Context

By now we all agree that the real definition of a brand resides in the head of the customer. As a brand owner, you work hard to influence that perception, but in the end, it’s your customers that define you.

For them, it’s their total experience of you – from logo to advertising, website, retail store, customer service, your environmental policies and of course, your actual product design and functionality. This combined experience = your reputation = your brand.

The challenge for many companies is that they focus the great majority of their efforts on the traditional “front end” – logo, advertising, website – without truly co-ordinating with the “back end”.

As marketers, it’s natural for us to focus on the front end. That’s where we work, where we are most comfortable. But with the client’s best interests in mind, it is up to us to try to bring everyone to the table. Why? Because often a campaign succeeds or fails on the performance of the back end. The last interaction with the brand is what customers tend to remember – not the great website, but the 45 minute wait with customer service. And that’s what they talk, blog and twitter about and that’s what becomes your brand.

So, the next time there’s a marketing meeting to introduce a new product or service, look around the table. Are you being joined by sales, customer service and the product design team? It would be far better for all if you were.