A brand is nothing if not trustworthy. If your brand is not capable of consistently earning its customers’ trust over time, it is doomed to failure. A brand must be predictable. It must be dependable and reliable. It must deliver on its promises. It must be responsive to its customers’ requests. It must be transparent in its business practices. And it must not lie to its customers. (BP CEO Tony Hayward pictured)

It is that simple. If your brand is not there, you have work to do. There is nothing more to say.

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I know we can all be cynical and see through this ploy, but it works.

Time after time, when evaluating what makes service unique, I conclude it comes down to two simple factors: attention to the individual and a personal twist. Whether we admit it or not, we all love particular attention, to be treated as unique human beings. Especially these days, when corporate inattention so often makes us feel more like statistical details than people with names.

A while back, I wrote a post on how important it is to personalize a brand’s dialogue with the customer. One assumption was the more personal we make our brand’s voice, the more effective communication becomes. Well, a reader from Holland, Erwin van Lun, contacted me to tell me the assumption has been proven.

Dutch marketing journal Tijdschrift voor Marketing published some hot-off-the-press data showing the personal touch can be even more effective than anticipated.

According to their article, if you simply begin a missive with “Dear X” (inserting the recipient’s name), the response rate will be 42 percent. That’s compared to a response rate of 10 percent for letters commencing with the universal “Dear Reader.” These rates might vary from country to country, but they should make you think no matter where you work.

Please don’t start thinking your personalized communication strategy should stop there. The journal also illustrates the value of analyzing your audience, segmenting it, and making your communications more relevant, personal, and direct. Besides addressing emails to individual recipients and signing them with a real person’s name (rather than a departmental designation), try to reflect real events that affect the person you’re addressing.

Here’s a simple example. While preparing to move recently, one of my friends received an email offering advice on what to do to avoid problems with movers. Naturally, selecting the “best” moving company was high on the list of recommendations. The company said it received the information about my friend’s move from a government registry that, in that country, makes such information available to the public. What I liked about this email was not only did it come in a meaningful context (the right message sent to the right person at the right time) but it also offered realistic and useful advice most people would value.

Let’s be honest. We’re all sick and tired of spam. Spam is destroying the consumer’s attention span. As consumers, we do love personal, relevant attention. The best way to achieve this for your clients is to offer something free of charge, something relevant to their situation and customized to meet their needs. This might cost extra to produce; it might require you to do a bit more research; it will mean you have to prepare emails with extra care. In the end, I reckon this approach is the only way to build brands: to be relevant and to understand your customers’ needs.

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For western brands that are about to hit any part of Asia, you need a culturally aware Asian brand strategy to avoid a negative response to the culture shock you and your brand might experience. Even if you have no plans to enter Asian markets, there’s lots to learn from comparing culturally derived attitudes which all have lessons for brands and business.

For example, let’s look at sake, Japan’s traditional rice wine. When you’re in Japan, you’ll observe a gesture that’s typical in the hospitality of the country. It’s a gesture that has relevance to branding and business in general. The eggcup-sized sake cup will be placed in front of you, sitting in a receptacle of some kind – an elegant cherry wood box, an everyday saucer. When your host or companion pours your sake the cup will be filled to overflowing, the receptacle it sits in receiving the overflow and itself being filled to the brim. This over serving expresses the generosity of the host, restaurant or bar. It’s a gesture to show gratitude for your presence. And it exhibits a desire to give you more that you expect. You’ll agree that this vignette opens vistas of meaning – brands must over-deliver and exceed customer expectations. Yet, so often, brands simply meet expectations. I’ll never forget my first sake. Such gestures of abundance, hospitality and respect will be associated by your customers with your brand, creating an invaluable emotional tie between them.

Another lesson I’ve learned from Japan occurred when I was visiting a picturesque little village near Kyoto, in the beautiful Kansai region.

I had ordered some handcrafted knives and was told that the finishing process would take approximately half-an-hour. So, I left the store and explored the village, bathed in the rosy glow cast by the springtime cherry blossoms. I returned to the knife maker exactly half-an-hour later. To my surprise, and contrary to my previous experience of Japanese punctuality and exactitude, the knives were not ready. Two men were still hard at work on them and remained so for fifteen minutes longer than expected. I decided to wait and observe these craftsmen in action. In the western world, I wouldn’t have been too surprised to see the men expressing irritation at the extra work time. Here, though, the men’s demeanors expressed passion, exquisite care, and tireless professionalism invested in every maneuver that produced the amazing tools. These knives were unique pieces, the antithesis of a tool I’d collect at random from Wal-Mart. Later I realized that my wait was not unexpected. This observation time was built into the transaction as part of the handover process from vendor to buyer. The intentional fifteen-minute interval was an exercise in demonstrative dedication, to show me the care that went into my knives. Again, this is a memory I will have for life. It has made those knives into a whole story of dedication to a product.

