Think about it for a minute...

Branding, Brand Management, Brand Equity - these are cool titles. But what is this branding business all about?

Putting it very simple (and thanking the awesome Dr. Kamal Ghose) - Your Brand is the sum total of every single interaction prospective customers have with your company.

I say interaction, because many of those interactions will be what they see on TV or hear on the radio. How many TV Ad's do you see, and they don't even register with you what they're for? How often do ad's come up that you are bored with or simply detest so you change channels? How often do you loath a TV Ad so much, that you actively set out NOT to purchase from that company? It happens quite regularly I suspect.

I say prospective too, because all buyers are prospects prior to actually purchasing, and if the brand image they perceive doesn't gel with them, that's what they remain. Sure, some customers may still purchase from you if you are the sole supplier, but that doesn't mean they will come back, or even enjoy the experience.

How many times have you bought fast-food at a drive-in and not even had the basic courtesy of a smile or a "Thank You"? How often have you bought a cheap product thinking it would do the job, and it didn't.

Have you ever purchased on-line, as I did through a trading site a couple of weeks ago and then had the invoice sent for electronic payment. I was just about to hit the pay button when I realised that, even though I had said we would collect the goods, they'd still added $75 on for freight. So I called the firm, twice, getting annoyed as heck because of their phone menu, to eventually finally find a human to talk to.

I explained my issue and was staggered when the young chap said that the invoice I'd got was a standard one sent out from their head office which included freight. Hardly an ethical way of doing business I thought, and that has been bothering me since.f

Anyway, the chap had a new, correct invoice sent through which I paid, and I duly asked our couriers to pop in and pick the item, a roll of Bird Mesh up, giving them a copy of the paid invoice as proof of payment.

(Now Cantabrians, if you haven't heard of the Ladies of Rolleston Couriers, we've been using them for three or four years now, because their service is so damn good. Whereas our aluminium supplier will charge me $35 to get a sheet delivered on their truck, the ladies are about a third of the price for the same service. If it fits in their van they will deliver it, and if it's 50kgs, as per the good's I'm talking about, that's no issue either).

They duly turned up with the package, saying they didn't think it was right, and with a note annotated by the supplier's Storeman that the parcel was a "bit damaged". It was more than a bit damaged, and it wasn't even what I'd ordered. For a start it weighed 10kgs, and instead of a bird mesh with 13mm squares, this had squares 50mm across. . The darn birds would fly right through! Why he sent this, when she had given him an invoice with the correct item clearly marked, I just don't know?

I phoned the supplier for the third time. This time I spoke with Ollie (who was a breath of fresh air). I asked, politely, if the ability to read English was a requirement of their company. He chuckled and assured me it was, and I went over the story.

"No issue" said Ollie, "I'll sort if for you, and when you send the courier in again please have her ask for me". Well, sort it Ollie did, and the next day Rolleston Couriers delivered my 50kg , undamaged roll of mesh.

So based on my premise that the Brand is the sum total of every single interaction prospective customers have with your company, how do you think this firm did?

Big negative for having a standard freight cost added, and big one too for an overly tedious phone menu. Very big one for the Lazy Numpty who sent the wrong item. Positives for having the only supply of the product I could find on line, but biggest positive of all for the service standard provided by Ollie.

Would I buy from that company again ... If they were to sole source of supply , yes, but only if I could deal with Ollie.

Are there any lessons you can take from this, that might help your company boost it's own brand equity?

1. Try look at the purchasing pathway to a sale from your company from the point of view of your client,

2. Be honest with your billing,

3. Ensure that your staff actually bother to read the paperwork to reduce errors and

4. When you identify an "Ollie" in your company, make sure you thank them!! They are the people who really create the value for your brand!!