‘We all march to the same beat’, define your brand promise and build an organizational culture that is meticulously measured against this promise. So why do so many companies get it wrong and very few get it right? As I observe this divide, I see a common misstep in the marching orders that come from leadership. The new brand becomes a façade. It is expected to magically create opportunity and do the heavy lifting needed to build a solid foundation for the brand.

However, those that get it right are, as Duane Knapp put it in his book “The Brand Mindset”, truly genuine brands. Here’s a perfect example we can all learn from. On a recent trip with my family I was to return the rental car with a full tank of gas. My mistake, I filled up too far from the National depot leaving the tank short. The attendant looked at my busy family, noticed the angst in my eyes and said “the tank isn’t quite full but we have you covered Mr. Brown”. Give that guy a gold star and a promotion to the brand desk! Did National just move me from ‘buy-on price’ to ‘buy National’, you bet they did.

Perhaps that’s the salient point in all of this; organizations that put self-interest and transactional mindsets ahead of their brand promise are willing to forgo long-term customer loyalty in exchange for short-term, short-sighted, customer abandonment. Clearly it’s not how well your brand looks, it’s how well they perform that matters – and that can only come with a commitment to practice and investment in your genuine brand promise.