6 minute read
MARKETING What is your brand personality?
with DOUG MACMILLANMarketing
Doug MacMillan is president of The Letter M Marketing in Guelph, ON. To reach him, email doug@letterm.ca.
Personality traits define service brands in 2021 and beyond
What is your brand personality?
As consumers’ expectations of brands change in the postCOVID landscape, we can anticipate a shift in the brand adjectives that will be most resonant and effective. While oftenused attributes such as innovative, state-of-the-art, prestigious, luxurious, progressive and bold will still play an important role in brand positioning, brands will need to be humanized to a degree we haven’t seen in decades. Companies will associate real people with their products and services: business owners are developing their personal brands, establishing a trusted voice in the market, and celebrating their staff and the strengths they contribute.
Service companies dependent on establishing the trust needed when entering people’s homes are especially susceptible to these changes. Even technology companies are on the bandwagon. A recent IBM thought leadership study reported: “While executives plan to expand almost all tech competencies during their future digital transformations … the business competencies that account for the largest part of an organization’s expected growth are those centred around employees and customers, such as workforce training and customer experience management.”
More than ever, customers wield their power to influence your business through online reviews, social media and the growing number of local “Best Of” awards that are based on consumer votes. Clearly, customer experiences rule the day.
We’re are in the midst of an interesting time from a branding perspective; from every perspective actually. Brands need to revert to simpler days when leaders were present and companies showed the same commitment to their internal values as they did to promoting the value they provided. Challenging on its own, this must all be achieved while demonstrating we have our finger on the pulse of what’s ‘next’ by embracing progressive solutions and successfully adopting technologies.
Eight brand personality traits for service companies to explore in 2021:
1Transparent: The businesses that connected best with their customers during the pandemic were honest and consistent communicators. Personal letters from company owners were 3 Nimble: Yes, “pivot” was perhaps the most overused word of 2020, however a brand’s ability to be agile will be a measure of strength and stability for customers. This might effective, while any advertising they did reinforced safety and include quickly adopting different technologies to support a support, not bargains and BOGO deals. This has raised the bar and contactless and safer experience or introducing new services that buyers will look for honest, consistent and simple communications align with changing needs in the marketplace, such as air cleaning. from the leaders in the companies they do business with.
Kind: Genuine interest in supporting staff, customers and community is now an essential attribute for most brands. 4 Collaborative: Building new partnerships will emerge as a key advantage. Trust has become an important asset as people more critically evaluate who they allow in their homes Numerous studies show Canadians favour caring companies. or businesses. Smart businesses will leverage this by introducing
Kindness needs to be more than a promise: it should be baked into other service partners who have passed their screening and can be every activity in the business. A caution, though: walk a fine line trusted to provide the same level of reliable service. between telling customers about these commitments and “humble bragging” to the point it seems disingenuous.
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5Safe: It seems obvious these days to tout our commitment to safety, and this expectation will likely remain essential with customers when we’ve returned to normal. Service companies have an opportunity to lead here with exemplary practices including sanitizing, sending advance texts introducing technicians before they arrive, properly using PPE, and leaving the work area sparkling clean.
6Resilient: Sadly, many businesses will be on thin ice as we come out of the pandemic. Some will not make it. A survive-at-all-costs mindset can lead to rash decisions that communicate fragility and desperation. While some customers will go out of their way to support an underdog, the majority will be more comfortable doing business with a stable, steady company they know will be around for the long haul.
Local: With a push to support local businesses through and after the pandemic, smaller, independent contractors will have a strong card to play next to larger corporations. This attribute needs to reach beyond simply saying you’re small and local to demonstrating a commitment to supporting your community’s recovery in any way you can. Tech savvy: Remaining modern and connected to progressive technologies will continue to be important given the growth in use of digital tools that allow for contactless and efficient interactions. Adopting user friendly interfaces and technology solutions that help customers feel comfortable and safe will be a primary commitment, while maintaining the brand’s humanity and personality.
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Reference: www.ibm.com/thought-leadership/institute-business-value/report/covid-19-future-business
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COVID
impacts kitchen and bathroom trends
The National Kitchen & Bath Association 2021 Design Trends Research reveals the COVID-19 pandemic will have a substantial lasting impact on kitchen and bath design. As homeowners spend more time at home, kitchens and primary bathrooms are getting larger, the volume of outdoor living projects is increasing significantly, and there is a need for easyto-clean surfaces, flexible living spaces and seamless technology integration for added convenience and peace of mind. Aesthetically, design preferences in both kitchen and bath will continue to be more contemporary and transitional in style, with the added influence of a new leading trend of “natural/ organic.” This combination feels more European in style and scale, with clean lines, minimal detailing, the warmth and texture of natural finishes, and larger windows to bring the feeling of the outdoors inside. The influence of natural/organic catapulted into the top three design styles respondents expect to increase in popularity in the kitchen and bath over the next three years. This is a significant shift from the NKBA 2019 study, where this same design style ranked 10th. Conversely, traditional design, which consistently had been one of the top three kitchen and bath styles for more than a decade, is now anticipated to be one of the least popular. “We expect designs for both the kitchen and bath to continue trending toward a more modern, organic feel that is both streamlined and adaptable,” said Bill Darcy, NKBA CEO. “The kitchen has long been the heart of the home. But especially during the pandemic, it has emerged as the most prominent, multitasking room as well. We see this continuing with more open-space concepts, an extension into multi-season outdoor living spaces, larger kitchen island hubs and increased functionality and storage to allow homeowners to cook, eat, work, home-school and play, all in the same vicinity.” The results of the study are based on data collected in Q3 2020 from more than 700 design professionals in North America, representing industry segments including designers, showrooms, dealers, manufacturers, remodelers and architects. Of the respondents, 78 per cent are NKBA members. NKBA has tracked the shift in design trends to forecast styles, features and materials for almost 60 years.
