The document discusses the importance of branding for businesses. It uses the example of a homeowner choosing a plumber from the 329 licensed in St. Louis. The homeowner must decide which plumber to trust to work in their home based on the plumber's brand and reputation without directly interacting with them. It argues that businesses must create strong, consistent brands through all customer touchpoints to earn consumer trust, as consumers choose brands they trust over bland, indistinguishable options.

1. D O Y O U H AV E A B R A N D O R A B L A N D ?
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2. You only have one chance to make
a first impression.
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3. To put it another way.
Don’t suck, consumers have choices.
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4. BRAND vs. BLAND
To use an example.
You’ve just moved to St. Louis.
Your new house needs the plumbing
modernized.
You need to find a plumber.
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5. BRAND vs. BLAND
Luckily for you there are 329 licensed
plumbing contractors in St. Louis.
Which one should you choose?
More importantly, which stranger are you
going to let into your home and trust with
your hard-earned money?
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6. BRAND vs. BLAND
You start your search in the normal places.
• Online
• Yellow pages
• Angie’s List or similar
• Friends for reference
• Call on your memory of brands you’ve noticed around town.
• Service stickers left on equipment from last company.
• Paperwork from last homeowner
• Realtor
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7. BRAND vs. BLAND
Let’s change the point-of-view for a
moment.
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8. BRAND vs. BLAND
Now, you’re the plumber.
You suddenly realize this consumer has
already interrogated your brand without
ever speaking to you.
What’s worse?
You weren’t there to defend yourself.
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9. BRAND vs. BLAND
Let’s hope you’ve built a brand strong
enough to sustain itself during the
interrogation.
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10. BRAND vs. BLAND
Chances are good your competition has.
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11. BRAND vs. BLAND
Remember, consumers don’t choose
brands, they choose trust.
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12. BRAND vs. BLAND
So...
• Are your fleet vehicles clean, and professionally presented?
• Does your yellow pages ad present you as qualified or cheap?
• Is your web page outdated?
• Does your plumber smell good and cover his shoes before entry?
• Do your crew show up in the promised window of time?
• When customers call, are they on hold for extended periods.
• Are your operators trained to extinguish customers concerns.
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13. BRAND vs. BLAND
• Are your customers presented with an easy-to-understand pricing
guide?
• Do you monitor online opinions of your company?
• Are you sponsoring events your community values?
• Are your sales materials up-to-date, relevant and in synch with
your core strengths?
• Do you pressure your staff to up-sell?
• If you coupon, does it feature so much legal it suspends belief?
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14. BRAND vs. BLAND
• Is your warranty program focused on protecting your customers or
protecting you?
• When is the last time someone in your company wrote one of your
customers a hand-written note to simply say thank you?
• Does your hourly-rate chart impose more overtime charges than
is reasonable to expect.
• Are you mystery shopping your own company?
• Do your employees know the history of your company?
• If you have a tagline, is it believable?
• On, and on, and on.
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15. BRAND vs. BLAND
Branding is more than just creating a logo.
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16. BRAND vs. BLAND
It’s the creation of rules and processes that
protect and nurture your assets.
Define what is special about your company
then do everything you can to gain your
customers trust.
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17. BRAND vs. BLAND
Along the way, realizing at any moment you
could lose your customers trust if you don’t
remain vigilant.
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18. BRAND vs. BLAND
Consumers will reward a brand with their
trust while ignoring a bland they don’t.
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19. N E W I N C O R P O R AT E D . C O M