As seen on TV... Part 5

Not a great advert for Rochdale this week on Mary Queen of Shops. Lots of footage of bleak streets and empty shops. But another interesting lesson about brand, specifically:

Brand positioning and delivering the brand promise.

This week we visited a hair salon in Rochdale - John Peers - that had enjoyed its heyday in the 80's and 90's, but was now in steady decline. At the height of his success John had established his salon and positioned it at the top end of the market, with prices to match. But overtime he had lost his enthusiasm, attention to detail and customer-focus (see last weeks post), and the salon was struggling.

Now, positioning is really important, and tied very closely to your customer focus. Think of Mercedes. Everything about their brand: the product (and its price), their staff, their showrooms and the way they communicate these, reflects luxury. They clearly position themselves as a premium, top-end brand, aimed at a very specific customer. They make a promise to that customer, and they deliver it.

The reason John Peers salon struggled was because he made a promise, but failed to deliver.

The interesting thing was, when Mary went in with her team of experts, she repositioned the salon, and actually moved it down a notch or two. Because that was where she identified there was a market (again, customer focus). And because the positioning was revised, and realistic, the salon was able to deliver on the promise they made to those customers. (If anything, they over delivered - a great way to develop customer loyalty and a high level of word-of-mouth referral).

You don't need to position yourself at the top-end of the market. You just have to be sure that you deliver on the promise you make. So what's your brand promise? And do you deliver?

If you'd like to have a chat about developing your brand promise, email jonathan@alderandalder.co.uk or call 01392 248107.