The brand. The brand. The brand. What's the BIG deal?

Recently I was at a luncheon with a variety of marketers and sales people (I know…the fact that they were all there together will be a whole other blog). And one of the seasoned sales professionals said the following: “Marketing people make things so much more difficult than they need to be! the logo is too small. The logo is too fat. The logo looks stretched. The logo is the wrong color. The logo, the logo, the logo!’ Seriously…by the time THEY get the logo to look perfect, I’ve probably lost the sale. It shouldn’t matter whether the logo is a little bit off and the customer doesn’t even notice. Bottom line is they are more concerned about price and getting what THEY want to run their business instead of what OUR logo looks!”. And he didn’t say it sweet and sassy, like I just said it….he was MIFFED! The fact that I didn’t speak up and give him a 30-second branding lesson is a true testimony to my maturity level at this age (those of you who know me can cease the laughter please). But it did prompt me to clarify for those of you who feel the same way. I come from both Sales and Marketing in my career path. Unbeknownst to many, one is indeed NOT cohesive with the other. And branding logic and philosophy is one of the reasons. The brand IS your identity. It’s the visual for who you are as a company and what you represent. If your brand is stretched or the wrong color, it signifies that you do not pay attention to detail or your presentation or could care less what anyone else thinks about you. It also connotates that you think the client is visually impaired and not paying attention. And if you won’t pay attention to such things for your own company, what on earth makes me, the client, think you will pay attention to it in my relationship with you. Your logo should say “who you are” in an image…a literal snapshot that will stay with me, the client. Are you professional? Are you funny? Are you lazy? Are you classic? Are you too busy? Are you obnoxious? Are you sweet? WHAT ARE YOU? You have ONE image to make that impression. ONE. Which means it better be the same if it’s on a variety of materials and the materials just happen to be in the same folder, which leads us to “consistency” of the brand. That “first impression” in ANY relationship is critical. I doubt, very much, that any successful sales person throws on 2 different socks, a plaid shirt, polka dot pants and tennis shoes to meet a client (unless you’re in the circus and I’m not on that topic) because they recognize they have to provide an appropriate, clear, concise, consistent, responsible first impression. Example: I’ve got a VERY successful commercial contractor friend who can tell you exactly how many lines are in the pyramid of his logo. He would sell me on his services from that one trait…because it tells me he pays attention to detail. Wouldn’t you want him to build your medical facility so you could almost guarantee that a “bolt or screw or beam” didn’t get left out because…c’mon….”what difference does it make….it’s only a bolt”. All that being said, the marketing team has a responsibility to not destroy the efficiency of the sales process by being ridiculously anal in the “branding police” process. Develop a standard guideline book and put all approved logos online, along with providing templates so sales teams can move forward without your constant micromanagement. Let us all remember folks, irrelevant of which side of the team you are on: the brand is a reflection of YOU