Your brand is a promise. That means that everything you do, must be aligned with the brand position you have decided to have. If you want to be premium, you need to be premium in everything – from how your products looks and feels to your communication.
A master of this is Apple. The products are of high quality with a design that makes them feel even better. And it does not stop there. The package is not just a package, it’s a piece of art. So nice that most of us saves the package as a décor in our office. And when you lift the phone from the package, it lights up and says “hello”. In short a great feeling, already at this point it feels like selecting an iPhone was the right decision. The communication and stores work as magnets driving expectations. That is how you build one of the world’s most valuable brands.
For Nordic B2B companies, which often are positioned as premium brands in their segment, this is an area worth considering. Many companies are good, but many companies have not understood the benefits of a premium appearance and the negative consequences of trying to take shortcuts in order to save money.
One former customer wanted us to look into their spare parts packaging and communication. Before this, spare parts were often sent directly from the component manufacturer to avoid re-packing. Total disaster. Who wants to pay 50% premium for an “original spare part” when it is delivered from the manufacturing company with a totally different brand? Then you will go directly to them the next time, and never worry about “pirate parts”. The logistics flow was changed, then we came to packaging of the spare parts – parts that sometimes costs € 5,000. We designed a premium package printed in 4 colours. The customer said “no” since it costed 50 cents extra per package to print, not understanding that they probably could raise the price with € 100 just because the spare part looked premium.
Communication is even worse. I sometimes receive communication examples that makes me want to cry. Customer and shareholder information full of inconsistencies, spelling mistakes, formatting mistakes (like accepting AI’s title cased headlines and em dashes) and badly written in general. Then I sometimes ask when sending a red-lined proof back “Are your products of equally bad quality?”. The answer is often an indignant reply “Of course not!”
My final comment then: “But how do you think your customers will think when this is full of mistakes”. After a few negative experiences, customers will start to notice. Start to think. And ask themselves if their perception that you and your products are worth X% more than the competitor’s product really is correct…
This is the first step towards brand degradation. Building a brand takes time and consistency. Ruining a brand after losing customers’ trust goes fast…
If you want to discuss branding and communication, you are always welcome to contact ulf@sfinxagency.se
