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The Value of Corporate Identity
by Neil Tortorella
Consider for a moment that you are a buyer for a company seeking
a Polybendum supplier. Now, you know that Polybendum is pretty much
the same across the board, so you’re just looking for the lowest
price. You contact several suppliers, request their literature and
look over their web sites. With your short list in hand, you put
out a Request for Quote. The competition is fierce in the Polybendum
arena, so each supplier gets out their pencil and starts to work
out ways to get their price down.
As the sales reps start to make their presentations, one company
begins to stand out. Their sales rep is bright, sharp and professional.
Their presentation is tight. Their literature is smart and consistent.
You notice that even their web site ties seamlessly into their other
communications materials. But their price is higher than the next
guy.
You make a few calls to each supplier on your short list and notice
that the company whose price is higher (let’s call them Polybendtech)
always answers the phone with a human. They help you get the information
you need quickly and ask if there is anything else they can help
you with. You can sense the smile and energy on the other end of
the phone.
Polybendtech’s competitor (let’s call them TitanTech),
a much larger enterprise, answers their phone with a voice mail
operator asking you to enter the first four digits of the last name
of the person you want to talk to. After a several annoying minutes,
you find the extension of your rep and are turned over to their
voice mail.
You call to set up a walkthrough of the candidate’s facilities
starting with TitanTech. Although you’ve never dealt with them
before, since they’re the biggest, you feel they’re most
likely the best. TitanTech’s security guard meets you at the
gate and starts giving you the third degree about why you’re
there and who you want to see. You feel that he’s making every
attempt to keep you out. Once you (finally) reach the lobby, you’re
asked to take a seat. You look around and notice the lobby is furnished
in somewhat worn early 1950s and no one even asked if you’d
like a cup of coffee. The tour goes downhill from there. The manufacturing
facility is unkempt, material and artifacts piled along the walls.
Workers are wearing worn smocks and their trucks are dirty and unidentified.
But hey, their price is lower.
The next group is only slightly better and you’re thinking
about a job change, when you drive up to the guard at Polybendtech.
His uniform is pressed and crisp. The Polybendtech logo is displayed
on the back of his jacket. He smiles, greets you by name and tells
you that the team is waiting for you in the lobby. Then he asks
if you like a cup of coffee, tea or other beverage in the lobby.
After the initial shock wears off during the short walk inside,
you find your sales rep and several high ranking company officials
standing by a welcome sign with your name on it. The lobby is stylish,
but not lavish. People are smiling. The sun beams though the glass
giving the room a bright and energetic feel. After a brief meeting
in a conference room, you begin you tour of the facility.
You notice the workers appear happy and are dressed in clean smocks
with the Polybendtech logo on the front pocket. The production area
is organized. Even the fork lifts are clean and humming. You see
the Polybendtech vehicle fleet outside each with the company logo
en blazed on the sides of each truck. All in all, you see that this
is a tight ship and committed to customer service.
Soon, price seems to take a move toward the back seat. You start
thinking about which company will be there when you need them. Which
company will pull off the impossible for you? It becomes apparent
that Polybendtech, even though their price is higher, is the company
that will give you the assurance that the product will be of the
highest quality and get there when you need it. You recognize that
when you have questions and concerns, Polybendtech will most likely
have the answers. Their attitude and attention to details makes
them the right choice. Polybendtech wins out, even though they’re
higher priced, because of there commitment to their corporate identity.
Back at TitanTech, the president is screaming to the sales manager
about why the account was lost and if they can cut their price even
more.
This is corporate identity in action in the real world. This example
may be a bit exaggerated, but you, no doubt, get the idea. Companies
are people. Buyers are people. People seek to have their needs met.
Our buyer in this case is looking for a low price in the beginning.
Soon though, our buyer realizes that working with Polybendtech will
give him or her peace of mind for a few dollars more. Peace of mind
that he or she will get a quality product. Peace of mind that if
things go wrong or there’s a problem, Polybendtech will get
it fixed.
Polybendtech knows the value of a well managed corporate identity.
They know that is creates loyalty within its structure. Their strong,
well thought out identity has created a feeling of belonging within
its employees that flows out to their customers. The company has
insured that graphic standards are in place so that every presentation
of the Polybendtech name and symbol is consistent. They have over
the years created a sense of tradition. It is this tradition that
permeates through the company and through all of its communications.
The company’s audience, it’s customers, suppliers, the
media, government agencies and the like have come to know this as
well. Polybendtech’s communications to the public are consistent
with regard to visual style. There are no surprises. They have created
a seamless system that flows, apparently effortlessly, through it
literature, signage, product brand identities, interactive media,
advertising and people. Nothing is left to chance.
TitanTech is opposite end of the spectrum. They have a workforce
that focuses on simply punching in and out. They’re there to
get their paycheck and then go home with the least amount of effort
in between. There is no sense of joint purpose. Their communications
are disjointed. Remote offices use different logos than the one
used at their headquarters since there are no standards in place.
The facility shows a lack of pride and enthusiasm. Their web site
and literature don’t match up. Without a strong identity they
are forced to focus on price to compete.
Corporate identity is expressed in names, symbols, logos, colors,
architecture, product design and many other facets. At one level
these serve the same purpose as religious symbolism. They inspire,
create a sense of belonging and purpose. At another level, they
represent the consistent standards of quality and therefore encourage
customer loyalty. For the corporation, identity is concerned with:
Products and services –
what you make or sell
Environments –
where you make or sell it
Information –
how you describe and publicize what you do
Behavior –
how people within the organization behave toward each other and
to outsiders
Identity is the sum of the parts of what it does, how it acts and
how it communicates. Every company, the monolithic conglomerate
or home-based independent consultant, has an identity, whether it
recognizes it or not. The real question is whether the company chooses
to control its identity in a structured, planned manner or let the
identity control it.
Some corporations have come to understand the power of their corporate
and brand identities, and work hard to protect them. Other enterprises
often put their identity management in the back seat to other management
tasks. Few companies have investigated the relationship between
the various parts of their identity and therefore put themselves
at a disadvantage to competitors who rigorously insure a consistent,
strategic identity program.
This is of particular concern to commodity businesses as we’ve
see above. These are enterprises whose products, distribution and
quality or roughly equal. What separates company A from company
B? Often the only factor is price or perhaps delivery time. These
are companies where reputation and identity can make the difference
between getting the order or losing it to the competition. In our
example, Polybendtech has successfully created the perception that
it is easy to work with, has a better level of quality and better
distribution.
In addition, the names of the organizations used here reflect their
identities. Polybendtech, a smaller and younger organization realized
that it’s name needed to clearly communicate what it does.
TitanTech gives the feeling of being a large enterprise without
a clue as to what the company is involved in.
Visual style is often thought of as secondary to other management
operations. This is most likely due to fact that the return on investment
of visual style can’t be quantified as easily as some other
business operations. However, given the potential and realistic
impact corporate identity can make on a company’s bottom line,
it is wise to invest in a strategic program. Think of the impact
identity has on the P&L of companies like Coca Cola, McDonald’s,
Starbuck’s and Microsoft.
The perceptions created by a strong corporate identity can increase
customer and shareholder loyalty, It can aid in dealings with vendors
and suppliers as well as employees since it clearly communicates
the purpose of the enterprise.
Mission statements tend to be about being responsive and dedicated.
TitanTech has one like this. The difference between TitanTech and
Polybendtech is that TitanTech’s is a wish list rather than
a commitment to breathing life into the mission statement as Polybendtech
has done through a well planned corporate identity program.
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