On a Mission
A day with Mike Harris
Stand for Something
Building trusted brands
The Upside of the Downturn
Ten Management Strategies
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Stay Ahead of the PelotonWednesday 30th July 2008 On Sunday, Carlos Sastre of Spain claimed that he rode like two men to clinch his first win in the Tour de France from eight starts. His achievement makes for a strong marketing analogy for these challenging times. The climb up Alpe d'Huez is 13.8 km at an average gradient of 7.9% with 21 hairpin bends (les 21 virages) - the toughest stage of the gruelling 3,500km race. Sastre deliberately selected that time and stage to make his move ahead of the main group of riders – the “Peloton”. "I suffered a lot on the way to the summit, but I take great pleasure in capturing the jersey," Sastre said through a translator. "A pure climber has to take advantage of his opportunities, and this was mine." His decision as to when and where he would move ahead defined him as a true champion. This is not the time to keep your head down and just do enough to make it through the credit crunch. Now is the time to focus on how you are going to thrive, not just survive. It’s time to Create Your Own Space and be as far ahead of your own “Peloton” as you can be when the economy rallies. Norse NamingTuesday 29th July 2008 Íslandsbanki (not to be confused with Landsbanki) has changed its brand name to Glitnir, at the same time adopting a new logo and appearance. Bjarni Ármannsson, CEO, says this transformation called for a new brand name for the company. "We now work in the international financial market, and this means certain changes had to be made."
He continues: "Brands must reflect the environment in which they operate, and in our case we need a name that can be used all over the world...It has positive connotations for Icelanders, contains an historical reference, is both Icelandic and Nordic, is easy to pronounce in all the main languages involved and also contains no unusual letters or accents."
“The new name derives from Norse mythology: Glitnir was the home of Forseti, son of the divine pair Baldur and Nanna. At Glitnir, all quarrels were settled and those who came there were pardoned for their misdeeds.” The new brand offers depth of meaning to the markets in which it operates and travels easily across borders. Glitnir is tied into a compelling story from Norse folklore that evokes justice and fairness, qualities that really do stand out as a clear brand promise. Five ValuesThursday 24th July 2008 The following five values represent what The Bank of America believe in as individuals and as a team, and how they aspire to interact with their customers, their shareholders, their communities and one another. I really like the first of these particularly:
Doing the Right Thing
We have the responsibility to do the right thing for our customers, shareholders, communities and one another.
Trusting and Teamwork
We succeed together, taking collective responsibility for our customers’ satisfaction.
Inclusive Meritocracy
We care about one another, value one another’s differences, focus on results and strive to help all associates reach their full potential.
Winning
We have a passion for achieving results and winning – for our customers, our shareholders, our communities and one another.
Leadership
We will be decisive leaders at every level, communicating our vision and taking action to help build a better future.
Inspired to create your own core values? Do the right thing!
Genius ServiceFriday 18th July 2008 We all know them. Just say the magic word,"Apple", and off they go. Any excuse to preach the virtues of the infinitely superior Mac over the PC. True fanatics, they love Macs and all things Apple. And they are probably Apple's most effective sales force. I’m one of those fans (you may have noticed) – even when things go wrong.
Yesterday, something did go very wrong. I must have gone through the KeyNote Triangle, somewhere near Clapham Junction. I was unable to launch this amazing software on my Mac Air – just before I was due to make an important presentation. Truly 'Up the Junction', I did the only thing that anyone would do under the circumstances and took the tube to Oxford Circus and ran like the wind to the excellent Apple Store Genius Bar. Trained at Apple headquarters, Geniuses have extensive knowledge of Apple products and are able to answer any technical questions and troubleshoot issues.
The Genius in question, Ambrose, couldn't have done more to help and fixed the issue within minutes at no cost. He was a genuine brand ambassador for Apple. The level of service I received made me think about what the financial services marketer can learn from the customer experience at the Apple Store:
For experiences like these, Apple will rightly be rewarded by:
Apple comes across as the company that cares, that will do the right thing by customers. It’s an example of the brand promise delivered – which in turn enabled us to deliver our presentation.
Ron Johnson, the Senior Vice President for Retail at Apple, has often referred to the Genius Bar as the "heart and soul of our stores". To me, that sums up what customer engagement is all about and today, it is more important than ever. Apple knows it. Ambrose knows it. Banks could learn a great deal from it.
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