Being in the branding business is full of risks. The biggest one at the moment is getting paid. And that’s after you’ve been to hell and back trying to win the job in the first place. Seriously, some people in this business take big risks with their clients’ reputations and livelihoods by prescribing ‘solutions’ founded on ‘gut feel’, the direction of the wind, the day of the month, the alcohol content in their bloodstream and sometimes the patterns of tea leaves in the bottom of their cup. Sometimes it just makes you cringe when you witness a client happy to cut corners, rely on an expert’s opinion, go for the cheapest option and neither they nor the brand ‘expert’ have a clue what’s really inside the heads of their customers, employees, shareholders, suppliers and the people who clean the offices. And sometimes the Board neither. There’s a fatal streak in many clients spawned from a level of confidence that ‘we know what we’re doing’, ‘we’ve been there before and it came out alright’ and ‘the tea leaves never lie’. A perverse need to take risks and enjoy the thrills, usually at the expense of someone else’s money, job, reputation or company.
The more intelligent companies realise that you need to get inside the heads of your various communities, the people who really matter – on the inside and on the outside – who are the life blood that keeps the business rolling. What are they thinking right now? And here’s where deep psychoanalysis will reveal your inner fears. Do they like me? Do they fear me? Do they think I don’t know my job? Will they laugh when I open my mouth to speak? Do they think I’m a dangerous risk taker at the reins of the business who never researches before making a decision that may impact on the wellbeing and future of the business? No, it’s not you we want to know about, it’s them. We’ll deal with you and your innermost fears later. It’s about the customers who love your brand. Those who hate it. Those employees who would go to the ends of the earth to work for you and dedicate their life to you. Those who are disengaged by the risky world around them. Those with little faith in the future. Those who think your vision pierces their very soul. Those who don’t work for you but wish they could. Those who speak volumes about you at every opportunity. Those who give you home baked cookies for your birthday. What do they think right now? Are they for you or against you, or simply don’t care? You have to find out. What a wealth of insight and knowledge lies so near at hand. A mass of ideas that could form the blueprint for brand transformation and success. And how many get to do this? Not many. In the words of motivational speaker and philosopher Jim Rohn... “Some do, some don’t”. It’s up to you whether you enjoy the risky stuff. Throw the dice and hope for the best. Be the big shot. On the other hand it makes a lot more sense to commission an online survey – of your customers, employees, shareholders and suppliers. They only cost a few thousand dollars. Look upon it as an insurance policy for the future. How much is your brand worth by comparison? Better find out. Start here. Right now. And tell that ‘expert’ to get lost. You’ve got more intelligent things to do.
Tony Heywood is an international branding consultant and founder of Heywood Innovation in Sydney and co-founder of BrandSynergy in Singapore.
View some of Heywood’s work on www.heywood.com.au
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