Guest column

Brand identity for local businesses matter now more than ever, says Houston expert

Here's how to think about supporting local. Getty images

Businesses everywhere are struggling to survive during these strange times. From the largest global companies to the local mom and pops, these organizations are on the brink of losing the good fight.

Brands we all rely on — including J Crew, JC Penney, Neiman Marcus, Modell's Sporting Goods, and Gold's Gym — have filed or are expected to file for bankruptcy protection in the coming days.

Those are some of the national brands. Local brands come and go with such frequency that many times only the most loyal of consumers are the only ones that realize their demise outside of the owners and employees.

What is a local brand?

Echoing throughout our everyday quarantined lives is the mantra to support your local community businesses. What exactly does that mean? A neighbor of mine is the general manager of a large national retail store in our community. It is not a local business…or is it? I certainly do not want him to fail and lose his job due to a corporate decision to shut down locations. That would affect hundreds of folks in our area that work there.

Then there is the local flower shop that is a one-location mom and pop that a family has poured everything it has into building their retail dream. Now, they face a nightmare of losing it all if things do not turn around soon enough.

What does this all have to do with brand equity?

The equity in your brand is that perceived value customers place in your services or products that makes your brand stand out. It includes brand loyalty, perceived quality and your overall brand awareness. It is why a customer choose one brand over another as price is removed from the equation.

As consumers venture out from the COVID-19 isolation more and more each day, they have decisions to make. Decisions like "Where am I going to spend my money?" This gets even more compounded by the shocking number of furloughed and unemployed people that only weeks ago were humming along fine. Discretionary income is almost becoming a thing of the recent past, meaning every dollar spent beyond rent and food is under extreme scrutiny.

It is at this very point that brand equity can make or break a local business. We all know that the coming months will be trying, and brands are simply trying to hang on to make it through the unprecedented downturn. But guess which brands will come out of this with a chance to realize even more greatness down the road? Those companies that realized from day one the importance of their brand. How people perceive it. How to build value beyond the physical goods or services. The culture of their brand and whether it permeates the organization and every brand touchpoint with consumers.

Think of building brand equity like you would when shopping for home insurance. You do not go get insurance on your home after the fire destroys it. You plan ahead and build home equity by mitigating risk. The same holds for brand equity. You plan ahead and place the importance of an effective brand strategy at the very top of your business priorities.

I have worked on brand strategy from global brands to local and regional brands and you would be surprised to see how brand strategy is undervalued regardless of company size. Too many times (actually, almost always) I see companies large and small treat the brand and marketing strategy as an afterthought, once accounting, purchasing, HR, manufacturing, sales and more are given their proper due.

Brands face pressures daily from all sides including competition, government regulations, changing consumer preferences, technology, advertising expense and more. So those brands that have the focused leadership to build a strong brand platform, as a priority from day one, will win in the long term.

The higher the level of your brand equity in your marketplace, the more likely a consumer will migrate toward your business as they begin thawing their wallets from the pandemic freeze of uncertainty. Spending is under more scrutiny than most of us have ever seen, and brand stewards that have built a strong platform of awareness, value, service, quality and overall experience stand the best chance to earn that sale from loyal customers that appreciate brand equity, even though those customers may not understand how to actually define it.

It's not too late.

While you have the time, even though the slow crawl back to some sort of normalcy can seem overwhelming, prioritize your brand strategy. Spend time each day as you would with accounting and sales to consider how to improve the equity, the value, of your brand among your customer base.

Ask yourself how you can differentiate. What are the ways you can value-add to your services that make your product even more memorable with consumers? What about employee training? Consider whether or not your people believe in your business and have the passion to exemplify those brand attributes you clearly demonstrate day in and day out. Are you following up with customers to build loyalty and learn about how to improve?

Look at the competition, regardless of size, and build a list of what makes your brand better. Then continue to find ways to express that. There is still time if you prioritize differently.

There's an old sugar-packet saying I heard early in my career that I still use today, over 40 years later that goes something like this:

"He Who Has a Thing to Sell
And Goes and Whispers in a Well
Is Not as Apt to Make the Dollars
As He Who Climbs a Tree and Hollers"

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Mike Albrecht is currently a partner and director of business development at Houston-based 9thWonder, a large general market advertising and PR agency based in Houston with offices around the globe.

