The Best Policy

Brands are built the old-fashioned way; that is by consistently delivering & executing the promises. Student Biryani didn’t become a symbol of authentic, desi fast food overnight. It took years and thousands of identical platters & stuffed bellies to build that reputation.

Likewise, initially troubled TCS made its mark one successful shipment at a time. All those customers didn’t care about controlling a brand; they just wanted some greasy chicken and mail in tip-top condition.

The onslaught of blogs, tweets and social networks gives customers a louder voice & community to voice complaints. The important part is acting on the feedback, which every disgruntled customer will learn to appreciate. You must act on that feedback just as hard and fast, quelling revolt and defending your reputation (as Unilever & Mindshare has to over the contestant’s death). Brand preservation is a reasonable struggle, if you know the moves (technique beats power even in corporate life) to make. Control the story before it controls you.

Be vigilant
Browse online for mentions of your brand as often as you can; some companies organize taskforces (of interns) for this very purpose.
Tracking services like GoogleAlert can help in this regard. You might also want to check out BoltaConsumer.com for a tirade of angry complaints against various companies. Even if your brand isn’t mentioned, you can use the feedback to gauge what exactly makes the consumer tick.

Be active
If you spot your brand as a victim or hero of a debate, just jump in & either fix or boost the position. Though it’s good to have some sort of presence on twitter, facebook or MySpace, it’s better to pose as an everyman or a stakeholder than a trained communications rep. Again, use your large pool of interns to do this – Obama did.

Be honest
Building a strong brand (regardless of the era) is really about being able to demonstrate commitment to quality & continuous innovation. We do this considering that a reputation can be lost in a day and regained after a lifetime, so remember how quickly consumers and the public swing their votes. Man up, admit the mistakes and take the correct steps to fix them.

Babar Javed is Managing Director of Mission Centenarian, a health & fitness company founded in 2007, which comprises of a network of personal trainers in Karachi. He was most recently the chief marketing officer at Élan Guides & has worked with GlaxoSmithKline & UBL Fund Managers as well. Currently pursuing an undergraduate degree in Marketing from SZABIST, his key interests lie in brand activation & advertising.

Tags: best policy, brand, Brands, building brands, desi food, feedback, Marketing, reputation, student biryani, use

Category: Marketing