Stories of a young manager part 1

I though it could be good to share some experience with like-minded managers, designers, entrepreneurs about everyday challenges we need to hit while working within real estate/commercial/design sectors. From time to time I will be posting short pieces of writing here, sharing mostly my personal point of view. Also I do not want them to be too formal,  therefore please be aware that a little bit "loose" language and healthy sarcasm is allowed :) Life doesn't need to be serious all the time. Mostly English, perhaps some Polish posts will arrive later.

M.

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Stories of a young manager part 1 

Logo is not a brand and how to explain it to your new client?

There are times when hitting the meeting without a "safety helmet", read:  without having a simple and clever answer for a quite complicated question can become a fight with shadows. This at some point applies to the activity of explaining a new customer during the initial meeting the whole story of branding (if they do not get it of course) and how this treatment can positively add value to ones asset. Seriously the hardest job ever!

This is a short example:

Mr. Developer: "I own a great shopping park/mall in... (let's say medium size in small/medium town in Poland) , but all the customers go to my competitors...

Me: Mr. Developer, could you please tell me your idea and how would you like this to work? What does create your brand and how you differentiate yourself from the competition? 

Mr. Small Developer: "Yes its all here...lets start with the Logo, please have a look how stylish it is, this should do the job, because I have paid a lot of money for it..." 

...And then we have both got to the tip of the iceberg: A LOGO

First of all... I am not a brand guru (yet :P ), but when it comes to the knowledge of design & branding I have a clear understanding what does it take to make a good differentiation for retail or commercial assets and what to do to make a real step or let's say to stand out from the competition. A logo in this case doesn't make one different from the crowd... even if it does cost clients a lot of money... Anyone disagree at this point?

Assuming,  there is always a big "buzzzzzz" going on in clients head, simply showing the feel of worry about the need for changing "a logo". Here comes the perfect time slot to say: "Hey...all you need to do is create an idea behind it, which might become your best move to finally step further with your asset and fill the missed market gap. (Not everyone wears Burberry, and not everyone wears second hand clothes...)

Backing to the topic...By creating sometimes a simple story behind a logo, showing the offer in a new light, and giving its clients "some" experience they remember, you are the winner! When clients meet their unconscious criteria of positive experience in the particular place they become a "member of your club" almost instantly...And then start to recognise your logo, not as a sign, but as part of a complex structure which gives them exactly what is needed to keep them interested and carving for more. This is more or less all what's needed for the brand transformation and its further development of the market. Of course the whole process it quite complex, but hey, nobody build the Rome in one day! 

Another point can be raised here, basically when someone asks me : "Why brand is not a logo" I can always ask back  "Why marketing is not a billboard" and so on...The discussion can continue very long (fortunately I love good "fika" time even if its all about business).

Moreover I had done recently very little research based on the description and services of a few well known branding agencies in UK and USA, and their common way of perceiving "the brand" and "branding" terms does not really surprise me.  Basically they all agree with following statements: 

• First of all Brand is not: a logo, a colour, a product, a mascot, a name.
• Brand is your customers collective impression about your asset.
• Branding is the process of designing experience within your asset.

How true is this! 

I have also been trying to gather some useful videos or vlogs to share, as those can be helpful to refer to quickly if necessary in the future. Here I am sharing two of them I found really well narrated.

First video created by Norwich Business School explaining the term of "Branding" in very engaging way, easy to understand and follow...really useful.

Second video has been posted by The Financial Brand the on-line service providing Ideas, Insights & Innovations for Retail Financial Marketers (https://thefinancialbrand.com)...explaining a Brand term. Again very easy to get basics.  Worth to check... 

For the conclusion I can say that the purpose of this post is not to teach developers how to build branded shopping malls or create amazing commercial spaces because this is not the point. The reason behind this is to show how important the understanding of the "brand" and "branding" terms is for owners and managers, who can really re-think the overall business performance through so called "brand transformation".

Because no matter how small or big the asset is, by establishing an idea and communicate it, not only through the logo as the only visual representation of the business, but also through every possible touch point, will make the customer emotionally connect. At the end of the day it is not a logo that leads to stable grow and overall business recognition on the particular market but a good emotional communication with the client through prism of the overall brand experience.

Let's face it..if a brand biz was so simple...everyone could do this job!

TBC...

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Any comments welcome... the more constructive the better:) negative or positive! Let's learn something new together!