Brands: The Ties that Bind Customers & Employees to the Brand

Lewis Green shares an experience of being surprised and delighted by a smart Starbucks marketing promotion. Already a loyal customer, his reaction to the gift of a free CD from Starbuck's Entertainment is to advocate for the brand. My relationship with the Starbucks brand? I can't ever remember having a bad experience at Starbucks, not in all the years I've been going there. Everything Starbucks does, from service to marketing is grounded in a clear and consistent strategy that is in lockstep with execution of the brand. Everyone, from store personnel to the Starbucks CEO, knows exactly what the brand is and how to support and grow it.

I can't help but wonder, as I read about the reactions to Bob Nardelli's appointment as Chrysler CEO, what will become of the innovative and indomitable spirit of the Chrysler brand. It's not a good sign that some respected senior people have left, reportedly because they believe the new CEO's management style conflicts with the entrepreneurial spirit of the Chrsyler brand. Of course Chrysler has its troubles so clearly some significant changes are needed. But the strategy and the brand are not mutually exclusive, as demonstrated at The Home Depot, Mr. Nardelli's previous bailiwick.

The heart of The Home Depot brand, a devotion to customer service and an entrepreneurial spirit, was seriously, perhaps permanently damaged in an attempt to manage The Home Depot's growth. I don't presume to know the rationale for the decisions that were made to get to that point. But at many companies there is a prevailing sense that what matters most is operational efficiency and that brands and culture are just warm fuzzy concepts that marketing people incessantly yap about. (Not that that aren't plenty of marketing people who need to get in touch with their roi side...)

Brands are what people buy, as Starbucks clearly understands. And in Chrysler's case it's what turned around a failing company. Was there anyone that wasn't rooting for Lee Iacocca and Chrysler? At The Home Depot, profitability increased but employee morale and customer service plummeted and the stock languished. Hopefully Chrysler senior managment will focus on strengthening, rather than breaking, the ties that bind customers and employees to the brand.

Comments

[Lewis Green]

Anne,

Thanks for the shout out!