Marketing your Brand – One Interaction at a Time
By Brad Banyas CEO, OMI
“Marketing” can mean many different things – different techniques, different technologies and different approaches. But in the end it all comes down to the perception of your brand in the eyes of your customers. If it’s positive you win; if it’s negative: beware.
Your company’s brand is your most important marketing asset. This means more than just the look of your logo and the design of your letters. Your brand is embodied in the “vibe” customers get from your company. This perception is driven by your on-going customer communications, the experience customers have interacting with you online, and the feeling they get when they engage with your employees directly. Indeed, this kind of brand perception is much more deeply rooted than simply the appearance of logo or the design of a website; it is the kind of customer sentiment that can mean the difference between growing the business and losing market share
Your secret weapon
Companies like Target, Geico and Nike spend millions to build their brands. But what if you don’t have millions to spend on branding your company? Are you out of the branding game? No. You’ve got a secret weapon: your employees.
One of the best ways to build your brand is by deputizing your employees as “brand ambassadors.” Your employees are on the front lines, directly interacting with customers and clients in the office, on the phone and online. They put fourth the front line perception of your brand…for better or worse…one interaction at a time. How can you make the best of each customer interaction? You must make the most of your secret weapon in the name of branding: your employees.
