What are the problems to solve?

Problems abound. In fact, there are more problems surfacing than ready solutions. Solutions take time and effort. Creative solutions need dedication, design thinking and a strong purpose. More importantly, we also need to prioritise problems when the floodgates open periodically. Bjorn Lomborg gave his views on that in TED.

Ever once in a while, we identify problems that exists and turn them into a project. It could be a thesis you are writing, rebranding excercise or even a movement you want to start. You have teams or tribes who are interested to get their hands dirty. The result could be quite amazing. Solutions to solve cataract removal in India where cost of surgery can be reduced 100 times. Or Danielle Zurovcik, a doctoral student at MIT who invented a cheap hand-powered suction-healing system for use in developing countries. It uses negative suction to promote healing. You can read more about this amazing device that cost US$3 to manufacture which can potentially impact 50-60 million people in the developing world that suffer from acute or chronic wounds. This device is slated for testing in Haiti.

Think about your community or tribes today. What are the issues and problems do you think they are facing? How are you making change today?

Heres one. How many above 60 are living around you today. Have we spent enough time knowing them? Start with those around us first. If you are interested to engage them and want to know how to do it. Drop me a message.

Please leave your comments, if any. Picture taken from MIT news.

Higher Grounds

There are higher education, higher thinking and higher grounds. Higher can mean more advance, more technical, more difficult and maybe even more irrelevant. However, one of the way to improve ourselves or a brand is to go higher. How high? High enough for us to guage what is coming next and strategize ahead. Knowing how the market might move and how consumers might react to it.

Why brands or businesses hire external consultants is to advise them why and how they should make that move. Consultants cannot tell the future nor have a crystal ball in their suitcase. Consultants are here to elevate you, gain higher ground of added advantage, create value and not make empty promises. End of the day, higher grounds can only be attained if foundations are firm. Foundations such as leadership, foresight and a solid dedicated team that rallies behind a common purpose. Take neccessary risks and learn from failures.

Here is Girl Effect, your chance to be at higher ground and be more than ourselves.

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Resolve and Absolve

Monday morning, I am at one of the major telco retailer to buy an iPhone. I wanted to change my current phone plan to join the iPhone tribe. I was told I could not do so as my current phone had contact with moisture as so says the red sticker at the back of my E71. I decided to live with my Nokia which had no major issues with my current needs. It still works fine. I left the shop empty as the customer service representative did not offer me any alternatives.

Reflecting back, I am disappointed. Seeing from both a business and consumer point of view. Why?

Through the eyes of a customer, there is no effort on the customer service representative to resolve my current need: Getting an iPhone and getting more business from me. Instead, they choose to tell me I have hit a dead end. I could not trade in and she did not tell me how much I need to top up to get what I want. I have to do the math myself?

As a consultant, I would have used the Resolve and Absolve model to empower each customer facing representative. Resolve the problem of the customer need as the top priority. If that is not met, little else really matters. Find out what is the tipping point (cost-benefit of not having the phone) and create value (opportunity cost of not having the phone).

Finally, absolve the customer need of not having the desired phone by showing alternatives. Ask: What could we do to make sure this customer walk out of the door buying something? Absolve the customer guilt of not getting the phone he wants. Probably it is a lot to ask for a young lady who just filling in during the holidays but generic good service is necessary not a luxury. So is a Green branded customer service that sets them apart from the Red and Orange telco brands.

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A logo that tells you more

A logo or Brand Mark design is one of the most visible visual identity a brand can have. Sadly, many companies CEO or brand owners consider this to be their only 'branding'. Little or no efforts to build a brand strategy or allowing the brand to grow internally/externally effectively.

The logo or Brand Mark does communicate stories or design cues to its audience. Hence, it is one of the first and important visuals a brand can have. Brand marks can be simply the spelling or word that consitute the brand like Google or Facebook.

Have your stories told...
One of the most interesting Brand Mark stories is Starbuck. How Starbucks is named after a character from the novel Moby Dick and the twin tail siren design is derived from a 17th century Norse Woodcut. If a brand has a story, why not tell it? Have storytellers within the tribe to romance about how the Brand Mark and name came about.

Subconscious mind play a role too
Our subconscious mind plays an important role when we look at Brand Marks. Depending on our individual experiences, culture and beliefs, Brand Marks communicate subconsciously to us. One of the forefront thinkers of subconscious research is Dr Zaltman who pioneered an elicitation technique to understand and decipher how our subconsicous thoughts are affecting our everyday decisions. It has been proven that 90% of our decisions are made sub consciously or without actively thinking about it. Hence, the choice of design cues are affecting our views of the Brand Mark beyond superficiously.

Design houses and brand agencies are offering brand design as part of the total consultancy package to clients. What they often fail to offer is the deciphering of meanings behind these logo beyond the surface. These are again cues which are controlled by culture, beliefs and values which their customers are residing. Sensitivity to such issues will allow the brand to grow, penetrate the minds of consumers today.

This is one of the original logo of Starbucks. Source Wikipedia.

