Hello and welcome to Franchise Today�s maiden column on Marketing! In line with the newspaper�s goal of supporting the Filipino entrepreneur, this column will be dedicated to addressing various Marketing challenges faced by businesses everyday.
I have entitled the column Brandwashing, a name that my colleagues and I at Pilot Consulting have been throwing around for a while. I am grateful to Franchise Today for giving us the platform to finally launch it. Brandwashing came about as we discussed how Branding as an exercise cannot remain the concern only of the Marketing people. For a brand to be successful, the entire business organization needs to get it and Marketing people need to make sure that brand values and behaviors are properly understood by every single person, every security guard, receptionist, telephone operator and janitor. We need to Brandwash!
And in no other industry is this more true than in Retailing, also known as Business-to-Consumer or B2C. It is a long way from the TV screen to the cash register and there are several moments of truth, which a customer could get through after being exposed to a brand�s advertising, before he actually makes a purchase. These contact points can either turn him on or off to the brand. And �40% of Marketing is wasted as ill-informed or de-motivated staff unwittingly undermine the promotional promise.� (David Burrows, The Design Agency, UK)
In my consulting work with Retailers, I have noticed the tendency to apply generic service standards among their people. We are in fact currently working with a huge fast food chain who have identified that the ubiquitous �Good morning Ma�m/Sir� is the best way to make one�s Brand disappear in the quagmire of fast food stores in the country. Do these greeters not know their customers� gender? Why do we get this greeting even if we are arriving at the store alone?!
In our work with them, we have helped their Operations people translate their Marketing people�s Brand Values into Service Values, that will make their stores as unique as the Marketing Communications program they have worked long and hard for, and to avoid them being undermined by the front line staff.
We are progressing well with this company and are pleasantly surprised that even less-educated staff can get it, so long as our own training messages and mediums are demographic profile-appropriate. Every staff we have trained realizes the need to be more than just generic and is even actually excited by the thought that they can become special, even if their jobs appear common. Every member of the business organization shares the common goal of the owners. We just have to shine the light on those goals.
So the next time you think about Customer Service Training for your people, think beyond generic, or what everybody else has. To be courteous and helpful is the minimum requirement. Our customers may not remember the taste of our food, but they will definitely remember how we made them feel. Differentiate, just as your initial business concept strove to do at its inception. Commit to what your Brand stands for, and make it shine through in every customer contact point. Brandwash!
Next time, we will talk about finding that brand differentiation from which all Brandwashing emanates. Till then, let me know what you think. I�d love to hear from you! Email me any questions, comments or suggestions at [email protected], and we will endeavor to reply to all of them privately or thru this column.
Jinggay Gallardo is President of Pilot Consulting, a Marketing Consulting firm she established in 1996, after almost 20 years in Corporate Marketing & Brand Management, 10 of which was with San Miguel Corporation. At present, she is also a part-time lecturer at the Ateneo de Manila University�s John Gokongwei School of Management, to give back to her alma mater what she has profited from her education and to look out for bright young talent whom she can train in the Marketing profession. |
