The obvious example is Apple, how many people do you know that have an iPod, iPhone or iPad? Many can't wait to buy the newest version as soon as it's available. Cars also provide a classic example, many Jaguar or Mercedes drivers wouldn't drive anything else - they love the brand, the image, history and the quality of the vehicles, so they stick with it.
When I'm working with clients on leadership branding projects I focus on three elements: their brand ie the 'promise' that brand makes to their customers; the ability of the organisation to deliver against that 'promise'; and the associated customer expectations all with the purpose of aligning their leadership activity accordingly. Certain organisations have a huge advantage over others. For example a supermarket might realistically expect to have contact with many of their customers on a weekly basis, a garage just once a year when their car is serviced.
Yes, it's all about quality customer contact - the more you have the more likely you are to achieve that emotional link. Assuming of course that both the supermarket and the garage are providing an excellent service! The supermarket has the opportunity to reinforce this 'message' every week, the garage once a year...
So how can the garage and other businesses that don't have the luxury of weekly customer contact position themselves in such a way that they increase those emotional ties?
Well, businesses should take a long hard look at the 'Reality TV' phenomenon and its popularity and success. Reality TV brings two exceptionally potent ingredients:
1/ It's real - no smoke and mirrors, what you see is what you get.
2/ In most cases it involves the viewer (its customers) in the show by allowing them to
vote and influence the outcome.
Reality TV shows are in fact doing what leaders should do, being open, transparent and inclusive! This process allows reality TV shows to build momentum and strong emotional links so that people can't wait for the next series to arrive and watch it avidly.
This is exactly what 'leadership branding' is about. If as a collective the leaders within an organisation get their behaviours right and become more open, transparent and inclusive, the whole organisation adopts a similar culture because the fact of the matter is leadership behaviour drives employee behaviour which directly impacts on the customer experience.
If you do only have contact with your customers every now and again, you need to make sure it's as positive as possible. You want them to be looking forward to taking their car for its annual service, (or buying your particular product or service), because they know it will be a good experience.
So, think about your favourite reality TV show, and then think about your organisation's leadership - when it comes to transparency and inclusiveness, which one wins...?
