Branding is done in two places -- in the boardroom, and on the front lines.

In the boardroom (or wherever planning is done), attention is given to competitive strengths, differentiation, positioning, and desired perceptions. A plan is made, visuals are created, strategies are verbalized. And then branding is projected through advertising and other communications.

That's where branding is typically decided by management. And that's where thoughts of branding usually stop.

But your brand is ultimately determined by the customer. And their perception is reality.

Take a bank, for example. If management has invested in its brand via graphics and advertising but not the teller line, they've missed the most critical branding element of all: the customer experience.

If you position your company as the fast, responsive player in the industry, but the customer has to wait on hold too long when calling in, what is your true branding? Not fast and efficient, but slow and annoying.

If you position yourself as a high-end provider for high-end clientele but customers get treated like cattle, do you really think your brand will be perceived as premium?

The customer ultimately decides what your mark means to them. So rename your Training department the Front-Line Branding department, because the customer experience is where your true reputation will be built or eroded.

Labels: bank, branding, credit union, customer service, marketing, planning