Article

Solving the brand puzzle: A conversation with the author of 'The Brand Book'

If you have customers, you have a brand image. Is yours getting the right message across?

August 7, 2013

by Rebecca Hellman
marketing manager, Welch ATM 

Many companies struggle to understand the nebulous idea that is "branding," and how it applies to their business beyond creating a logo and some basic marketing materials. Companies often don't realize that their brand is far more than the visual façade they put forward.

Robert Michaud, a marketing specialist and the author of "The Brand Book: Solving the Brand Puzzle," tells us that a company's brand isn't what or who they say it is, but what or who the customer perceives it to be.

In his book, Mr. Michaud not only explains that branding is a truly integral part of a company, but he also introduces a step-by-step process for defining and developing an identity that can consistently influence customers' perceptions through policies and procedures that directly affect their interactions with the brand.

Mr. Michaud's "Brand Puzzle" process focuses on fully developing a company's brand identity and establishing its image and mission as the foundation on which all processes, strategies and departments are built.

Q: How do you approach various aspects of a company in order to explain or introduce a brand strategy and what it means to them?

A: This is a several-step process. Step one is to start at the top. You have to get the CEO, the president, the board — whoever is the top management — to buy into the brand and the process. Otherwise, you will fail.

Step two is to determine who your champions are. There are people in every department who are the top performers and the top influencers. Those people need to be included in the brand-building process so that they can carry it to their colleagues.

Step three is integration. The departments have worked together to build the brand. Now they have to decide how it relates to them and set the goals that will hold them accountable.

Q: Have you had difficulties getting some departments to accept that a brand strategy will affect them?

A: This is always an ongoing challenge and is why one of the main pieces of the "Brand Puzzle" is management. It is the management team's job to make sure that things begin to wrap around the brand.

Any brand implementation is going to be a process before and after it becomes a part of how the company operates. The management team is the key to making it happen.

Q: In "Solving the Brand Puzzle" you say that it's important to identify threats to a company before the company can truly evaluate its strengths. How do you research and identify threats?

A: There are several ways to gather this information. The first and easiest is to get your managers in a room and ask them about what keeps them up at night.

It is also important to keep up with industry news and chatter in order to be able to clearly identify the biggest threats to the industry because those can directly affect your company.

Finally, you should figure out your company metrics. What are your sales rates, loan closing rates, debit card swipe numbers? In short, where does the company need improvement?

Q: Do you find that there are major differences in branding for financial institutions versus other industries?

A: The only real difference is that financial institutions are far more regulated. They may not necessarily have as much creative freedom because compliance and regulations put marketing and branding efforts at a disadvantage. However, this often makes financial institution marketers smarter because they have to circumvent these challenges.

Q: How do you feel about the use of ATMs as a branding tool?

A:  I feel good about it because the concept is sound. However, there are pros and cons.

The key consideration is always going to be affordability. For many financial institutions, the ATM is the busiest channel they have but it is hard to track return on investment.

There are other questions to take into account. How will expanding that to other locations fit the brand strategy? How will you be physically deploying your brand? Is it providing the sensory perception you want to give?

Branding has become much more than logos and mission statements; it is how a company is perceived. This image is supported by the visual look but also by how the company makes decisions, and the standards to which the company holds itself.

"Solving the Brand Puzzle" provides a simple and innovative way to not only understand the concept of brand but a complete process to defining, developing and implementing a complete brand identity.

Robert Michaud has spent more than 35 years in sales, marketing, advertising and customer service. He has worked for a major cable company, Xerox, and his own advertising firm. Since 2001, he has worked at a New York financial institution, where he is chief marketing officer. Michaud's book "The Brand Book: Solving the Brand Puzzle" is available from Amazon and thebrandbook.

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photo: andrew malone