Insight
Is your brand the same on the inside, so that customers love you to the bone?
(Written by: Lee Kwok Wing / Honorary Advisor, Process Pro Brand Taiwan)
Every year, after the Chinese New Year and the year-end, business owners have to worry about whether someone will resign after the year-end. Indeed, after the Chinese New Year is the peak time for job transfers, and business owners have to start recruiting, interviewing and deciding on the finalists.
I remember a few years ago, the company decided to hire a new brand consultant, and after sifting through many resumes, I decided to interview two candidates in person: Josh and Amber.
Josh has a PhD, is in his early 30's and already has working experience, is fluent in English and Chinese, and I thought he would be able to help the company immediately, so I asked him to come to the office for a chat.
I began, "Please introduce yourself briefly."
Josh: "My name is Josh, I have a Ph.D., I've been at a few companies...".
"I already know this, but I would like to know more about why you want to apply for this position." I asked.
Josh says, "I submitted a couple of openings online, each in a different field, and you invited me to come in for an interview, so I came to find out more."
"So?" I was a little surprised and asked, "So what do you envision for the next 10 years of your career?"
Josh: "Well...just see which company accepts me and I'll think about it."
I then met up with Amber, who had just graduated from her master's program and had no work experience yet.
I ask the same question, "Why do you want to apply for a position as a brand consultant?"
Amber: "I studied design in college, and I was surrounded by a lot of great designers, but no one knew how good they were, so I went overseas to pursue a master's degree in brand strategy in the hope that through this work, more outstanding works by Taiwanese designers will have the opportunity to help Taiwanese companies build international brands.
"Wow!" I was so impressed that I asked, "Where do you envision your career in ten years?"
"I want to run a branding consultancy on my own." Amber's response is so cool, it's like she's just starting out.
Amber's answer made me even more curious, so I asked, "What are your strengths compared to other applicants? I asked, "What value do you bring to the company?", "What value do you bring to the company?". and "How do people describe you when you work with them?". What are your strengths compared to other candidates?
Now that you've read this, you should know which one I've chosen to join the team!
Often when business owners approach Prosperity, they start with the design requirements at the beginning. We will remind our clients that before constructing the visual identity of the brand, they must have a clear "brand strategy foundation", including:
Mission (who you are, who you serve, what you can do, what you contribute),
Vision (a bright and successful vision for the future),
Positioning (differentiation from competitors),
Value Proposition (benefits to customers),
Brand personality (style of communication to customers),
Core Values (Principles of Behavioral Compliance), etc;
Just like the questions I ask candidates in job interviews, after being attracted to a brand by its outward appearance, customers need to know whether the brand is consistent on the inside and how it relates to their needs, including rational functionality and emotional value.
In other words, if the enterprise to build a brand, not clear who they are, why, what are the advantages, how to see the basic questions, just follow the trend of production and sales of popular things, then after the craze will not be able to continue, is not a brand management of the long-term way.
For more information on how to develop a complete, coherent and internally agreed upon strategic foundation, read the article "Why Co-Create Brands? article.
(The above characters are pseudonyms. Any similarity is purely coincidental)
