The brand champion

If you think about it, most businesses give young marketers their start by teaching them to repeat words and tasks without question. To question the ideas or activities you’re handed is often a ticket to career limitation. The few and far between exception is to have a boss secure and caring enough to let you have some ownership of what you’re doing. Like I said, few and far between.

But occasionally the system fails and a really great marketer makes it through. These people have a unique way of seeing the business, customer and the world. And to tell you about it, I’ve asked my beloved friend and mentor Bob Maurer to come talk from ample experience. Here’s Bob:

In 2012, Jeff asked me to come speak to a group he was leading about what I believed to be the single most critical component to making a brand succeed. I didn’t have to think about it much- like I told you in the foreword- it wasn’t my first rodeo.

I’ve seen marketing teams of every size, shape and flavor and the deciding factor for success is almost always the views, actions and demeanor of the brand manager. Successful brand managers just have a way of addressing their businesses and Jeff asked me if I’d share my thoughts on this with you. So here they are.

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• Great brand managers see themselves as the “Keeper of the Franchise” – “The Brand Champion.” They are the ones responsible for defining the nature and character of their brand. They are the ones who give their brand a personality, an identity and a reason for being. They are the ones responsible for making sure their brands remain healthy and profitably grow.
• When it comes to their business-No one else knows more about or cares more about their brands and products than the brand manager does! They seem to be fixated on their end user – the one who ultimately buys and uses their product. They know who their customer is today and where potential new customers will come from in the future. They understand their customer’s world. They understand the challenges, issues and needs of their customers. They know exactly where their brand fits within their customer’s world. They also know their competitor’s products as well – their strengths and weaknesses.? They are clear as to why their brand is the right brand for their customer. They have learned how to effectively communicate these features and benefits to their customer in a believable and persuasive way.? And, they realize that service after the sale is critical to building long term relationships with their customers.
• Great brand managers are committed to delivering value added products and service that allow their customers to succeed and prosper! They view their dealer network as strategic partners. They realize that their own success is tied to their dealer’s success. They work closely with the sales organization and the dealers to cultivate relationships and to develop programs designed to grow their brand’s sales and profit -- while at the same time growing dealer sales and profit. They realize that their job does not end at the planning stage. They are actively involved in the implementation phase as well. They follow up to evaluate, learn and improve future performance.
• Great brand managers create win-win programs for dealers and follow-up to assure success! They see themselves as Entrepreneurial Stewards. They recognize that the company has entrusted them with an important company asset: their brand. They accept the responsibility that comes with that trust. They take this responsibility very seriously and very personally. They consistently demonstrate through their actions that they deserve that responsibility. They are creative and innovative thinkers and problem solvers. They balance the need for research and analysis with a sense of action and decisiveness. They make things happen. They are people of passion. They are able to learn quickly and adapt. They are as committed to the well being of other employees, the company and their customer as they are to themselves. Their compassion and understanding of the needs of others enables them to work effectively as a member of a team or task force.
• When it comes to the brand managers business, No one else displays a greater sense of ownership over their brands than they do. They seek to expand their “sphere of influence” over every issue concerning the well being of their brands. They understand the priorities, goals and objectives of the company. They develop strategies and plans for their brands that are consistent with corporate goals. They are aware of and are able to demonstrate the financial impact of the plans they develop and seek to implement. When faced with the need to improve margin efficiency, they seek to reduce ineffective spending rather than cost-reduce their product. They seek to build value into their selling propositions through tangible features and benefits that command higher prices and improve profitability. They focus on the need to “profitably” grow their business rather than focusing only on increasing units sold.

Truly great brand manager invest both their time and the company’s resources (financial and human) on activities and programs that truly make a difference and truly impact the bottom-line profitability of the company. And truly great companies invest their time and their company’s resources on attracting nurturing and retaining great brand managers and helping do their very best.

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