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Building Houston

 
 

In today’s employee-driven job market, here's what top candidates are looking for. Photo via Getty Images

One of the most disappointing (and costly) things as a hiring manager is when your top candidate declines the job offer. You spend months defining target skills and characteristics, reviewing résumés and interviewing candidates to narrow down to your finalist of choice. You put together what you believe is a strong offer, and the candidate says “no.” What went wrong?

It’s not an employer’s job market anymore. In this transformed workplace, and at a time of historically low unemployment, it is very much an employee’s market, and he/she can afford to be selective. Below are some common reasons candidates turn down job offers and what you can do to prevent them.

No. 1: The interview process took too long

It takes time to identify the right fit, and a typical hiring process will often involve 2-3 interviews with decision makers in different locations. You also want to pinpoint a candidate you like and compare him/her to other candidates. When all is said and done, you’re often looking at an interview process that can take 6-8 weeks. During this time, it’s critical to stay in touch with the candidate. A simple email with a status update will help keep them engaged. This is also a great time to check references, showing the candidate your continued interest.

While you’re focused on filling the position, it’s easy to forget candidates have deadlines, too. A lengthy interview process with periods of little interaction can make a candidate feel you don’t respect his/her time or make your company appear disorganized, something they may be leery of based on past experience. Setting expectations upfront and maintaining open lines of communication are key in this candidate-driven environment.

Equally important to an efficient hiring process is encouraging non-essential decision makers to let go after a certain point. For example, once a small sized business graduates to a midsized company, a CEO should not make the mistake of thinking they have to talk to every single prospect. They need to approve them. Delegating and trust are key.

No. 2: You didn’t ‘sell’ the opportunity enough

It’s easy to forget interviews are as much about the candidate interviewing you as you interviewing the candidate. While you want to assess the person’s skills and cultural fit, the candidate wants to know how the role will match his/her personal and professional goals. Heck, they want to know how it stacks up against other jobs for which they might be applying!

Career growth is something every candidate wants. It’s critical for the hiring manager to discuss training and personal development opportunities. This is particularly important for millennials, who are often more motivated by the ability to learn and grow than they are by an increase in financial compensation. It’s also important to talk about the company culture and what makes you stand out. Bottom line: You want the candidate to leave the interview knowing he/she will be appreciated by your company and will get an experience that can’t be found elsewhere. To this end, expressing genuine interest in their life outside of work (loved ones, what makes them tick, etc.) can make all the difference.

No. 3: Lack of employer brand appeal

Companies spend a lot of time branding their products and services but don’t always think about how they look to future employees. Your M.O. is how you show candidates what it’s like to work for you. This includes their overall interview process experience, reviews on websites like Glassdoor, as well as posts your company and employees share on social media.

Let candidates get to know your company through posts. Show your team having fun together, being involved in the community and as customer-focused professionals. Employees also give hints about their work experience in their own social content. If they’re happy, it’ll show in their online activity.

These first three reasons for why a job offer might be turned down are all about how a hirer makes a candidate feel, but the fine print matters too.

No. 4: Job duties

It may seem like a no-brainer that a job description should be well-written, but more often than not, it’s unclear what will be expected of said employee. When you do the internal work ahead of time, getting alignment on what’s required and the intricacies of the existing (or new) position, it leaves little room for misunderstanding and/or disappointment post-hire.

No. 5: Compensation and benefits

Lastly, a strong compensation and benefits package is critical in securing your top pick. For some roles, that will mean an offer heavily weighed on the salary side. For others, it will be uncapped commissions or the opportunity for equity. Make sure the package is competitive with the industry, and will appeal to your ideal candidate and make him/her want to join your team.

Remember to think “outside the box” with extra benefits like flexible work hours, the ability to work remotely, PTO/unlimited sick days or vacation. The cost to implement these perks is low, but they often mean more to the candidate than higher pay.

In today’s employee-driven job market, top candidates are looking for a comprehensive package, growth opportunities, and a welcoming work environment that will provide lasting happiness and satisfaction.

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Hazel Kassu is the managing director of Houston-based recruiting firm, Sudduth Search.

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