The Brand Building of the Future
“The brand building of the future is about building a brand that stands for something good and is authentic.”
The Challenging Uncertainty
(c) Efe Kurnaz/Unsplash
Many of the great leaders I meet worry about the challenges ahead. The deep global crises, together with the transformation of business through digital, form an uncertain future for leaders. Traditional management tools only help to some extent in a world of unprecedented uncertainty. To me, the solution is using tech to create businesses that are lean, agile and firmly anchored in their core values – in their Why. I will share with you why.
The Business Formula is new
There are three basic principles for the company of the future. We need to be People centric, Value driven and Data oriented . Theses three principles come together. When you act from your values and from data insights you fully focus on serving each individual, each client, with a long-term perspective.
Back to Honesty
Today it is information, content, ratings and reviews that guide Consumers. The Smartphone revolution 2008 gave the initiative back to the buyer. Consumers choose to skip marketing messages and instead search for companies that live up to their expectations. They turn to facts, recommendations and questions in social media, rather than to emotional marketing. To receive their Trust, you need to deliver with relevance and authenticity on their questions. It is not that hard. It simply requires honesty.
The Race for Perfection
On top of that, our expectations as consumers have changed. Companies who deliver relevant, quick and intuitive data-driven experiences set the bar. Our time is precious and we assume all businesses to deliver as good as the best in class. Or we leave, not to return. Because we have a global market of alternatives at our fingertips. What we expect is not little: to be warmly welcomed upon our digital arrival, acknowledged when we return, get inspired by relevant suggestions, receive an uncomplicated delivery and be able to connect with the mission of the company. When clients change easily, loyalty becomes crucial. You need to work hard and data-driven on every step of your clients interaction with you. You need to learn how to listen.
Newcomers enter the stage
Most of us have changed our buying behaviour from big retail chains and multi corporations to niched entrepreneurs with honest communication. Brands that earn our trust with generously offered knowledge, with interesting and inspiring content. That invite us to mutually beneficial relationships. These companies are more often than not newcomers. Agile entrepreneurs with authentic missions and transformative ideas. We see this in almost every area of business. Take the perfume and food industries, rapidly transformed by a field of indie perfume houses such as French Sana Jardin, Swedish 19-69 and food innovators like US clean food suppliers Beyond Meet and Finnish iFarm. Value-driven entrepreneurs leap-frog the market and rapidly earn global fans. They define new business models.
What does your brand stand for?
With their mission, brands of the future earn their fans trust, get carried by them globally and scale at speed with data-driven insights. These brands’ values allow them to speak credibly to individuals who share the same values. Learn from how Perfume house 19-69 speaks of “counterculture” with an independent, individualistic audience or Beyond Meet spreads '“a better way to feed the future” to healthy-geared individuals who want to contribute environmentally. And notice how well they listen.
Power comes with a Price
So why do value-driven businesses earn our loyalty? Consider this. Having the world at our fingertips comes with a price. That price is Responsibility. We judge and get judged by our level of responsible consumption. On how much we choose to contribute to the global community rather than to our own ego. Consider the social points earned by Tesla-drivers compared to those who choose a traditional upscale brand. Or how we get inspired by those who choose wild life adventures rather than a pool side all-inclusive. Investors, leaders, influencers and global organisations push transformation towards responsible companies for the same reasons.
In a world where lack of responsibility comes at a high social cost, it makes sense for me to buy from contributing brands. Brands that contribute in a way I relate to with values that I share. That perfectly caters to my product expectations. This justifies their higher price tag.
The brand of the future is a generous brand that delivers a good product and experience without hurting me or the world around me. That uses Business as a Force for Good and matches my values as well as my search.