In the world of branding, such passion tends to disappear along with the founder’s resignation. I’m sure there is a ton of passion behind the scenes when ordering a book on Amazon.com or any other online retailer. But online buying has Passion, Dedication and Care: Branding Inspiration translated the customer-retailer relationship into one of collusive silence and distance. And that distance, between me and the brands I buy is widening. When I receive emails from Amazon, they’re from the “customer service team”. If an individual’s name appears in front of this retailer’s sealed membrane, it disappears quickly again, severing the promise of a sense of real connection.

I’m not saying that we should let customers wait for service. I’m saying that demonstrative dedication, shown by the knife craftsmen, is missing in our brand building. Branding is all about creating an emotional engagement between the consumer and the brand. We need to see the passion that lies behind every brand, the real people that make it happen. This human dimension not only bonds customers with brands, it raises customers’ empathy levels, making them more patient and understanding when things do go wrong.

Recently I was in India as part of my global BRAND sense Symposiums. I’m introduced to hundreds of brands every day, and in India this was no different. But one particular brand stands out. Liijat is a company that has as it vision statement: A unique organization of the women, by the women for the women. For decades the company has outsourced their entire production of bread to thousands of homes across India. Liijat was one of the first true community-based brands and women produce bread for the company every day, following strict guidelines set by the brand. So, when you choose Liijat bread from the supermarket shelf, you’re not purchasing machine-made bread. You’re buying bread made by an individual, with care and love and dedication. And that knowledge makes a true branding difference. Even better, the reason why Liijat is the best-known bread brand in India is that it’s not only produced by India’s women, it’s owned by them, not by a corporation.

Just like the real world, the Internet is all about communities. Yet brands tend to neglect this very important aspect. In fact many companies still express irritation at communication from consumers, rather than as brand-building opportunities. Leveraging the concept of communities, and of the loyalty that can arise from the comradeship and common interests shared by them, can create your brand difference, one of emotional engagement which defies replication.

Asian culture, vast and varied, holds thousands of unique, small and useful stories, which any brand can leverage when growing. What each and every story has in common is passion – passion for people, for materials, for the product. What each and every great brand is based on is exactly the same. So, remember the three small stories I’ve told you today when you’re next looking for your brand’s point of difference.

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I bet you’ll never forget this story – neither will I. But the case is that the extra $20 the hotel decided to spend on my account makes me spread the story – just like now. Would you still claim this wasn’t worth the investment … hardly!

The story is very much in line with another experience taking place in a Louis Vuitton store, the maker of luxury leather goods, which explicitly does not offer a lifetime warranty on its products. In fact, the company’s documentation states a charge will be applied for repairs. The salesperson to whom you return your faulty product further reiterates this when you take it in for repair. But when you come back to collect your item, you’ll almost never pay for the service. The salesperson assures you this was done especially for you.

The over deliver and under promise strategy builds your brand in ways which few can imagine – as it reflects a brand which cares about you – rather than a brand which traditionally only cares about it’s shareholders. It’s a story, which stays with you for life – and not only keeps you as a loyal customer – it makes you spread the rumor. If you don’t believe me ask any kid about how many bricks there is in any box of LEGO –and the answer would be – “there are always too many bricks in the box”. I remember as a kid I always noticed the pleasant surprise – which always made me think this was a special gift for me. Many years later, when visiting the factory I realized, other factors were the true reason for this generosity – still the story stays with me forever.

I’m certain that my Peninsula, the Louis Vuitton or LEGO experience isn’t written down in some manual – still it has time after time shown to be consistent with these brands.. But how? The reason might be found on the very top of the 70 year old Sydney Harbor Bridge, an icon, which some years ago was opened to the public for what is called a Bridge Walk. The walk takes you through a 4-hour tour on top of the arches of the very bridge – allowing you to view the entire Sydney harbor.

The surprising bit wasn’t the bridge walk – but the motivation showed by the guides which time after time seemed to keep up an amazing spirit – despite having walked up-and-down the bridge several hundred times in all sorts of weather…. I asked Adam, my guide and was told an amazing explanation.

