In this second installment of a four-part series on brand experience, Scorpion’s Justin Mink sets the stage on why identifying, defining and living the brand plays a crucial role in the success of your system, especially in these tumultuous times.
In part one of our four-part Franchise Brand Experience series, we explored a business problem endemic to the franchise industry: growing franchises often fail to define their brands with intention and purpose. In the article, we delved into the opportunity for franchises to reimagine their brands and align their brand purpose with today’s rapidly changing consumer and franchisee expectations and behaviors.
In part two of the series, we take a deep dive into the steps that each franchise organization must take to identify their brand’s raison d’etre — the authentic justification for the brand’s existence — and how this purpose can serve as the foundation of a world-class brand experience. A brand’s truth should offer a unique and emotionally resonant value proposition to all brand stakeholders — teams, franchisees, and customers alike —that ultimately drives long-term performance and increased market share.
Why brands matter
First and foremost, what exactly is a brand?
For some leaders, “branding” entails creating a buzzy brand name along with a logo created by the COO’s Photoshop-proficient cousin. As franchise marketing expert Bryan Thomas puts it: “[Branding is] not just creating a logo or talking about the features and processes a company proudly uses in its product delivery. It is discovering that sweet spot — the intersection of strategy, inspiration and delivery — of where your brand can live (dare we say, thrive) among its competitors, and with your target consumers devoutly embracing and declaring its attributes.”
Case in point: In 2019, Coca Cola ended the year with a market cap of $234.57bn. In that same year, the Interbrand Best Global Brands of 2019 Report clocked Coke’s brand value at $63.37bn. The power of Coca Cola’s brand accounted for over 27 per cent of its total 2019 value.
Financial performance tied to brand value is not a dynamic exclusively reserved for global powerhouses. According to the 2017 Havas Meaningful Brands study, from 2006 and 2016, brands that integrated purpose (the “why” of the organization) into their culture and communicated it effectively outperformed the stock market by 206 per cent.
Brand experience > competition
Discovering your brand’s “why” starts with a clear-eyed examination of your organization’s authentic reason for being. If that reason is nothing other than “there is a financial opportunity that the company wishes to capitalize upon,” your brand is bound to ultimately fall flat with target audiences and become increasingly vulnerable to competitive forces.
For a time, you may be able to gain traction with new franchisees and customers thanks to the strength of the actual product or service that your brand delivers (the functional benefits), as well as a pressing need in the marketplace. However, as the market increasingly becomes crowded with brands competing for the same customers, a failure to build lasting brand equity can result in stunted growth. Even worse, new competitors will likely identify your weaknesses and take action to create competitive strengths and a better brand experience, gobbling up market share in the process.
Aligning your purpose with your public
Identifying your brand’s authentic purpose is just the first step in creating an amazing brand experience. The next crucial phase is to ensure that the brand position resonates in the marketplace. The ethos of a QSR concept called “Nothing But Lentils!” may be based upon a rock-solid conviction that lentils are both nutritious and delicious, but the likelihood of this “why” serving to attract, engage, and hold franchisees and customers in a competitive marketplace is slim to none.
This is where research comes into play. Much like science, research doesn’t care about opinions, personalities, office politics, agendas, or personal beliefs. Research is squarely focused on discovering market and consumer truths, such as whether a company’s professed vision truly aligns with the needs of the marketplace. Once those realities are revealed, brand leaders can confidently invest time and resources towards aligning the soul of the brand (and its competitive advantage) with what franchisees and customers care about most deeply.
So, where do you start?
First, odds are there is a wealth of existing research and information about your market, just waiting to be mined for insights. This “secondary” research may cover everything from SWOT (Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analyses of specific competitors to industry trends and consumer preferences. But this type of research alone is unlikely to be powerful or specific enough for your brand, as competitors across the industry are able to tap into the same information.
This is where “primary” research — studies performed for the private and exclusive use of your brand — can fill in data gaps and uncover unique insights. Primary research may also include formal exercises such as consumer focus groups and interviews, user experience research, Attitude & Usage studies, and the list goes on.
Turning insights into strategic action
Oftentimes, weeks of exhaustive research and countless hours of thorough analysis can result in just a few surprising, genuine insights. These needles in the market haystack can unlock the reasons behind why brands stagnate or even lose traction with consumers.
With the right research, your team will gain a deep understanding of your brand’s identity and unique position in the market, paving the way for you to develop a strategic blueprint that will differentiate your brand from competitors. Additionally, intimate knowledge about your target audience will help your team map out the best possible brand experience to effectively connect with the right customers. This research-centric approach elevates brands from blind strategic
guesswork and provides a clear path for navigating through and around growth roadblocks.
What you’ll learn from this series
In part three of this series, we’ll explore how to leverage your newfound brand experience to build stronger teams, identify and attract the right franchisees and customers, and continually serve as a “source of truth” that guides internal priorities and behaviors.
In the fourth and final part, we’ll provide actionable insights on how to communicate and market your brand internally and externally (at the national and local levels) so that the brand experience attracts like-minded stakeholders, differentiates from the competition, and ultimately drives growth.
Stay tuned for further insights on the best ways to develop a long-lasting legacy and successful franchise brand!
KEY TAKEAWAYS
• Identifying and communicating your brand’s purpose is a crucial element in driving long- term success in a competitive landscape.
• An initial brand vision must be validated and/or refined based upon market research that reveals competitive strengths and weaknesses, along with the real needs and desires of the market (both franchisees and customers).
• All it takes is one unique and genuine insight to fuel your creative messaging and help your marketing efforts stand out and resonate with your target audience.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Justin Mink, CFE, is senior vice president of franchise growth at Scorpion. His passions for branding and digital marketing has guided a career that includes owning an events company in Washington D.C., brand marketing for USATODAY.com, leading the franchise team as an early employee at digital marketing firm ReachLocal, cofounding the marketing technology start-up Music Audience Exchange, and serving as chief marketing officer at New Frontier Data
