This past week my driving in Miami has been made easier by GPS. The little voice that tells you when to turn left, when to turn right and when to go straight. I used it to go to the same 5 destinations during my time here. Got me thinking about what if brands had a GPS system.
The GPS system starts with you inputting your destination. So you know where you want to go, but don’t know how to get there. Of course all brands start with a destination. That destination is expressed in a brand promise that says what it will do differently and better than the competition. But if you don’t know where you’re going, no GPS system will help you.
Here’s some of the ways brands can use ‘GPS”:
- Somone in the organisation, usually the Marketing Manager (MM), has to be the brand police. They spot when their brand is going off course. Of course this assumes that you know where you want your brand to go. MMs’ must be given the authority to truly be brand custodians. If the Managing Director sends the brand in another direction every Monday morning; then the brand will get lost. The MM is your GPS system.
- GPS tells you the most effective path to your destination. For example, social media may be the route for you to have a conversation and a real relationship with the people who matter most: your brands’ influencers and customers.
- GPS can help you remember where you’ve been before and what works. So many times brands make the same mistakes. Like taking money away from media advertising to spend it on trade deals; the thing is the trade does not buy from the trade, their customers do.
- Let one person be in charge of the GPS. GPS by committee will get you lost.
The thing is sometimes even GPS loses its satellite connection. And you’re on your own. Just like how brands lose their connection with customers. What do you do then? Well you could do like I did when my GPS failed a few times this week. You could pray. Or you could remind yourself of your brand promise (destination) and try to remember the path you’ve always taken and stick to it.
BTW I should let you know that prayer works.
