Branding - Who Leads and Why Should You Care?

One of the things that stuck most in my mind, from the many presentations at our mega European shared services conference last week, is how important the naming and branding of shared services organisations is. Forecourt retailer Petrogas, for example, has spent a lot of time and money in developing its "Applegreen" brand, the result of an extensive financial transformation driven by shared services. And in a lively debate on stage, a panel of shared services dignitaries considered "What's in a name?" Was the term "shared services" in truth a limitation? Did it imply boundaries where there are none? Did it imply a "two-for-one" type of watered down product? All this made me think that getting the processes right is one thing, but promoting that you've got it right is quite another. Now, this doesn't mean that you all need to go out and hire brand consultants to develop a poster. But it does mean that you should consider how you are perceived by your customers: do they see you as oriented around their needs? Do they see you as slow to respond? Do they see you as proactive? Are you a partner for them? Or are you a place where complaints are filed and disappear? And, importantly: does your website promote a services brand that customers can engage in? However you approach this, the value of who you are, and a visual image of what you represent, will have a strong impact on how your customers choose to interact with you. It's not just for consumer products that brand is all-important: British Petroleum sucessfully branded its "elite customer solutions" group many years ago, and it's always resonated with me. And P&G, where brand is everything, long ago realised that its high profile GBS organisation could get some useful tips on branding from its product marketing group (they actually seconded someone from GBS to their IAMS product marketing division, to make sure they connected all the dots). To encourage you as you move forward in this direction, below is a listing of the 100 most valuable brands this year, compiled by WPP's Brandz. (I came across this coincidentally, when looking up one of our long-time finance shared services contacts who now heads BPO operations for WPP at their swanky Park Avenue office – so you never know where a Google search may take you.) I am also starting a competition to see who's developed a great visual brand for their SSO. Join the fun on LinkedIn – or Email me your SSO home page links and send me your brand logos - I'll choose my favourites and share them in a follow up post. I mentiond BP's elite, so here it is, to kick off. The website lists some of their objectives as: Leadership in a shared services operation, developing a strong people resource base, and delivering value from understanding the customer experience. 2013 BrandZ Top 100 Ranking: Editor's note: We also recently posted an article on BPO branding online, in case you missed it. [inlinead]

Branding - Who Leads and Why Should You Care?

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