Incite has been fortunate to work with The Roy Group over the last two years. A major focus of this work has been on building a coaching approach into our operations and leadership development. This has been both valuable and challenging and for many of us it has opened our eyes to the benefits of a coaching philosophy.

One of the Principals of The Roy Group, Bradley Chisholm, recently lent me a book called "The Inner Game" by tennis coach Tim Gallwey. This book, though focused on playing tennis, forms the basis for much of The Roy Group's coaching and leadership development philosophy. To distill it down, Gallwey's view is that each individual is her/his own coach and supporters can help not with instruction but questions. This best allows someone to find internal answers they are more determined to use. Not only am I now excited to get back on the tennis court but it's opened my eyes to two key things we can all use to develop our own performance.

Sense of feel:

• Gallwey encourages his athletes to sense what a good shot feels like. Knowing what feels right allows us to adapt our performance to that sense and experience. This is more natural and replicable than trying to follow a script of corrections on how to hit a great forehand. We can own that feeling and directly apply it to our performance. By recognizing how we feel, both when things go well and they don't, we can better understand what led us to that result and then repeat or make the necessary adjustments.

Forcing things vs letting them happen:

• A mindset is engrained in us growing up that if we try really, really hard we can do anything. That said, in tennis Gallwey indicates that we're tighter, less relaxed and unfairly self-critical when we do this. This limits the ability to hit a great shot. Letting things unfold is a useful strategy. That doesn't mean passivity but means recognizing whether it's the time to anticipate or react and what personal skill to use at that point. We can then approach situations more relaxed, confident, and with trust in our ability to adapt.

Because we've often been taught in a very prescriptive fashion and to push things to happen, adopting Gallwey's approach can be difficult. His ideas build adaptability, awareness and versatility into our performance. It's rare a situation ever occurs exactly the same way twice, so the ability to confidently adapt is crucial. Though your job may not be to face 200 km/h Milos Raonic serves, this coaching approach can open new ways to find answers to your most challenging situations.

At our September TEN meeting, we discussed the difficulties we all face in the industry with building a strong brand—particularly in our own organizations. TEN member, Sharon Bell, a veteran brand expert and now independent consultant and instructor, presented some thoughts she has compiled over the years, and then we dove into some good roundtable discussion.

Image from Brand Advocates Should Be Cultivated
Tuesday, May 10, 2011

What is brand?

We all have definitions for brand in the marketing industry. Some say brand is an emotion; others use the metaphor of a story. At Incite, brand is experience –every single touch point that might exist for an organization. That experience, whether it is logo and colour, phone reception, boardroom art, or sales demeanour evokes both logical and emotional responses in your audience. A good brand should make you trust that the person or organization does what they promise. Ultimately, a brand is what people believe about your product or service.

What are the difficulties?

Gaps in a brand (experience) erode confidence.

If you say you are the leading edge of expertise in your industry and you have a logo that looks like it was created in Paint, then people start to wonder...

A good brand (experience) is consistent throughout the company. You cannot build market confidence of your value and experience if your employees don't believe it or truly own it.

Your marketing campaign promises engaging, people-oriented service, however your staff is introverted and not equipped for one-to-one interaction. Your promise draws in clientele, but your staff negates that promise by not fulfilling the expected experience. Too often our employees are not set up for success, or given the tools or opportunity to "be the brand".

What is a brand advocate?

Brand advocates make a difference in every organization. They believe and trust in the value promise, they feel excited and empowered about sharing that promise, they constantly talk about and recommend your organization, and they embody the brand experience. In today's sceptical, over stimulated and too-rushed market they are your biggest sales force.

"Employee brand advocacy does not happen overnight, nor does it happen with a few stickers, T-shirts or emails. Senior marketing executives need to be prepared to lead and partner with peers through a dynamic process..."

Source: "Transforming Employees into Brand Advocates", Forrester, 2007

Best practices for building brand advocates

1. It starts at the top. Your leadership must be the first brand advocates. Brand cannot be simply an initiative driven from the marketing department. A good brand speaks to the existing culture and value promised of the company, so this should not be a hard sell, but it must start and be driven passionately and consistently from the top.
2. Communication. Not necessarily more, just better. Communication also involves listening. What things are being said internally about the sense of empowerment, the process, the brand itself? Where are the disconnects? And have you clearly communicated the brand and what the experience should be?
3. Empowerment. Can your advocates make the decisions they need to in order to maintain the brand? Ensure they feel trusted and supported in their ideas and decisions.
4. Brand Champions. Identify those in the organization who truly are the brand. These are not necessarily the individuals who volunteer for the committee. They are the people who embody the persona and the value of your organization. They live it and breathe it and it shows.
5. Tell your stories. Share and talk about the experiences you have with clients, share and celebrate the brand advocates in your organization. Remind each other why you are there and how great it feels when you get it right.
   One of the most powerful brand advocate stories is from the late Ray Anderson, Founder and Chairman of Interface Inc.
   
