Whilst most companies recognise that a brand is more than just a logo or slogan, it is not uncommon for some to fail to recognise that a brand is everything that your customers think and feel about you. Something we like to term your touchpoints.
Your touchpoints are every point of contact, both direct and indirect, that your customers have with your brand. The quality of your touchpoints determines the actions your customers take and the perceptions they hold in relation to your brand. A touchpoint can be anything from the product you provide to the way you answer the phone. Establishing where your touchpoints are and what happens at each of those will help you to create a consistent brand experience for your customers.
Defining the touchpoints within your company is simple, it requires you to put yourself in the eyes of your customers and the journey they go through when connecting with your brand. Consider both pre-purchase, purchase and post-purchase as all of these will affect how your brand is perceived.
Following on from this, you need to identify whether you are performing well or not against your ideal performance relative to the individual touchpoint. For example, when answering the phone, is this done in a way you are happy with or can improvements be made? Is the way it’s done conveying your brand? Assess the strengths and weaknesses of each touchpoints.
After this has been done, all the touchpoints need prioritising in terms of importance. You cannot focus on improving every single touch point as the time and resources may not be available and it’s worth noting that all touchpoints were not created equal. Prioritise the ones that will really help to improve your customers experience with your brand. The most important touchpoints will vary within different sectors and companies. The way phone calls are conducted will be a key touchpoint within a call centre but this will be less relevant in a food production company where the product and packaging will be very important.
The final stage in managing your touchpoints is the actual implementation of the high impact touchpoints. Once implemented you can always review and change the way you execute your touchpoint and adjust it to better benefit your brand and the customer experience people receive.
Creating a positive impression and conveying your brand values is the key with any touchpoint. Sometimes an external view is a great way to help you define your touchpoints and the values you are conveying at each point.
Rachel Sutton is a junior account executive at Happy Creative, a full service marketing agency based in Blackpool, Lancashire. To learn more or contact us please go to www.happy-creative.co.uk or follow us @happy_creative.
