Many start-up businesses, whether a social enterprise or not, take an approach to marketing that is more akin to a ‘devine faith’ in success. They take the view that ‘if I build it, people will come’. Unfortunately no matter how worthy or inspiring a venture is, if potential customers do not know about it or do not understand your value proposition then the businesses life will be short.
For many, branding is something that is bolted on - a window dressing process that can be thought about at another time. Something that is expensive, time consuming and possibly for some social enterprises a dirty word linked to greed and the diminishment of choice.
This is far from the truth. In our mind your brand is the foundation, the core of everything you wish for, dream of and believe in. It is the starting point, not the end point of a cynical make-over resulting in a pretty logo.
A brand is defined by everything a company, product or service is, what it says, how it says it, what it believes, who it associates with and of course how it looks. As brand consultants we sometimes struggle to get our clients to understand this; what they want is a brand but often do not appreciate the fact that this comes with a responsibility beyond the ‘look of the logo’. The logo certainly needs to look intelligent, distinctive and interesting but it also needs to convey a foundation proposition that communicates a unique offer or experience based on truth and integrity.
Brand = Identity +beliefs+ behaviour
Brands will only survive if the behaviour their customers experience has a powerful sense of truth and integrity. And this integrity cannot be skin deep. Social enterprises, however, can use this to there advantage. After all a compassionate belief in social justice and a value of integrity is often the catalyst for many businesses of this kind and should be exploited to define a point of difference and achieve sustainable competitive advantage.
This means that when you define your brand start by thinking about your customer’s experience of your product and service. Does it feel authentic and are you communicating, with integrity, the added social value of that experience?
A brand that we admire is the Fifteen Restaurant chain run by Jamie Oliver. His aim is to inspire disadvantaged young people – homeless, unemployed, overcoming drug or alcohol problems – to believe that they can create for themselves great careers in the restaurant industry. He has achieved this whilst creating an eating experience with integrity that competes with the finest restaurants in the world. His brand does not force feed social justice but rather it focuses on delighting customers and making them feel good about spending £100 on lunch. The outcome of this is a profitable business that can sustain its support of disadvantaged young people.
Related posts:
