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How different would the situation have been if the man had
been wearing even a single piece of branded apparel identifying
him as with the security company? His affiliation would have
been immediately recognizable if he had worn a branded shirt,
jacket or cap or if he was holding a branded clipboard. He could
have added to his credibility if his truck had a magnetic banner
on it or a logoed decal.
Instead of greeting the representative of a leading home
security company arriving for an appontment, Anne saw a
stranger and her instincts kicked in—as they should have.
What was especially ironic about this situation is that this
man’s job is to make people’s homes more secure. However,
because he lacked any kind of company-logoed apparel or
branding, his appearance had quite the opposite effect on this
homeowner.
Did this man represent the image the security company
wanted to portray? Is Anne’s reaction the one companies want
their customers to have?
After Anne mentioned this to me, I began looking closer at
how companies that work with the public outfit their employees. I’ve been in restaurants where all employees
are wearing logoed shirts and caps, and somehow the restaurant looks more orderly and sparkles a bit more
than those without branded apparel. The guy who comes to clean my carpet immediately looks more
professional and knowledgeable in his collared shirt with its neatly embroidered logo on the chest. Even the
auto mechanic who sells me a new air filter looks like he knows what he’s talking about in his well-worn
branded cap.
A brand differentiates a service or product—and those who provide, sell, install or build them. A strong
brand is invaluable as a marketing tool because it’s the company’s promise to the customer. But a brand is
not only important to customers, it’s also important to employees because it makes them feel a part of the
organization and helps solidify their loyalty.
How different would Anne’s experience have been if the technician who arrived on her doorstep was
outfitted to professionally represent the company? One thing is for sure—she would have been a much
happier customer.
4 •
PPB
• MARCH 2016
W
OULD YOU OPEN YOUR
front door and let a
perfect stranger into your home? That was a deci-
sion Anne Stone, PPAI’s director of public affairs,
had to make recently.
Anne stayed home from work one day late last year to meet a
technician who was supposed to update her home security system.
He never got the chance.
Here’s what happened. When the technician arrived, Anne opened
her door and saw a man wearing scruffy jeans and a blank hoodie over
a plain t-shirt. Nothing about this man identified him as from the
national security company he represented. His truck, parked on the
curb, was a plain-sided panel truck with a ladder on the back. Again,
there was no signage or branding to identify him as with the company.
He claimed that he was a subcontractor for the security company, but
was he? How could she tell? Anne wouldn’t let him in and called the
company to reschedule.
Tina Berres Filipski
EDITOR
PERSPECTIVES
What A Difference
A Brand Makes
PERSPECTIVES