Brands Smell

You know how a smell tells you what you’re in for, even before you reach the source?

You can tell there’s a coffee shop or garbage dump or street-food stall round the corner without even seeing it.

Good brands are like that.

They set expectations about themselves so you get a good sense of what you’re in for – before ever interacting with them or their products.

And the best brands make sure that expectation is confirmed at every encounter – from the ads, through to the type of customer service they provide.

You’re probably doing all these things anyway.

Most businesses have a logo, a price range, a name, a product/service etc.

And they’re all giving your brand a ‘smell’. Telling your clients and prospects what to think about you. What they can expect from you. 

Usually, brands develop on their own, without much thought as to what kind of expectation they are setting.

• Lots of brands you meet will smell confusing.
• Their logo says ‘We’re cool’
• Their name says ‘We’re run-of-the-mill’
• Their price says ‘We’re exclusive’
• Their tone-of-voice says ‘We’re old-fashioned and corporate’

And their prospects say ‘I don’t know what I’m in for. Lemme find something more predictable.’

The best brands are deliberate about everything.

(Note: I said the best brands – not the biggest brands. Because frankly, some of the big brands out there are pretty confusing.)

They make sure everything in their business is aligned around creating and fulfilling the expectation they want people to have.

Let’s compare:

Waldorf Astoria

• Their logo says ‘We’re luxury’
• Their monochrome brand colors say ‘We’re luxury’
• Their price says ‘We’re luxury’
• Their name says ‘We’re luxury’

Then there’s Travelodge

• Their logo says ‘We’re budget’
• Their bright brand colors say ‘We’re budget’
• Their price says ‘We’re budget’
• Their name says ‘We’re budget’

In either case, you know what to expect before ever stepping foot into one of these hotels.

Some businesses make the mistake of focusing hard on the initial expectation, but forgetting that their reputation – built by people’s experience with their product, their service, and their policies, is informing other people’s perception of their brand too.

If Waldorf Astoria charged your friend extra to bring his luggage to his room, you’d find that off-putting because it doesn’t align with the ‘luxury’ expectation you have of them. If Travelodge did that, it would align perfectly well with their ‘budget’ expectation.

Your turn

Have a think about what kind of expectation you want people to have of your business. Then, check if each of these components align:

(Tip: Often, you know your own business so well that you can’t see what it looks like to those who are unaffiliated. Ask some people who aren’t familiar with your business to go through this checklist too.)

• My business name says:
• My logo says:
• The colours I use say:
• My pricing says:
• My ads say:
• My social media presence says:
• The tone of voice I use is:
• The type of product/service I offer says:
• My customer service says:
• My clients say: 

(Tip: Ask as many clients as possible to think about the experience of working with you, then sum it up in a word or two. <<< This is GOLD.)

Important note: The answers to this list don’t have to be the same, they just need to make sense, and not contradict.

For example, having a name and logo that say ‘We’re fun/friendly/cheerful’ and a tone of voice that says ‘We’re corporate’ (or vice-versa) is clearly not going to work. ‘Corporate fun’ is kinduv an oxymoron. 

‘Fun’ and ‘traditional’, though uncommon, can work. They aren’t contradictory.

Key Takeaways:

1. People are forming an expectation about your business, long before they interact with  you/ your product. <<< THAT expectation is your branding.
2. Good branding is the result of deliberate decisions.
3. Make sure EVERYTHING in your business – every touchpoint, every policy and every ? aligns with the expectation you want the world to have of you.

Here’s to smelling good,

Chani