Your
BRAND Is
Not
ABOUT YOU
BY DEB GABOR
When people imagine my job as a brand expert , they usually picture a marketing whiz sitting in a closed-off boardroom brainstorming and crafting a perfect brand .
That couldn ’ t be further from the truth .
The reality is , branding doesn ’ t come from your company . Branding comes from your customers .
Your brand lives in your customers ’ needs and desires , as well as their perceptions of you and their connection to you . Branding is not an insideout activity ; it ’ s an outside-in activity .
Real branding comes down to getting inside your customers ’ heads and then working inward from there . What do your customers think ? How do they behave ? What do they need ? Where do they go to get it ? Where do they shop ? How much are they going to spend ? What ’ s important to them ? How does it make them feel ? And how does it advance the goals that they have for their lives ?
This is where branding starts .
DON ’ T KNOW WHAT YOUR CUSTOMERS THINK ? ASK THEM !
Most companies don ’ t have a six-figure budget for market research . So how do you learn about your customers ?
Lo and behold , you learn who your customers are by actually finding and having a conversation with them . There are many different ways to talk to your customers . Conversations can take place through informal market research , or through formal research methods . Each approach offers a number of opportunities to dive into your customers ’ inner lives .
The different methods available for informal market research prove that budget is not a barrier . On the super-lowbudget end of the spectrum , you can just hang around in a Starbucks and ask people to try your product or service — then solicit their opinions . Be sure to ask open-ended questions , such as , “ What do you like about this brand ?”— or —“ How do you see this fitting into your life ?”— or —“ What would you change about this ?” Actually talking to customers face-to-face is one of the most valuable things you can do to understand your brand .
One easy way for marketing managers and executives to interact with customers is by fielding customer
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