BRAND MANAGEMENT

Living the brand If a branded product or service is an excellent choice for a prospective

I I L

customer, is it possible to build on the resulting goodwill to ensure that the supplying company, especially customer-facing staff, ‘lives’ the

brand and conveys its essence in all its activities? Can all the work done in building and positioning the brand set the style, tone and conduct of

the business, to motivate staff, customers, suppliers and local communities alike?

by Wilf Altman

f brands represent promises of what to expect from a product, this should impact I on what we expect of the company

delivering the brand. Thus ‘brand manners’ are the way in which an organisation can manage its promise to customers in every encounter that takes place. Wishful thinking? The authors of ‘Brand manners":., a senior strategy partner with Accenture (formerly Anderscn Consult- ing) and an advcrtising and brands specialist, certainly present a solid framework to encourage companies to move beyond the ‘command and control’ mode and into a more self-confident organisation.

Tesco is one of the examples quoted and is worth quoting, not because retailing is particu- larly relevant to readers of EMJ but Tesco’s grocery storcs will be familiar to many who are weekend shoppers! In the 1970s Tesco was widely seen as being in headlong decline. It i s now the most admired retailer in thc Financzal Times’ annual survey and a UK market leader serving 10 million pcople per wcck. In late 1993 Tesco was worth 93.5 billion; now it is valued at almost 520 billion.

The point the authors make is that, con- current with its strides in marketing, ‘Tesco was quietly building the self-confident organisa- tion, energising tens of thousands of people behind the company’s goals and values. Tesco’s CEO Terry Leahy talks of “creating a culturc

‘“‘Brand manners’ by Hamish Pringle and William Gordon, published by John Wilcy & Sons, http:// www.wiley.co.uk, S17.99, ISBN 0 471 49606 5.

People like to be associated with a winning team. Look at Manchester

United

where everyone is encouraged to malic the most of thcir talents for the bcncfit of custo- mers.” If staff are happy, customers will be too’.

Leadership The role of thc CEO in creating and

delivering brand manners must be to lcad and to coach. Pcoplc rise to a leader and like to bc associated with a winning team. Look at Manchester United Football Club! In addition to running the company day to day, the C E O should crcatc a series of single driving issues which, as the authors put it ‘will continuously catapult the organisation into new space, ahead of the competition’. The core linkage in all of this is the customer, and the determination to improve brand manners continuously. Helping individuals to become brand ambassadors will hclp to create the corporate drama that will fire the corporate imagination of the organisation. As Terry Leahy says in thc foreword: ‘there can be a huge improvement in busi- ness performance by applying thc incredibly simple principle that good manncrs -good conduct, good behaviour- motivate everyone: staff, of course, but also customers, suppliers, communities -everyone. And thc improve- ment lasts-it’s self-sustaining’,

Thc strength of the brand is now such that Tesco can confidently offer much wider ranges and serviccs, such as banking and clothing, and cxpansion in central Europe and South East Asia. Many companies, even those regarded as being among the best run, typically operate in a ‘command and control’ way, where

63 ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT JOURNAL APRIL 2001

BRAND MANAGEMENT

pressure and risk increases as you go down the organisation, say the authors. In these organisations people just don’t look forward to going to work.

The self confident organisation The challenge for any company with a strong

brand or in the process of developing a strong brand is to aim towards a stage where the whole organisation, and in particular customer-facing employees, actually ‘live the brand’. Call it company culture, but the lessons of this book are just as much about marketing, as it needs to be understood and practised throughout the organisation. To ‘live the brand’ means companies have to move beyond the traditional ‘command and control’ mode into a new management space that thc authors call the self confident organisation: a happy, participative employee environment!

But how do you get to this point? According to the authors ‘the answer is that thc cor- poration has to develop its own dream and create its own drama, with the chief exccutivc not only writing the script as narrator, but also giving a running commentary on how the story is unfolding. The C E O becomes the brand author. Employees become dramatis personae in their own play and one which is as com- pelling and exciting as their favourite soap opera. Top management need to identify, focus

64

A t last! The perfect reflection

culture!

on and reiterate their obsession with the single driving issue, which means commercial life or

of our corporate death.’

