Is your brand reflected in your customer service?

Many companies make a fundamental error in thinking that their brand is simply a logo used on their business cards, headed paper and at the top of their website. Having a strong brand that is consistent throughout all aspects of your business can prove to be extremely powerful in creating loyal brand followers and positive word of mouth, (free advertisement for your business).

Rather than describing the brand yourself, ask our staff members in your company how they perceive your brand. What do you think they would say? In many branding exercises carried out by the Umi team, we have found that there was usually a conflict in opinions to how staff members perceived the same brand and is almost always different to how the owner perceived the brand.

If your staff don’t understand the brand, how will your customers?

Customer service can be a great way to portray your brand directly to your guests. For example, if your brand is young, fun loving and exciting, these can easily be translated into the way your customers are treated, the same could go for if your brand is prestige and high-end, the manner in which you would look after your guests would differ. The first step to providing great customer service starts with your own staff and how they perceive your brand.

If you can instill a strong brand message throughout all areas of the business you will create a positive environment where your staff freely adapt to your brand culture and this in turn will reflect into the way they treat your guests.

Homework: Ask a selection of your team members the same question and see if you receive any varied responses.