Businesses of all sizes and shapes tend to focus on the tangible components of their brand … what are my products … how is my logo being used … are the right colors together in the correct combination … and so forth. Yes, those are important components of your brand. And, those are the things that teams can monitor, measure, govern and adjust as needed.

However – what can be difficult to define … and even more challenging to monitor and govern … is the SERVICE component of your brand. Whether your team produces widgets … or provides less-tangible offerings – THE cornerstone of your customers’ experience with your brand will be influenced … oftentimes highly influenced … by their interaction with your employees and how your team reacts and responds to customer needs.

Here is an example of a recent brand interaction, defined by SERVICE. A business associate needed some items professionally printed within 24 hours, and sent a request for a quote to four different locations of the same umbrella brand. In theory, one would assume that a similar level of service would be offered given that each store was under the same logo. And if that were the case, then the logical choice would be the location closest to the office.

But “logic” and “similar level of service” did not apply in this example. After sending four separate email requests – here are the results of the follow-up … note distance from the associate’s office:

• Location 1 – 2 miles – no response
• Location 2 – 3.2 miles – no response
• Location 3 – 5.7 miles – responded, but could not complete within 24 hours
• Location 4 – 11.5 miles – responded within one hour, completed the job within 24 hours

While this national brand has a great reputation, three out of four local locations failed to fulfill on the brand promise offered by the flagship organization. Luckily, the associate was able to get their project completed in the timeframe they needed, and while there may not be loyalty to that brand, there is loyalty to that location – simply because they responded and met the customer’s needs. Loyalty to that local office (and by default the brand) has nothing to do with the paper or the ink that they used, but rather the intentional focus on the SERVICE they delivered.

Do you focus on the SERVICE component of your brand? And how do you ensure that your SERVICE is delivered consistently and completely, just like you monitor and govern use of your logo and colors? Learn how to get BETTER results with your brand … click here to get started.