, and companies need to leverage their brand more than ever.
As I write this, a potential recession, and the current macroeconomic climate, are and will continue to place a strain on businesses. As individuals and companies collectively "tighten their belts," brands that are (or become) a must-have product or service will win out. But it's no easy feat. As many as 17% of companies cannot survive a recession, much less come out on top. Companies are scrambling to find ways to stay relevant and survive.
This is especially a wake-up call for the tech industry, which has, for years, enjoyed operating with an abundant mindset. But as we are confronted with an unsettled economic climate, many of these companies face the reality of more cautious investors, dropping stock prices, and increased shareholder scrutiny. Brands that have enjoyed operating with more than they knew what to do with are facing new pressures to stay afloat and retain their market position on tighter purse strings. The recession also affects consumers as buyers are pulling back and demonstrating a more cautious approach within corporate contexts.
For companies to retain relevance and weather the storms, they must move from becoming nice-to-have to must-have brands. To do so, companies must find new ways of identifying, engaging, and retaining customers, leading with clear demonstrations of differentiation through purpose, experience, and value.
Differentiation through Purpose
Must-have brands know why they exist. And they talk about it and live it out with compelling conviction. Beyond the product or services they sell, they have a higher purpose for existing. As one example, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff often states, "business is the greatest platform for change." (We know he applies this to Salesforce because he wrote a book about it.) Those aren't just words; look around, you'll see Salesforce making operational decisions that support that purpose via stakeholder capitalism, including their Pledge 1% movement, #TeamEarth campaigns, Trillion Trees initiative, stance on gender equality & diversity, etc. Clearly, this represents something bigger for them (and their customers) than selling more CRM software.
Salesforce is a bit of an outlier here as, in general, B2B brands still have a long way to catch up in connecting with customers on an emotional level. Sadly, most B2B branding and marketing is made up of content and tactics that treat prospects and customers more like the binary machinery they operate than the unique people they are or the contextual problems they need solved. Communications are often overly soulless, technical, and product/feature-focused. And tactics often treat people as data, amounting them to nothing more than an acronym in a proverbial funnel. So, where do we go from here?
The first step is admitting the problem. According to the B2B Purpose Paradox study, “86% of B2B companies embrace purpose... However, only 24% said purpose is embedded in their business and influences innovation, operations, and their engagement with society.” There is a massive opportunity to use purpose to drive differentiation. Now that we've admitted the problem, the next step is defining it for your organization
Defining and expressing your purpose is an effort that should be treated with the utmost level of care; it's a core element of your brand. Adopting a quick win/"check the box" mentality could do more to erode trust than build it. So whether you enlist an outside consultant or create an internal, cross-functional committee to help define it, here are a few questions to ask as you begin differentiating through purpose.
To begin better differentiating through purpose, ask:
What do we stand for at the highest level (beyond the products and services we sell?)
Do varying audiences (employees, customers, partners, prospects, communities, etc.) recognize or know our purpose?
How do we express our purpose tangibly in our innovation? operations? engagement with society?
How do our brand purpose and values show up in (or shape) our customer journey?
Would our customers feel a tangible loss if we ceased to exist tomorrow?
Differentiating with purpose drives trust and shared values, and creates a set of shared principles and beliefs people can rally around. Now it’s time to put your purpose into action with experience.
Differentiation through Experience
Must-have brands are people-centered, engaging people (customers, partners, employees, and prospects) seamlessly across their entire journey. As I recently wrote, unfortunately, most companies are set up to reinforce touchpoints, not journeys.
As a place to start, if you want to see how you can improve from the customer's perspective, you need to view it from their experience. A mindset focused on bettering the long-term, holistic experience allows you to focus on goals and outcomes instead of operating reactively in the moment.
For example, I worked with a global technology client who was seeing lower-than-expected renewal numbers on their core email product. They knew the customers who didn’t engage with the product within the first 90 days weren’t experiencing its true value and consequently were at a higher risk of not renewing months later. Our job was to hone in on the customer's experience within those first critical 90 days and understand what might be driving their decision not to use a product they recently purchased.
