PPB July 2019

customer’s heart and mind. If it’s only emotional, they might not believe it. If it’s only functional, they won’t bond with it or be loyal to it. Example: Etsy gets it just right by promising “something real from a real person”—an ideal intersection of functional and emotional. They bring the functional benefit of making it easy to find makers of what you need along with the emotional, soul-satisfying payoff of buying from a real artisan. It is functional enough to assuage the mind and emotional enough to capture the heart. In contrast, Microsoft Office is a brand that is overly functional—it is all about the product’s features and does nothing for your heart. And Jaguar is a brand that is too emotional—while the heart loves style and luxury, the mind can’t accept that it requires frequent repairs. 7 SHARP-EDGED: It must entail a single, sharp-edged promise. Your brand positioning must be simple and singular. It should be ridiculously clear to customers what you do and don’t promise. Focus on that specific benefit with all you do and stay supporting that single idea. Example: Let’s look at a few well-known car brands. When you say Volvo, I say safe. When you say Prius, I say fuel- efficient. When you say Jeep, I say fun. None of these brands overextend into being sporty, prestigious or fast. It’s clear what they do and what they don’t do. But when you say Buick, it doesn’t mean much. That’s a brand without sharp edges. 8 HAS TEETH: It must be demonstrably true. Your positioning must offer compelling, granular, concrete proof that it will deliver on its promise. It need not only be true, but demonstrably true. This helps customers believe it, trust it and engage with it. Example: Plenty of insurance companies pitch a savings advantage. However, only Geico’s promise to save you money on car insurance is extremely specific, with numerical, relevant facts to back it up: “Fifteen minutes could save you 15 percent or more on car insurance.” Fifteen minutes is fast, but not so fast that it’s not believable. Fifteen percent is substantial but does not sound like an overpromise. The matching of “15 minutes” with “15 percent” makes the promise memorably specific. 9 DELIVERS: You must deliver on your brand promise across everything you do, from big to small, from new customer to loyal customer—consistently. You don’t just nail the letter of the promise, but the spirit of the promise. Example: Zappos promises world-class customer service and delivers on that consistently and across all dimensions. They hire people for their customer service ethic. Their processes are set up to reward creative, above-and-beyond ways to delight customers. They will get your merchandise to you in 24 hours. They provide free shipping both ways. Even their boxes are a treat to open. They deliver excellent customer service in spades. For a brand tomeet these criteria, leaders must make difficult choices and trade-offs. It can feel scary to decide so boldly and shine a spotlight on what you have selected. Yet choosing is what separates good leaders fromgreat leaders, what separates flash- in-the-pan businesses from the ones that endure for generations. Lindsay Pedersen is the author of Forging an Ironclad Brand: A Leader’s Guide . She is a brand strategist, board advisor, coach, speaker and teacher known for her scientific, growth-oriented approach to brand building. She developed the Ironclad Method for value-creating brands while working with billion-dollar businesses like Starbucks, Clorox, Zulily, T-Mobile and IMDb, as well as many burgeoning start-ups. Pedersen lives in Seattle with her husband and two children. www.ironcladbrandstrategy.com It can feel scary to decide so boldly and shine a spotlight onwhat youhave selected. Yet choosing is what separates good leaders from great leaders, what separates flash-in- the-panbusinesses fromthe ones that endure for generations. | JULY 2019 | 43 GROW