Customer service The CEO has to pick the top team for today’s

operations and to build tomorrow’s capa- bilities. The single driving issue is to galvanise the energies of the organisation and impact on shareholder value, ignite the imagination of the majority of employees as wcll as harnessing the most powerful in the organisation and contribute significantly to the sense of purpose. Can all this improve customer satisfaction and ‘bottom line’ results? As the authors point out, while customer expectations of service have increased over the years, the ability of organisations to deliver and indeed cxcecd the promises inherent in most brands has seldom kept up. Whereas technological innovations could have delighted the customer, in reality the customer has been increasingly cut off from rewarding purchasing experiences. To compound thc problem, many organisations risk losing touch with the heartbeat of their customers as they sub-contract out much of the direct contact and discussions with customers.

Yet brands have new channels of dialogue and dircct customer service not available hitherto, with websites and call centres. Companies that relied mainly on trade

ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT JOURNAL APRIL 2001

BRAND MANAGEMENT

customers and wholesale stockists acting as a buffer between them as manufacturers and the ultimate end users are now at the sharp end of customer contact, with rcal opportunities to create much closer rclationships. ‘The digital interactive era,’ the authors say, ‘provides the opportunity to build more direct relationships with customers while managing the attendant risks.’

If this still seems slightly pic in the sky, cast your mind back to the Marks & Spencer of a few years ago. No better example of thc brand reflecting the company stylc and cthos ever existed than high-strect retailer M&S. It offered exceptional value for money, attracted superior staff, and enjoyed a unique reputation for quality. But as the authors show, M&S discovered to its cost how quickly this can change. ‘The once proud doyennc of the retail scene has bccn humbled by the rapidity of its decline. It is suffering the consequences of a corporate body language whosc signals cffect- ively said for years “we know we’re right”.

‘It manifestcd this by its policics not to advertise, not to accept credit cards, not to modernise shop fittings, lighting and displays, not to buy more cheaply from abroad, but to bc very tough with its British suppliers, and not to stock merchandise according to local store catchment area demographics. In so doing, the distance betwecn M&S and the rest of the High Street gradually widened, whilst newer younger potcntial customers quietly voted with their feet, on their way to Matalan or H&M.’

Promise delivery The core culture of a business must be

protected against thosc who would undermine it. There must be checks to cstablish how the brand really looks to customers and staff. How does it perform against competitors? How well is thc business doing in terms of customer loyalty, employment recruitment and rcten- tion? Is the CEO and top management really in touch with custoiners and staff? Hans Snook, chief executive of the highly successful Orange mobile phone brand, is quoted saying, ‘we were never just anothcr mobilc phone company. The way you define a brand is as a promise deliverer. And we’ve always delivered-to our staff, our customers and our shareholders.’

Orange changed ownership in October 1999 when it was acquired by Mannesmann for S19.S billion. In May 2000, as a condition of the take-over of Mannesmann by Vodafonc, Orange was acquired by France Telecom for

E316 billion. The advertising agency that sharcd in its success, but lost the account in a competitivc review in August 2000, summed the brand idea up neatly: ‘. . .as a brand, Orange is like an opcn book. You could write the book of Orangc very easily from just looking at the ads. Watch a reel of Orange commercials, read the press ads, and you have got thc mantra. It is onc of thc benchmark campaigns in terms of actually wearing its heart on its sleevc. It tells people what it believes and what it thinks. Because of this honesty, integrity and trans- parcncy, it’s trusted. Orangc is the bcst-placed brand to capitalise on the explosion in wirefrcc digital services by far.’ Charles Dunstone, who foundcd Carphone Warehouse at the age of 25 with just f6000 in 1989 and floated the company in July 2000 when it was valued at f1.3 billion, has a similar philosophy. ‘The reputation of the whole company’, he says, ‘is in the hands of each individual.’

So how do you develop a ‘brand manners’ philosophy? The author’s action points start with the dcvelopment of a vision for the organisation that gocs well beyond the standard mission statement. The next point is to ‘keep moving’ to maintain momentum. It’s show- tinic, potentially, as they say, cvery moment of the day! It’s about delivcring brand manners, all the time. People like the self-confidcnt way of working. Happy employees make happy customers.

What’s

0 IEE: 2001

Wilf Altiiian can be contactcd on +44 (0)1442 876712.

ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT JOURNAL APRIL 2001 65

MANAGEMENT DIARY

This is a free listing. Plcase send details of cvents for possible inclusion to thc Managing Editor, Engineering Management Journal, IEE, Michael Faraday House, Six Hills Way, Stcvenage, Herts. SG1 2AY, UK. E-mail: emj@iee.org.&

Readers are adviscd to confirm details with the event organiscrs.

