Think About It

Mel Gibson. Michael Richards. Don Imus.

Three celebrities, one common denominator: Each one shattered his reputation with careless communication. In a matter of minutes, each ruined the good name he had spent years building.

Could the same thing happen to your brand?

We’re not talking about your CEO going on a deranged tirade and destroying your brand reputation in one night. But somewhere in your company, there may be someone whose reckless communication is undermining your brand-building efforts.

First are the obvious cases: negative communication, where a frontline employee makes an offhand remark when speaking with a customer. “This new pricing system is crazy,” they might say, or, “I don’t know why they got rid of an item that people like so much,” or, “Our IT department is a little disorganized right now.”

Employees say these things innocently enough, either as small talk or as a way of showing empathy (or perhaps passing the buck) with a customer who’s having a problem. But these casual comments can have a serious impact on how people perceive you.

Then there are the more common, more subtle cases: careless communication, where someone falls short in supporting their organization’s brand message.

Here’s an example: Our client was entering a crowded service industry. They wanted to earn high-end fees for high-end service. They wisely established a brand position of “value,” meaning they charged more money but did better work. If a prospect balked at their pricing, an appropriate, brand-centered response would be, “We know that some companies charge less, but we give you a better value because our service is of higher quality.” An inappropriate response would be, “We’re not for everybody; we only serve the most discriminating clientele.” The second response might well be true, but it’s not in line with the intended brand message. Yet people make such almost-but-not-quite-right statements all the time. And each one is a missed opportunity to strengthen the brand.

Some people think that communicating the brand is a job only for C-level executives and the marketing department. It’s not. Communicating the brand is the job of every single person in an organization, because every impression matters.

To protect his personal brand, Michael Richards needed to watch his mouth during his obscure Laugh Factory act every bit as carefully as he would have in an appearance on the Tonight Show. Likewise, what’s being said during a company’s day-to-day conversations has to be taken every bit as seriously as what’s said on its web site or in its annual report.

The good news is, careless communication isn’t inevitable – if people at all levels of an organization are prepared to faithfully represent the brand in their everyday encounters. This advance work is crucial to building a credible, effective brand.