Why Your Brand Must Be Expressed And Cannot Be Marketed
There is a universal challenge for all CMOs — getting everyone in the company speaking with one voice. When this does not happen, brand confusion prevails. This ideal of unified communication is rare because companies try to market their brands, not express them.
Why do company’s market versus express brands? Sometimes it is the result of a poor approach to brand development, resulting in a mediocre brand that nobody wants to talk about. Maybe there is not a strong conceptual brand backbone and the conversation starter is non-existent. Perhaps the branding team has not taken the time to create a proper values foundation.
Let’s consider the worst possible reason for a brand to have difficulty with expression. The horror of horrors – it is just not true. A brand that is not based in authenticity is impossible to market successfully. It won’t stick.
On the contrary, if a brand is conceptual and includes clarity, solid differentiation, market relevance and the ability to connect on an emotional level with the buyer, it has potential.
Once a conceptual brand is developed, operational alignment with the brand creates the backbone to express your brand. What you do, and how you represent yourself in every interaction must be highly congruent with your brand.
If your brand is true:
- The stories that support your brand will exist.
- Your employees will be proud of the work they do that supports the brand and they will want to tell people about it.
- Your customer service professionals will have a framework for how they handle each customer.
- Your sales and business development people will believe in what they are selling and be more successful as a result.
With authenticity, the momentum and strength of word-of-mouth marketing will grow exponentially. It will be contagious. One unified company voice is really the result of the authenticity of your one unified company brand. Brand evangelists are born out of reality. Is your brand worthy of expression?
