Comments on: What Makes a Brand?

By: Rozanne

Rozanne — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:21:04 +0000

I really related to the car analogy because I used to be a Saturn owner. The dealership, or as Kevin put it, the “VAR,” became the extension of the brand and provided excellent customer service. I may not have had the fastest, most luxurious car on the road, but I had one of the safest. Further, I purchased a product that’s ‘VAR’ could be relied on to always provide me with consistent, excellent customer service with quality work and complete satisfaction every time I had to take my Saturn car to a dealership. That Saturn experience taught me how important, no, how “imperative,” it is to have a strong relationship between those who create, make, and distribute a product. That is how a brand is strengthened. Everyone involved with the brand needs to be committed to personal excellence and stand behind their work. Their joy in being of service and contributing their best will reflect in the brand which will strengthen brand loyalty and increase the customer base.

By: Michael Robert Sawyer

Michael Robert Sawyer — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:59:34 +0000

Customer service compliments a “Brand” but they are really 2 different things. A properly implemented branding of a business brings the customer to the business… customer service keeps them.

Great article, the first response is insightful as well.

Michael Robert Sawyer, Owner, Trade Printing

Trade Printing
1761 Kelly Street
San Mateo, CA
USA

Phone: 650-286-0970

By: Kevin

Kevin — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:16:17 +0000

I too have had excellent experiences with Discmakers, but the car dealer/manufacturer analogy is is awful. Dealerships are not the “brand” they are a “VAR” – value added reseller. Yes, a dealer can contribute to the reputation of a “brand” & they must meet certain criteria set forth by the manufacturer, but the car manufacturer and the dealer each have their own goals independent of one another.
We have all probably been inside a McDonald’s bathroom that was spotless, and another than was horrifically filthy. One of the two you will never enter again. Neither McDs or a car maker can be there every day to ensure they are well represented.
I have a great deal of experience with many car dealers, representing all makes, and I can attest with an unchallengeable certainty that the majority of them are swindlers and thieves, who will use every interaction to extract every cent they can from you – I used to be involved in their training, I know.
It is just that the REALLY good ones do it with a smile. (next time you take your car in, leave $10 in quarters easily visible or accessible in your car – exactly $10 – and see how much is there when you get the car back).
Also, in case you didn’t know, the Service Managers are commissioned sales people, and many make it a sport to “find” things that “need to be fixed”.
But better than that, change your own oil. It is easy, gives the satisfaction of money saved & a job accomplished, and shows your kids they too can do things for themselves. And it will probably take less time than driving to the dealer and back.

By: Brenda

Brenda — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:48:53 +0000

I don’t usually leave comments, but I do read the comments that are provided. I am leaving this comment because the customer service I received with an order placed with DiscMakers was so above and beyond the ordinary that it was remarkable. The employee definitely shared Tony Van Veen’s philosophy of great customer service. The discmaker employee was Arthur Stoppe and I will definitely do business with them again because of that shared philosophy.

By: Michael Mainardi

Michael Mainardi — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:44:17 +0000

Perfect. My brother and I are “suppressed musicians” as well – and indie film makers too. We’re all about building the brand at SELLING TECHNOLOGIES where we create unique programs for the insurance industry.

Tony’s commentary is great.

I have two ACURAs!

By: raffi minasian

raffi minasian — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:33:09 +0000

What you are experiencing is the exchange of empathy. A good business person or entity will receive a customer with an empathic viewpoint and will deliver results in a way that reflects how he/she wants to be treated in the same context. This is why astute musicians are great at customer service – they deliver musical performance as a presentation to the audience knowing that if THEY were on the other end the music would need to be good in order to have an enjoyable concert. The same thinking applies when “performing” as a brand (that’s band with an “r” as in registered trademark). Discmakers “band brand” knows the stress that goes into making music, that these experiences are far deeper than the grooves or 1′s and 0′s that make the sound. So they handle the widget with the same care that the musicians use to develop the content. And that is not just good brand impressioning, turns out, it actually makes a better product. Conceptual continuity throughout the development process is key to excellence in performance arts.

Good performances, be they oil changes or concerts, are all about making the band play well together and engaging the audience in mutually welcoming perceptions. Brand without empathy is like food without flavor. it might feed your body, but it does nothing to encourage a deeper sense of satisfaction.

By: Paul

Paul — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:25:34 +0000

Great points! Lots of people do not make customer satisfaction number 1 buti aim too. Good article!