16th-27th April 2001 Virtual conference on managing complexity in product development, http://engmgt.com/complexity/rcgistcr.litm E-mail: w.shaw@ieee.org

24th-25th April 2001 International conference on mail technology, Brighton, UK. Contact: Paul Terry, IMechE. Tel: +44 (0) 20 7304 6867 Fax: +44 (0) 20 7233 1654 E-mail: p-terry@imechc.org.uIr

15th May 2001 Risk based inspection seminar, London, UK. Contact: Laura Feinberg, IMcchE. Tel: +44 (0) 20 7304 6841 Fax: +44 (0) 20 7233 1654 E-mail: I-fcinbcrg@itneche.org.uk

19th May 2001 Profitable consulting, Birmingham and Glasgow, UK. Contact: Event Serviccs, IEE, Savoy Place, London WC21I. OBL, UK. Tel: +44 (0) 20 7344 5732 Fax: +44 (0) 20 7497 3633 E-mail: cvents@iee.org.uk

31st May 2001 Engineering for a sustainable future: professional network launch, with Sara Parkin of Forum for the Future, London, UK. Contact: Event Scrviccs, IEE, Savoy Place, London WC2K OBL, UK. Tel: +44 (0) 20 7344 5732 Fax: +44 (0) 20 7497 3633 E-mail: cvents@iee.org.uk

5th-7th June 2001 Service Management Europe 2001, Earls Court, London, UK. Contact: Sarah Robinson, Penton Europc. Tel: +44 (0) 20 8232 1600 Fax: +44 (0) 20 8232 1613 E-mail: sarah.robinson@pentoneuropc.com

6th-7th June 2001 PMI Europe 2001, Cafk Royal, London, UK. Contact: Hcather Adams,

approach. Currently, she chairs the Real World Coalition of around 30 UK organisations campaigning on the sustainability agenda, is an advisor to the

Engineering Council and a trustee of Friends of the Earth. There is still time to register and vote for the first executive of this new

Professional Network, with elections taking place during April and up to 11 May. To vote, register via the website http://pn.iee.org/pn-eng4sfl. The new Executive Team will be announced at the launch event, which wil l start at

6.30pm on Thursday, 31 May 2001, at Savoy Place, London.

Marlow Events. Tcl: +44 (0) 1628 486040 E-mail: heather.adams@marlowevents. co.uk

18th-21st June 2001 CIRED 2001, RAI, Amsterdam, Ncthcrlands. Contact: Event Services, IEE, Savoy Place, London WC2R OBL, UK. Tcl: +44 (0) 20 7344 5732 Fax: +44 (0) 20 7497 3633 E-mail: conferencc@iee.org.uk

18th-21st June 2001 PIC2OOI-InternationaI Conference on Human interfaces in control rooms, cockpits and command centres, UMIST, Manchester, UK. Contact: Event Scrvices, IEE, Savoy Place, London WC2R OBL, UK. Tel: +44 (0) 20 7344 5732 Fax: +44 (0) 20 7497 3633 E-mail: confcrence@iee.or.g.uk

20th-22nd June 2001 6th World Congress for Total quality management, Saint Petersburg, Russia. Contact: Pernilla Watson, Stockholm School of Economics, PO Box 6501, SE-113,83 Stockholm, Sweden. Tel: +46 8 736 9230 Fax: +46 8 348161 E-mail: tqm.congress@hhs.se

12th September 2001 Programme Management and the Channel Tunnel, London, UK. Contact: Gcoff Reiss, Programme Managcment Special Ititcrest Group. Tel: +44 (0) 1943 466 029 E-mail: gcoff.reiss@hydradev.com

22nd September 2001 Profitable consulting, Ireland. Contact: Event Services, IEE, Savoy Place, London WC2R OBL, UK. Tcl: +44 (0) 20 7344 5732 Fax: +44 (0) 20 7497 3633 E-mail: events@iee.org.uk

14th November 2001 Programme Management at Chernobyl, London, UK. Contact: Geoff Reiss, Programme Management Special Interest Group. Tcl: +44 (0) 1943 466 029 E-mail: gcoff.reiss@hydradev.com

66 ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT JOURNAL APRIL 2001