Prior to the first as a practicing guide – they go through a 4-month education program. The first months is packed with lessons about how to handle people with panic attacks. You know fear of heights. The second month is dedicated to learning how to memorize the visitor’s names – as well as presentation techniques. You should think that the last two months would be dedicated to learning about the bridge and Sydney and its harbor – but wrong! Instead the soon-to-be-guides were left alone with the assignment of creating their own presentation – a two months assignment – ensuring an amazing ownership of the story, the topic and energy.

But what does all this have to do with the Peninsula or Louis Vuitton story, and my mantra about over delivering and under promising? It’s simple – leaving it all to comprehensive brand manuals won’t do it. You can’t program a surprise – but you can however secure an understanding about the fundamental components creating a true surprise and hand over the execution to the members of your team. Today in a world where cost cutting has become the rule of every product or service – consumers are left in a world where surprises are more surprising than ever – and unfortunately only for the negative. Far to seldom-true positive surprises arise – but when they do – they are spread like wild fire between consumers because they tells a story we all would like to experience. I’m sure both Louis Vuitton, Peninsula or LEGO would all agree with me that the cost of such experience isn’t overwhelming – in fact it is only our extreme cost focus which keeps us away from this way of thinking.

Who doesn’t love giving something away?

It not only spreads the rumors and generates happy customers – it also builds a staff motivation which probably – converted into education and staff motivation programs – would be far cheaper and far more sincere. And that’s what branding is all about – building sincere human brands – which we all instantly can relate to.

The Blake Project Can Help: The Brand Positioning Workshop

Branding Strategy Insider is a service of The Blake Project: A strategic brand consultancy specializing in Brand Research, Brand Strategy, Brand Licensing and Brand Education

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Disney scored higher in purloined language than any other brand. This brand welcomes you to its kingdom of fantasy, dreams, promises, and magic. If you’ve stayed at a Disney resort, taken a Disney cruise, or eaten in a Disney restaurant, it doesn’t take long to hear “cast members” greeting guests with, “Have a magical day!”

For over half a century, Disney has consistently built its brand on a foundation much larger than its logo. A substantial chunk relies on songs and voiceovers that almost always include Disney-branded words. Associating words with brands comes at no extra cost. Disney’s manages to “own” six of them: “dreams,” “creativity, “fantasy,” “smiles,” “magic,” and “generation.”

Our BRAND sense study shows over 80 percent of the world’s population directly associates these generic words with Disney.

The keywords are repeated over and over in Disney’s advertising copy, song lyrics, and story lines and on Disney Channel. The words cross all media channels, from TV to the Internet, with ease and fluidity. No opportunity is wasted in making strong connections between Disney and “magic,” Disney and “fantasy,” Disney and “dreams,” and so on.

What’s more, Disney’s language survives what I call the smash test. Pick a word, sentence, or column from any Disney publication, remove each brand reference, and — voilà! — The brand’s still recognizable.

To create a truly smashable brand requires consistency and patience. This is difficult, in a corporate world where the only constant is ever changing branding strategies and CMOs. Add to this a fluctuating financial market that demands instant results, and the brand message becomes just another bit of brand information in an overcrowded field. With annual reports, TV commercials, and Web sites often handled by different divisions, you loose any opportunity for language synergy.

It takes years for words, phrases, and sentences to be identified and accepted as belonging to specific brands.

The first step to integrate specific language into your brand is to identify the words you want to own. Select them based on those words that best reflect your brand’s personality. Choose words that are easy to integrate in many different kinds of sentences and are the most flexible.

There’s no mistaking Absolut Vodka’s language. Its “Absolut Home” page lets you jump to “Absolut Reality,” “Absolut Pictures,” “Absolut Generations,” and other “Absolut” destinations. Should you wish to contact the company, go to “Absolut Contact.” Everything on the site is consistent with Absolut’s advertising campaign, which has been running for over 20 years. The campaign’s based on continuity and variety; 1,400 ads have been produced since 1980, all related to the original vision that launched Absolut Perfection.

The key to forming a smashable language is to integrate it into every piece of communication your company is responsible for, including all internal communications.

Evaluate your branded language, and determine the words you would like to own. It costs nothing and might lead to free advertising in your national dictionary.

The Blake Project Can Help: The Brand Positioning Workshop

Branding Strategy Insider is a service of The Blake Project: A strategic brand consultancy specializing in Brand Research, Brand Strategy, Brand Licensing and Brand Education

FREE Publications And Resources For Marketers