I can’t answer this question without first expounding further upon what it means to be a brand.
Since a brand is a name, term, design, symbol or other feature that distinguishes one seller's product from those of others, what dictates the need for customization and at what point does it dilute your brand?
That’s the million dollar question, I used to ask myself back in my prestigious consulting days where we’d be professionally polished for ‘Wall Street’ even on Fridays. We'd have meetings about meetings, practice our board-room ‘play’, anticipate client questions beforehand and rehearse our engagement style; only to be later reduced to providing what the client wanted in the manner that they dictated.
“But, what about our brand?” I thought to myself. What about us being the experts who had the proven use-cases, artifacts, prototypes and methodology to deploy a successful project?”
I recall adamantly questioning why it seemed no matter what we’d set out to do, we always seemed to falter back to what the client wanted, lacking creativity and posture.
At the time, I was advised that consulting (an intangible service that I was relatively new to) was a client-driven business where the customer always wins. As a new team-member, I didn’t necessarily agree with that logic, yet thought it best that I adhere to the practices that my leaders instilled.
However, it wasn’t very long before I was serving up my own ideas and industry expertise as a viable part of our team’s solution strategy.
You see, I had a firm belief that while there was a small-bit of truth to the notion of consulting being a client-driven industry, establishing oneself as a brand wasmore important to the growth of one’s business, than not.
Being an industry brand leader was about taking a stance. It’s about declaringthe way by which you'll choose to deliver a solution with excellence. While your client’s needs may vary, your solution shouldn’t waiver so far from its original appeal that it becomes unrecognizable to the eye, diluted.
Consulting, by definition, means to seek out professional expert advice. This means you are the expert for a reason; hopefully because you’ve mastered the domain you’re in after solution[ing] multiple cases of the problem you solve.
And, while some customization is essential for sustaining in a volatile market-place because it shows that you are paying attention to customer trends and demands, it should be done within the confines of your unique brand.
Take Lays Brand Potato Chips, for example, who makes it a point to consider the customer by running a promo-campaign each year, where they allow fans to name their own flavors.
The winning flavors are packaged and produced under the Lays Brand and distributed accordingly. Throughout this process, Lays continues to sell their own brand flavors, making customization a unique option under its brand that’s managed and contained thru a promotional campaign so that it’s not the dominating driver of their success.
Believe it or not, their original flavors are still top selling because the market appreciates, recognizes and trusts its authentic brand!
If your customization becomes the dominating driver, then you’ve lost the uniqueness that makes you a brand.
In conclusion, you can't please everybody and not every dollar, is your dollar. Consider how much customization you’ll implement before relenting your brand appeal!
Business Growth Expert, Professional Speaker and Published Author, Dawn Nicole has just released new best-selling business book, "Grow for it," which reveals more about her philosophy.
#chiefgrowgetter #businesscontentqueen
