May 9, 2012
Most trusted brands start here.
Branding Insights
One of a series by John Paulo Cardoso, Spyder Works Chief Creative Officer & Founder
One of the guilty pleasures of being a branding professional is reading the annual parade of polls that list the world’s ‘most trusted brands’. If you’re a small or medium sized company, the chances are, you’re not on those lists. That’s why I tend to look at them for entertainment purposes only. But even though few companies will ever grow to the stature of Coca-Cola, Apple, Google or Mercedes Benz, there is a key lesson to be learned from ‘most trusted’ polling. And to me, that lesson is ‘know who you are’.
Understanding what is unique about your brand and why customers buy from you is the foundation of your success. If you stay true to those insights, they will guide you through your strategic planning, your product development and your market expansion. In other words, staying true to who you are will allow your customers to trust you.
When I ask my clients who they are, some have a tendency to translate the question into ‘what are you?’ And they might answer with something like, “We’re the second largest manufacturer of low-flow control systems in the tri-state area.” Then I’ll nudge them into telling me why. And that’s where we begin the brand building process. Whether they tell me that they have the most stringent quality controls in their industry, the lowest prices or the best after-sales service, what they’re really articulating is what makes them a unique brand and why their customers trust them. They are defining the active ingredient in their brand. And knowing that is the battering ram that opens the door to future possibilities. It gives both of us the plotline we need to tell the company’s story and grow into the number one manufacturer of low-flow control systems in the tri-state area.
Lesson learned is that you don’t need to have revenues in the tens of millions to be a most trusted brand. You just need to be true to who you are.
