Using a Discovery Process to Get the Brand

Many organizations simply assume that they need only tell managers what the brand is and show them advertising and branded literature in order for them to understand the implicit promise of the brand. We have heard HR professionals maintain that they have carried out the brand message because they put the logo on every printed document. These people are no doubt related to the marketing professionals who assume they need go no further than telling consumers what the brand is by inundating them with advertising messages.

The process is obviously more complex than that. Yet more often than not, organizations offer little more than lip service to the total effect the brand has. In all likelihood, each manager has his or her personal interpretation of the brand.

To create a brand-driven culture, we recommend starting with a discovery process to assess brand perceptions and the culture that underpins them. Organizational values are key. When we ask managers, "What are the values of your company?" often, perhaps after a slight hesitation, they point to posters on the walls depicting their mission, vision, and values and dutifully recite the words that are boldly displayed. Sometimes when the values are not posted on the wall, no one in the room can remember what they are.

When asked, "What do you mean by those values?" or "Can you give me examples of behaviors consistent with those values?" the hesitation is inevitably much longer. When we repeat this exercise with a number of people, the answers normally vary significantly. And more often than not, the answers given by the managers vary considerably from those of the staff they supervise. When we present these results to managers, they are often surprised. They wonder how people in their organization can hold such divergent views on subjects, "that have been on our walls for years."

True values of companies are expressed by the natural and spontaneous behaviors displayed by staff. The marketing department may say its commitment is to "customers first," but what that means may not have been defined in a way that fosters consistent understanding. As a result, values posters are frequently little more than attractive wall hangings.

A simple exercise can demonstrate the root cause of this problem. In a group session of fifteen to twenty people, display a word and ask each person to write down three meanings of that particular word.

The word summer, for example, elicits ideas and emotions that are significantly different and varied across even a small group of seemingly similar people. Here's a summary of results we got from one group of ten people about the word summer. It is easy to see how each answer relates to summer. It is also easy to see if these were interpretations of a single brand value how individual behaviors could likely go in a variety of directions.

The reason words have different meanings to different people involves a range of factors, including past experiences, environment, preferences, ideals, and personal values. Each person's perception is specific to him or her. We might think that the word summer is quite straightforward and assume that everyone else is thinking the same thing when we say it. Is it any wonder that when an organization tells its employees it stands for customer service, trust, integrity, teamwork, and family, a clear and consistent understanding is lacking?

It is not shocking, therefore, that the behaviors demonstrated through customer service are often not consistent with the executives' or marketing department's interpretation of the brand. If an organization really wants its brand to be differentiated and delivered consistently, the brand cannot be left to general or individual interpretations. An organization must take responsibility to achieve clear understanding in the same way the marketing department assumes responsibility for stimulating specific awareness of the brand in consumers' minds.

This suggests two actions. First, the brand needs to be defined at a deeper level, explained and discussed within the specific context and offerings of the organization and based upon customer needs and aspirations. From there, the discussion can move to what the brand means to management and staff. Everyone needs to understand not just what the brand states in advertisements but also what these statements imply.

Managers must be directly engaged in this process, recognizing behaviors that are on-brand and off-brand for a range of situations. Individual interpretations need to be aired, considered, and discussed. These things do not happen overnight. Even when the brand is well defined and communicated and staff are excited, change and brand awareness still grow slowly. That is precisely why well-recognized brands are so valuable.