Brand Judge and Jury

However, I now realize that in the big bad world of branding and advertising, it's impractical to believe that customers WON'T judge your company and your brand. Judge your brand by the messages you convey. Judge your brand by the design and layout of your website, lobby, brochure, or email campaign. And perhaps most harshly, judge your brand by the way you treat others.

Ultimately customers are judging your brand purely on an emotional level. Their emotional perception is your reality. It should be noted this doesn't make your customers bad people, it makes them human.

What's most disturbing about this whole notion of judging your brand, is how customers will speak to others about you. You see, your customers don't have the luxury of a well-scripted advertisement which they rehearse. Or a fancy ad slick. All they have is their intestinal impression (gut reaction) to your brand. Typically this impression is verbalized in unadulterated and brutally honest language. Ouch!

This makes perfect sense. Only your customers' opinions matter in the end, because they've had an up close and personal experience with your brand -- an experience you'll never be able to fully understand.  And when your customers speak with others, it's their reputation on the line. There's no way they are going to embellish on your brand unless they are convinced you can back up your brand promise.

If your brand has experienced deterioration, it's reassuring to know that most customers are willing to forgive. In other words, it's never too late to change. Yes, damage has been done -- in some cases irreparable -- but that's no reason not to immediately "right the ship."  Get back on track with full understanding that the next brand experience with a customer can be a positive one.  Or even better, a brand experience that is immeasurably extraordinary.