Collaborative planning, brand development & strategic marketing

I often work with companies that face challenges brought on by change. Those changes aren’t all bad. Growth, acquisition, new product development and geographic expansion create challenges just as thorny as declining sales, aggressive competition and economic recession. But change demands taking a hard look at brand strategy, beginning with an honest appraisal of brand reputation.

VOC
The tool of choice these days is VOC – Voice of the Customer. Of course, smart marketers have always recognized the value of listening to what customers say about themselves, their needs and how they view your products and your company. It’s a key step in defining, or redefining, your brand. And yet, business trends and buzz words come and go. Lately, “Voice of the Customer” is everywhere.

But it’s one thing to listen to customer voices. It’s another thing altogether to hear what’s being said. And not said. When you’re looking for answers, it’s easy to hear what you want. Or, at least, what you expect.

I just finished a rebranding project for a multi-national corporation that proves the point. Phase 1 involved conversations with business unit leaders and feet-on-the-street salesmen. Those conversations always included a key question: “What is your reputation among customers?” I expected disagreement. In this case, tho, most everyone agreed that they were known for three things: quality, reliability and superior engineering.

Phase 2 involved a similar discussion with a small sample of customers. That was followed by a final survey phase to validate and quantify Phase 2 results. Interestingly, the answer to the question about brand reputation was strikingly similar. Customers agreed that the company made reliable, high quality products. Had we merely surveyed customers, that would have been the end of it. We’d have had the basis of a brand strategy. But that’s the difference between listening and hearing.

Listening vs Hearing
Digging deeper, I learned that customers applied those very same attributes to the entire competitive field. It was the price of entry. If a company didn’t produce high quality, reliable products backed by superior engineering, they simply wouldn’t be considered. These characteristics did nothing to differentiate one company from the rest. There was something else.

Listening carefully and asking the right questions revealed the answers: purchase decisions were based on service. And depending upon the market segment, service meant different things – from lead time to delivery time, to technical support to personal relationships. Had we merely listened, the brand strategy would have been built on product quality rather than service.

Of course, there are other benefits of a good VOC exercise. Careful listening can help reveal your brand’s personality – a valuable trait which should be reflected in communications. To say nothing of the kudos your company will get from taking the time to listen to customers. They appreciate the effort more than you realize.

Do you hear voices, too?
Have you listened to your customers lately? More importantly, have you heard what they’re saying? It’s easy to assume that you know your customers and what they think of you. The smart organization takes this a step further and asks them. You may be very surprised by what you hear.

Today’s parting thought:

“The most basic of all human needs is the need to understand and be understood. The best way to understand people is to listen to them.”
— Ralph Nichols

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