BRAND MANNERS
HAMISH PRINGLE & WILLIAM GORDON
The one-sentence summary:
Customer perception of brand quality is a combination of pre-existing expectations and experience when interacting with it – so most importantly companies need to practice what they preach.
WHAT THE BOOK SAYS
- Companies need to align their internal and external brand values to build a self-confident organization.
- Brand reputations can be ruined by a poor interaction.
ELEMENTS OF THE BOOK I PARTICULARLY LIKE
The Brand Manners Improvement Cycle has five stages:
Individual Behaviours. It’s not enough to talk about missions and values – they have to be manifested in the concrete reality of individual actions.
Encounters. Stay close to customers and staff, and engender an atmosphere of trust.
Brand Promise. Technology and automation must not be allowed to remove humanity from brand interaction.
Happy Surprises. Direct human interface generates defining gestures, pledges to customers, and moments of truth that should reflect the brand.
Feeling Good. The art of ensuring continually satisfied customers is to define your version of outstanding service, realising the importance of under-promising and over-delivering, and recruitin line with the brand’s values.