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Brand Empowerment

To empower means to develop confidence in own capacity. This is powerful and liberating at the same time. A greater sense of drive, direction and purpose to achieve. To be Brand Empowered, the brand and its people behind it takes on a strong sense of purpose to deliver its promise to deliver a compelling brand experience. It is a catalyst of brand velocity and growth.

Today, branding activities actualize from the top but brand experience hardly filters down entirely to the entire body within the organization. A brand strategy takes care of the road map and action plan to make this happen. However, without the key ingredient of brand empowerment, the brand experience can waiver and become inconsistent by the time it reaches its customers.

Brand Empowerment should work on all levels. In a SME, it can be the boss who passes down a certain set of instructions to the staff. How to service clients and sell the brand. However, Brand Empowerment is more than that set of instructions. Here are the key aspects of Brand Empowerment.

Who owns the brand? Everyone does!
Everyone in a organization should be empowered to have brand ownership. This means all the staff are able to deliver the brand promise and effectively trained to do so. Think of them as different parts of a body (the brand) to move the body forward. 

Advertising and Brand Delivery, do they align?
What do you communicate and what do you deliver? Is there a gap? Are the customers trying to tell you something? Do you even ask through a simple survey. Customers evolve, why should a brand keep still? Ultimately, if your customers are empowered by your brand, you attained a whole new level of growth. Social media takes brand empowerment to a whole new level. Brand spreads if customers are empowered to do so. Consider a brand platform as a starting point.

Customer Service, a powerful competitive advantage.
In my previous post, I talked about Branded Customer Service. In its essence, it is taking the brand promise and delivering to its customers in an unique, branded way. This can be achieved only if staff are brand empowered in the first place. This transfer can be done through proper brand training at the service front.

Brand Cues
Are there enough cues or touch points which your staff are able to communicate to customers? Do you give enough customers to talk, gossip and spread around? Too often, great brands are let down by lack of the 'long tail'. The tail that allows you to curl up the customers and let them have a reason to come back again. Look at your brand cues, what are those left to marketing which you can refresh, rejuvenate and reengage.

I will leave you with this.

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Branded Customer Service

A lot of brands are frustrated. They spent huge amount of money on advertising, branding and design, yet the brand promise fails to get across to their customers. A brand that claims "Our customers are number one" fails to train their staff to deliver this. Great products, great services but lousy customer service. Brands suffer erosion rather than positive gain.When a brand's communication and delivery do not gel, the brand fails ultimately. Brand value drops.

Once in a while, we hear good news about how customer service can lift a brand to new heights. Much more effective than the millions spent on advertising and branding activities. Nick's Pizza & Pub, Zappos, Ritz Carlton and Singapore Airlines. Zappos is worth US$1billion dollars when Amazon acquired it. Zappos spent $0 in mass media advertising before the takeover. That is a billion dollar worth of tangible brand value from delivering good customer service. I find it hard to argue that great customer service is indeed a key competitive advantage for brands, especially for those in Asia where customer service has a huge gap to fill.

Some CEOs realize this but ground issues are especially sticky to handle, they are helpless. The reach and management chain works against them. Meetings and boardroom strategies take priority. It is a slippery slope.

Branded Customer Service takes a new approach at helping brands achieve its promise and potential. Here is the alternative approach. Branding and branded customer service are taught to service staff, not just to senior-middle management. Having a branded customer service training that inculcates brand values and its essence to service staff. How to effectively translate, impart and deliver the brand promise to its customer through great customer service. This is beyond the courtesy greet or 'get-your-shoes-in-2-minutes' prompt service. It is taking the brand essence and effectively imbue it. Getting your merchandise into the hands of your customers in an unique and branded way. Challenging but the results are nothing short of remarkable.
 
To learn more about Training for Branded Customer Service, write to training@ingens.sg for more details. Find out how you can do it the branded way.

Please leave your comments, if any. Image taken from Zappos.

The design of endurance races

In the second post of Design Strategy, I would like to touch on the design of experiences. Experiences which leaves a lingering and impactful memory on consumers who got in touch with the brand. The design of such an experience takes a lot of planning, brainstorming and proper execution. A well thought out design from start till end.

Events which I can personally relate to are endurance races like biathlons. Having completed a few over the past few years, I have my personal hits and misses.

For the 10th year running, the Singapore Biathlon is the longest running biathlon and the largest in Southeast Asia. I had the chance to relish this race experience on the 13th March 2010. There are high expectations on the race organiser to maintain interest amongst existing endurance tribes and new ones.

 There are different areas of experience which can be streamlined to.

1) Design Themes for Comunication: The entire experience revolves around safety, sense of achievement and scale. These are the themes to reinforce its brand promise as the biggest biathlon in the region.

2) Design for Engagement: It is a qualification race. First timers have to qualify by swimming 50m in a swimming ppol for 1.5km under a certain timing. Lapsed participants have to go through this process if they did not race for two consecutive years.

3) Design for Emotional Branding: Medal and Finisher T-shirt. These are the main items for rewarding the well deserved biathletes whom finished the course. These items are badging products which form part of the loyalty towards the race or brand.

Please leave your comments, if any. Picture taken from SAFRA website.