Brands Take Time to Build - Speed is important in gaining an initial (and
often decisive) strategic advantage, but companies often forget that quality,
consistency and simplicity are much more important in the long run. Consistency
automatically implies extending a brand's message over time, and the more clear
you are about your brand positioning, the less you'll have to substitute tactics
for vision in your brand building.
Deliver the Brand, But Deliver the Goods - A successful brand has a
clearly stated differentiating attribute that's relevant to customers. But it's
not enough to make compelling claims in your advertising - companies must also deliver
quality products that are easy to understand and use, provide superior customer service,
and constantly innovate while retaining brand consistency, even when it means
cannibalizing their own sales.
It Ain't Braggin' If It's True - Often, companies aren't used to stating the
Overt Benefits of their products and services, or making deliberate claims about
them. They assume that customers will magically see the benefits for themselves.
This assumption comes from an absence of relevant feedback from real users, and usually
backfires, leading to confusion, or worse - to people simply ignoring the
product.
