You Don't Define Your Brand, Your Customers Do
?? Brand Is Execution Trust at Scale. Everything Else Is Just Talk.
If you think your brand is your logo, your tagline, or the nonsense your agency charged six figures for, you’ve already lost.
Your brand is what your customers trust you to help them execute. Nothing more. Nothing less. And when you stop being fit for their purpose, their time, and their reality—they don’t send you a breakup letter. They simply hire something else and never look back.
?? They don’t “churn.” They fire you.
?? And they don’t fire you because they’re disloyal; they fire you because you made them hesitate.
?? Why Customers “Fire” Brands Without Saying a Word
Most companies only wake up to a problem when revenue drops. By then, it’s already too late. Customers lose trust in three ways:
1?? Execution Velocity Slows – You’re supposed to make them faster, but now you’re a drag.
2?? Execution Hesitation Creeps In – They don’t know if they can rely on you anymore.
3?? Execution Friction Increases – It’s easier to leave than to stay.
?? Once execution trust erodes, your brand is already dead. You just haven’t seen the obituary yet.
?? The Three Questions That Reveal What Your Brand Actually Means
1?? "What are you trusting us to help you execute?" (If they can’t answer, your positioning is meaningless.)
2?? "What has made you hesitate in executing with us?" (This is where the death spiral starts, hesitation turns into exit plans.)
3?? "If you stopped working with us, what would you hire instead?" (Spoiler: It’s not always a competitor. Sometimes, it’s just an internal process that replaces you altogether. Or they realise that process is not fit for purpose can stop it./)
You can spend millions on storytelling, but if execution trust falters, your customers will reassign your budget to someone else.
?? The Brutal Truth: Customers Don’t Buy Your Brand. They Rent It.
If they’re still with you, it’s because ... at this moment ... you are the best option. That’s it. You don’t own them. They own you.
When companies get lazy, arrogant, or distracted, execution trust erodes. And once that happens, customers don’t complain. They don’t warn you. They don’t negotiate. They just walk.
?? Brand isn’t a love story. It’s a lease agreement.
?? And the lease is renewed, or revoked, based on execution, not marketing.
?? The Fix: Make Execution Trust Your Competitive Moat
? Stop measuring "customer sentiment" and start tracking execution hesitation.
? Don’t wait for churn. Preempt re-hiring decisions before they happen.
? Test your own brand: If you disappeared tomorrow, would customers fight to keep you, or barely notice?
?? Final Thought: ?? If execution trust is strong, brand loyalty follows. If execution trust is weak, no amount of storytelling will save you.
Now, are you still in the business of selling ideas, or are you ready to become the brand customers trust to execute?
Love to hear your thoughts?
Fix What’s Slowing Sales. No Pressure. No Gimmicks. Just Results | Principled Selling? | Hearing Dogs for Deaf People Volunteer Trainer
3 周“And every day, they decide whether to renew.” I disagree. Sometimes we’re complacent. We don’t decide to renew, we just do because the status quo is easier. It’s only when we’re educated (by frustration with bad service, a bad experience with a salesperson, a trusted adviser’s warning or a competitor’s innovation)that we’re jolted back into the buying journey. So, who’s educating your customers?
Chief Marketing Officer
3 周Brand is a relationship that is worth more than the relationship people have with money in their pockets. If your brand works they'll give you the money for it. So you have to make everything in your business about the buyer. Much of what you say Marcus is a part of that relationship. But don't make the relationship too rational, make sure there is as much effort on the emotional side too.
Stay tuned nobody likes static.
3 周?? Marcus. It’s not what we’ve said, it’s not what we’ve done. It’s about what you’re doing today and the importance and necessity of adapting and pivoting your actions and processes for your customers. Actions have a higher volume than sound in the eyes of your clients. A quick story to share about what keeps you ahead. I just had my Mom’s BMW in the shop for an extensive repair last week. I gave the go ahead on Tuesday. I never shared that I was leaving the country on Saturday for a month and was simply hoping things would be done….but didn’t want to rush given the complexities of the repair. I got a call on Thursday telling us the car would be ready at 3:00 on Friday. We were thrilled to say the least. But the best is yet to come. I received a phone call from Frank. Frank although not the technician that did the physical work Frank is one of their Master Technicians that oversees many of the more laborious repairs. Frank called me yesterday (SUNDAY) to make sure that all is well with Mom’s 650 It’s that kind of consideration thoughtfulness and above all ACTION that goes above and beyond a customer’s expectations that will ensure your companies future. Hire and train to be Frank (no pun intended)
?? Sr Director GTM & Enablement ? Author of Project Moneyball Book Series & GTM Online Academy ? GTM Diagnosis ? Sales Performance Analyst ? Gap Analyst ? Sales Excellence ? Operational Excellence ? Sales Enablement ?
3 周Keep them coming Marcus Cauchi !
?? Sr Director GTM & Enablement ? Author of Project Moneyball Book Series & GTM Online Academy ? GTM Diagnosis ? Sales Performance Analyst ? Gap Analyst ? Sales Excellence ? Operational Excellence ? Sales Enablement ?
3 周The same applies to one's own personal brand and deliverables - it's not what we think about ourselves, it's how others see us that matters.