Who this Book is For

This book is written for those who want to unleash the full potential of their brands and make their customer service so distinct that it has as much value as their brand idea possesses. It is also for those who understand that making customer service central to brand identity is not a one-time or simple task but a strategic decision. It entails a transformational process for your entire organization. We are enamored with Jim Collins's statement in Good to Great, in which he describes companies that undergo transformation as having "no single defining action, no grand program, no one killer innovation, no solitary lucky break, no miracle moment. Rather the process resemble[s] relentlessly pushing a giant heavy flywheel in one direction, turn upon turn, building momentum until a point of breakthrough, and beyond." ^[6]

Brand experts Bob Tyrell and Tim Westall make the same point with a slightly different caution. "Branding customer service requires something much more complex than the bolt-on activities currently parading as 'relationship' building. It implies developing a recognizable style and personality, and that has important implications for brand marketing." ^[7]

Because of this complexity, we address four audiences, each with a different role to play when service experiences are branded.

1. Executives in top-level positions. Executives who read this book will gain an overview of how the focus of branded customer service can help integrate all the elements of their business. Once made, this decision is not one to be taken lightly and changed every time there is a shift in leadership. Executives also need to recognize the impact they themselves have as representatives and champions of the brand to both customers and employees.

2. Those with responsibility for shaping the environment in which on-brand service is delivered. This second audience includes marketing specialists, human resource professionals, and customer service trainers. All three groups need to understand what is possible with branded service, what is required to make it happen, and how they must cooperate in this venture.

3. Those who supervise and manage others who have direct contact with customers. Branding is such an essential topic in today's business world that everyone who represents your business needs a deeper understanding of the phenomenon.

4. Those who have direct contact with customers. All service delivery will benefit from a deeper understand of branding.

Whether you are a service provider—and most of us have some aspect of service provision in our work—a manager of service providers, or a builder of brands, Branded Customer Service offers you a context to think about your own behavior in relationship to your organization's brand promises. It will guide you through the demanding task of lining up behaviors until you know in your bones that you are doing more than just meeting a payroll—or earning a paycheck.

We know from experience that it is possible to educate large percentages of the workforce to deliver a service style that is uniquely defined for the organization they represent. At the same time, we do not believe that this happens by accident or as a flight of fancy. And once achieved, the work to keep your brand alive within your organization is ongoing and just as demanding and critical as the effort to get it there in the first place.

^[6]James Collins, Good to Great (New York: Harper Business, 2001), 14.

^[7]Bob Tyrell and Tim Westall, "The New Service Ethos, A Post-Brand Future—And How to Avoid It," Market Leader: The Journal of the Marketing Society, no. 2 (1998).