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PART I: AMAZING BRANDS – What they do and how they do it!

July 8, 2010 By Suzanne Tulien

By Carol Chapman, Principal & Co-founder, The Brand Ascension Group

Every business has a brand! Why? Because your brand is your business™!

And, every brand has the opportunity to be good, bad or indifferent; or great. For many brands, being good is just fine, but for those few that really push the envelope they prefer to be great or better yet, AMAZING. This paper focuses on brands that have reached the ‘amazing level’. And the question is what does it take to be amazing?

CHARACTERISTICS OF AMAZING BRANDS

Brands become amazing because they know what they stand for, stay true to it and it’s expressed in every thought, every action, every reaction, interaction, standard and process, every decision and cause they associate themselves with.   What is it that amazing brands share in common?

They:

  • Establish and live up to a set of guiding principles (core values) in everything they do.
  • Cultivate distinct branded cultures of inspired and engaged employees.
  • Continuously delight their customers knowing that top-line and bottom-line results will follow.
  • Establish standards of performance excellence and deliver on them consistently.
  • Are innovative and continue to evolve with the times.
  • Build community so that others want to be associated with them.
  • Evoke and reinforce positive emotions that make people feel good.
  • Create enormous employee and customer loyalty through positive, memorable experiences.
  • Have a strong point of view that is expressed in creative and authentic ways that makes the world a better place—through even the smallest of gestures.
  • Inspire and influence others towards right action.
  • Give back to their communities and assist those less fortunate in the world because they care.

Great brands don’t become amazing without working at becoming that way every day. They understand that building and elevating their brand is a conscious, strategic and deliberate process that spans the life of their brand. It’s not a one-time event, haphazard series of actions or a clever advertising message! They put it all on the line with an all out focused effort every day—one employee and one customer at a time.

EXAMPLE OF AN AMAZING BRAND

Tony Hsieh, CEO of ZAPPOS.COM said in one of his recent blog posting, “We’re starting a Movement”. He talks about Zappos.com “changing the world by inspiring and helping other companies to focus more on culture, core values, customer experience, passion, and purpose –all without losing sight of financial goals”.  In 2010, Zappos moved up to the #15 spot on Fortune’s Best Companies to Work For list. Happiness is a guiding principle in their company. By making employees happy, they make customers happy. It’s not surprising to find that 75% of purchases come from repeat customers and they are generating more sustainable profits and long-term financial performance. In 2009, they hit $1.2B in revenues. In their eleven years in business, they weren’t always as profitable as they are now, but they stayed true to what has meaning and heart for them as a brand, and it’s paying off more than just financially because they care about their employees and their customers.

Zappos Culture is what truly sets them apart. They have a “work hard, play hard” mentality. Their 10 core values are the foundation of their culture and drive the internal and external experience they create for the brand—how they interact and treat customers, reps and one another. For example, Create Fun and a Little Weirdness is one of their core values. They express it in creative ways through random acts of kindness on a weekly basis for other employees. It’s refreshing to see a brand that lives and breathes its core values through every aspect of its operations, so much that they open their culture up to other companies and individuals to visit, learn and share with them. And living their values certainly extends beyond the walls of the company as every employee is committed to delivering “Wow” through service to their customers. I’ve personally experienced their wow service and what an amazing brand they are!

Stay tuned for Part II for more examples of amazing brands and how your brand can become amazing too!

Filed Under: brand building, Brand Culture, Business Practices, Organizational Values Tagged With: brand building, brand culture, Business Practices, Organizational Values

Testimonials

“Suzanne is a fantastic brand expert who makes an immediate impact to the bottom line. Her efforts helped me successfully launch a small business venture (fitness gym: dynamic-gyms.com) into a very competitive market achieving break even revenue goals within three weeks of opening! Simply unheard of in this market segment. This would not have been possible without her direct efforts to help us succeed.”
Larry Solecki, CEO, Dynamic Training & Fitness Gyms

SarahRyals-Pic“Suzanne creates a wonderful experience to build an understanding of brand, especially for those who are new to brand basics. Her teaching modules are clear, well organized, thoughtfully explained, and she does a great job coaching teams through the work. The final outcome is an actionable foundation for delivering a consistent, meaningful brand experience for all the brand’s stakeholders.”

Sarah Ryals, Women's Resource Agency Board Member
SuzanneKladder-BW-Round“Suzanne and her Personal Brand program are amazing. She really gets you to take an honest, in-depth look at who you really are at your core and get past what you or others think you are. She helped me abandoned the idea that I needed to be perfect and to realize that perfection is me being me. The work I did with Suzanne continues to help me behave in a consistent, authentic way and it has had a positive impact on my business.”
Suzanne Kladder, Sales Whisperer
“By participating in Suzanne’s Personal Brand Mastermind Group I revealed my true, distinctive brand attributes which has allowed me to actively live my true brand self. It has been a tremendous value for my networking and branding of my consulting practice. Her program was professionally crafted and delivered with personal support and guidance. I would recommend Brand Ascension’s programs for any person or organization looking to elevate their brand presence.”
Mark ShadlePresidentSpeed2ResultsColorado Springs
VW-Round-BW“I’m more clear and consistent in my actions and communication across the board. I’m more mindful about what I do – and even more importantly, how I think – and have more clear direction of what actions to take next and why. Identifying, defining, and stepping into my authentic self was exactly what I was looking for and needing to kick-start my next level of success! Because I am “Uniquely Wise, Deliciously Inspired!” Thank you Suzanne!”
Veronica WirthOwner + Creative DirectorDesign BistroVermont
DeniseWhitaker-BW-Round“Taking the Personal Brand Presence course was like going through a re-birthing process for myself. It was truly enlightening to have that alone time with ME, and rediscover who I was. The course and consulting sessions were empowering, and added so much confidence to my state of being!”
Denise Whitaker, Realtor
“For years, I have been the gerbil on the wheel, trying with all of my energy, to be all things to all people.  It is so liberating to focus on the strengths I bring to the table and not worry about who that will line up with.  I love what you said about how when you let go of those who don’t line up, it only opens the door for more of those who do.  I am totally seeing that happen in my life and especially in my business!  I shared this with my business coach and he said that you were rig… Read more
Lisa Gross, Sr. Mortgage Lender, Peoples National Bank
“Wow, I wasn’t expecting such a breakthrough!” That is what you will tell yourself when you complete one of Suzanne’s Personal Brand Mastermind courses. If you are not aligned with your authenticity, everything in your life will suffer as a result. I highly recommend anyone who wants to get to the next level in business or their personal life to enroll in this series. This is an exclusive training program for high-caliber, high-potential clients so be ready to roll up your sleeves do… Read more
Cory Arcarese, CEO, CArc Media
  JanePeck“Suzanne has facilitated training in our organization to bring the branding basics to our team.  She is dynamic, entertaining and engages all the senses in her training methods.  If you are looking to elevate your brand and engage your team in the process, I highly recommend her.”
Jane Peck, MBAAdministratorEndodontic Specialists of ColoradoColorado Springs
“I highly recommend Suzanne for website, branding, and any and all creative work. She is excellent to work with: fast, on-time, full of fresh ideas, offers solutions, great attitude, multi-talented…and also fun! Suzanne has been a tremendous asset to Grizzard and our marketing program. She is an integral part of our team and success.”
Stacy Guidice, Marketing Dir., Grizzard Communications

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