6. Recruitment, performance expectations, measurement and rewards are all in sync. Do you talk about the experience but reward the opposite? Are your process and operations set up to facilitate the brand or are they in opposition? Do you have rewards in place that truly recognize those who propagate and reinforce the brand?
   

Often when I work with my clients their focus is on the flashy tactical tools, jargon, and outward visual image of their business.

"I need to add more bling to our brochure..."

"How do I up-the-ante of our presentation?"

"Our competitor has a new, high-tech website. We need to catch up. Help!"

In business and especially in marketing, it is easy to get caught up in the hype and perception of worth contained in the "Razzle-Dazzle" of glitzy materials and flamboyant sales pitches. We have all watched brilliant commercials, touched magnificent pieces of print material, and felt the intrigue after experiencing entertaining and engaging marketing. What happens next?

I'd argue that the majority of the time we are left feeling disappointed. When we pull back the curtain, we too often find a business that struggles to live up to the hype. When the girl removes all the lipstick and mascara and puts on her sweat pants, is she just as enchanting?

What if instead we focus on the depth and delivery of relationship and customer experience? That is what long term success is made of. Instead of focussing solely on how to attract and impress the consumer, we need to focus more on what we can give, what we can learn, and how we can grow. In doing so, we can't help but succeed.

The razzle-dazzle then creates itself. This time, it's not fabricated by the ad-man from sequins, artificial highlights, and fake eye-lashes, but from the authentic delivery of a remarkable client experience and heart felt relationships built on trust and understanding.

I recently heard an opinion editorial on National Public Radio discussing children's cereals, and how some of them have as much sugar per cup as a Hostess Twinkie. To say I was shocked is an understatement. The piece went on to discuss how the marketing of these foods directly to children is ethically reprehensible, and how the Big Food lobby has shut down any attempt to reduce the amount of advertising, or sugar, they are going to launch at kids.

As a parent in the field of marketing, I challenge my children to question the promises advertised on TV. Is that bowl of cereal really going to make ponies appear? Do you really think those Air Jordans are going to make you dunk like a basketball player who retired long before you were born?

Lifting my heart a bit, and giving me hope that kids are becoming savvy to advertising, was this post on collegehumor.com where a little girl is demanding answers to why things are marketed to children (especially girls) in the manner they are.

At Incite, we believe in relationship driven marketing. In relationship driven marketing, there is an inherent code of ethics. Relationships are, by definition, "a connection, association, or involvement; an emotional or other connection between people" (dictionary.com). In order to foster lasting relationships of any kind, there must be trust and respect.

The more I watch, read, and hear about marketing to children, the more I wish there was a more global understanding that by fostering strong relationships with your clientele, you won't have to worry about your bottom line! When your consumers trust you, they come back, and refer others to you, your product, or service. Why do they trust you? Because you listen to what they need and want, and you do your very best to provide that. Because you communicate clearly and because you care about those you have a relationship with.

As both a parent, and a communicator, I'd like to see more children thinking about how products are marketed to them. The mass media market is literally feeding junk to our kids, who are innocent to the art of persuasion. This further persuades me that Incite's relationship approach, which leverages referrals as the strongest form of advertising, is not only based on trust, but has a code of ethics that could and should be modeled by others.

Walk into any office and you’ll see desks ranging from highly organized to apocalyptic mayhem. What one might call a mess, another might call organized chaos. However, like the clothes you wear, your workspace says a lot about you and how you work.

Take a look at the workspace below, how likely are you to work with this organization or person?
 

Now, take a look at this workspace shown below. What are the chances you’d want to work with them?

While showing a shiny, expensive, new office in contrast to an old, messy one might not be the fairest comparison, pride in your workspace shows pride in your work.

A professional atmosphere plays an important role in creating a positive first impression, and in helping carry forward lasting business relationships. Consider what impression your workspace may be sharing:

A clean, organized, and stylish workspace says:

• I care about what I do on the job.
• I’m thoughtful and careful with my work.
• I have pride in the final product.

A messy, disheveled, and outdated workspace says:

• I take little pride in my work.
• I’m often late meeting deadlines.
• I can’t be bothered to give my work care and attention.

So look as good as you function, and turn chaos into creativity. Let your workspace reflect the quality of your work!