Be Careful of Words that Brand You

“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me.”

That may be true, but some words can alter how one person feels about another or how a customer feels about a business.

Take this little romance story:  Once upon a time there was a man and woman of a certain age who shared a deep and abiding friendship over many years.  One weekend the couple got together and spent a lovely time.  In the end the man turned to the woman, sighed and said “This is perfect.”  However, two hours later the man confessed that, perfect though it may be, “he didn’t feel the magic.”

Although the friendship spanned many years, the words branded in the woman’s brain were the disconnect between perfection and a lack of magic.  The man couldn’t help how he felt but the woman couldn’t help that all the words and actions that had gone before were erased by the “lack of magic” branded in her brain. 

Now, this story is one of emotion and you may feel has no baring on business and yet if you believe that a customer/company transaction is without emotion and is limited to dollars and cents – you would be wrong. 

We spend hours, days and even months perfecting our company tagline in hopes that it becomes branded in the minds of our customer.  Yet, it is the words of those most closely connected with our customers that are actually remembered.  And if there is a disconnect between what we stand for and what the customer experiences – the ultimate branding experience won’t have a happy ending.

Are the words branded in the minds of your customers the ones you desire or are they:

• What part of “that’s not our policy” don’t you understand
• The coupon expired yesterday – there’s nothing I can do
• Frankly, your business isn’t that important to me
• That’s not my job
• I don’t care what your story is – we don’t give refunds only store credit
• We don’t have any more, but maybe one of our other stores does – you’ll just have to go and check
• I know it was promised today but that’s just not possible
• That may be how we did it in the past but we don’t do it that way anymore

Relationships with customers are emotional.  They are built on trust and if our words and actions belie that trust, the brand image the customer remembers is one of disappointment, dissatisfaction and even betrayal. 

Do the words your customer hears match your tagline?  What message is branded in the mind of your customers based on their actual experiences?