We began by collecting data—and lots of it. From a mountain of data, we created a journey map to see the customer’s journey from their perspective—and visualize all of the ways the client interacted with the new customer. We found no less than ten different teams and departments communicating with the new customer, including duplicative welcome emails, to tutorials of varying experience levels and offers to upsell the new customer into additional products. The customer made a significant investment in this new software, and the client was confusing, overwhelming, and in some cases frustrating them with more information than needed, causing paralysis.
To help them better engage with new customers, we collaborated on a process of getting new customers started and completing key milestones. We knew if a new user could send their first email within the first 30 days and create custom KPIs within 60 days, the likelihood they could (& would) continue to use the product was high, as they would be learning more about the product as their confidence grew. By creating a plan based on a new customer’s experience, our client was able to deliver more clear, relevant information that kept customers engaged and supported in those first few critical weeks and months.
If you’d like to better differentiate through experiences, ask:
Is our company organized to enable experiences over touchpoints?
What changes can we make to support moving to experiences?
Who from our company should be involved in actively shaping the customer's experience?
What KPIs can we implement to effectively measure the customer's journey?
What are our customers telling us about their experience with us today? What about tomorrow?
The benefits of differentiating through experience are vast. Not only do you demonstrate a clear understanding of the customer’s POV, but in return, they’ll reciprocate your actions by willingly engaging with you on a deeper level.
Differentiation through Value
Must-have brands demonstrate their value clearly. And in a tighter market, those who differentiate on value will have the upper hand. Return on Investment (ROI) metrics will continue to retain their importance as businesses will have to do more with less and make critical decisions on what is essential. But here’s the thing about ROI—it isn’t exclusively quantitative. Qualitative return is just as important and can be as powerful as a value statement as numbers and data.
For example, recently, I’ve been working with a global data & analytics software client that showcases a customer quote saying, “now it’s possible for me to be home in time for dinner with my kids.” (And for any data scientists or analysts reading this, you know how powerful that statement is. No longer are you chained to your desktop workflows or have to wait for data to process…only to timeout and require you to start over.) Instead of touting their product’s qualities of speed, efficiency, or power, they connect their value on a human and emotional level.
If your customers aren't seeing or realizing your value, one of the best ways to target the root of the issue is to start with the “5 Whys.” This simple framework was developed at Toyota Motor Corporation in the 1930s, allowing designers to see root causes and explore effective solutions. Its simple instructions can be applied to various use cases where you want to understand root causes and how they work through a system.
So, in this case, let’s start by framing the problem, “our customers don’t realize our value.” Next, ask, “why?” Then answer as honestly as possible on why they might not realize your value. Your list might have many reasons; that’s ok. For this illustration, let’s keep with one reason. Maybe it’s because they don’t see all of the product innovation you’re doing. Again, ask “why?” and note your answer(s). Repeat the process three more times, asking, “why?” By continually digging deeper, you can unlock simple opportunities to adjust how you work, communicate, and connect your value to your customers.
To begin better differentiating on value, a few more questions to ask:
What value do our customers say we provide to them? As individuals? To their company?
How do we demonstrate our value using quantitative measures? Qualitative?
What does a customer have to do to extract value from us?
What value are we conveying to each of our different audiences?
If we do this right, what gets better in someone’s life?
Clearly communicating and connecting to your value allows individuals and companies to realize the benefits you bring to their lives, teams, and communities. And when you become valuable, it’s much harder to part—even when times get tough.
By using design to help you differentiate, you gain a competitive advantage and can build more meaningful relationships with your customers over the long term. Brands that differentiate through purpose, experience, and value will be labeled as “must-haves,” and will be able to weather better the storms that come.
If this resonates with you and you'd like to discuss building a must-have brand, drop me a note.