Companies build trusted reputations by communicating consistently and doing the right things over and over. Marketing is about matching a product to a customer.
In the brilliant book “Subscribed,” Tien Tzou argues it’s no longer product that drives companies—but the customer. Customers are at the center of the relationship. And this is part of the disruptive shift that is transforming so many industries from an ownership economy to a subscription economy.
The technology always changes. Markets always change. Companies are people serving people. So companies that know the people they serve—and evolve around them—will have a clear advantage.
Data can help reveal the unrecognized human emotions that underlie our decisions. But then you need the right message. One that is well positioned and clear to convince customers you’ll do what you say you’ll do and persuade them to take the next step. The questions customers ask:
- Does the company’s message match what I want? Does it connect to me in an emotional way first, then through logic? Does the company share my values??
- Does their homepage sound confident like a leader? Are there themes about helping the customer grow, solve problems, create impact? Or is it just about selling their stuff?
- Does it communicate in stories and not just facts? Does it use emotion and speak to human motivation? Does it talk to you like a trusted friend?
- Does it communicate with confident messages? Are words simple? Are sentences short and bold? Or is it overloaded with sentences full of endlessly long, comma-dense, gotta-say-everything-because-we-can’t-decide, credibility-killing content that over-explains and begs you to buy? Every time a tech company uses a 35-word sentence to tell you their software is simple, Hemingway turns in his grave.
- And does the visual brand and experience look like it came from a leader? Does the logo look like it came from one of those 10 dollar generic logo sites? And on their customer service page, does that guy in the photo (aka “Smiling Professional Man Wearing Headset #4526”) also work for about 15 other companies? (For reference: https://www.boredpanda.com/emilia-clarke-making-stock-photos/ )
- We may not all be graphic designers, but we’re all visual brand experts by intuition. You know what feels right in an instant.
A good brand sends all the right signals about the company:
- We’re legit and established
- We care about design and detail
- We have a consistent experience across all of our products and every department
- We design our software with the same simplicity, clarity, and intention
- We’re worth the money we’re asking you to spend
- You know this. Would a Michelin star restaurant dress up the place like your average food court Taco Hut?
It’s human nature and evolution. Check out the bias called “costly signaling theory.” It’s why you feel weirdly assured that your real estate agent drives an expensive car, even though you know their wildly excessive commission is paying for it.
Products are made to solve problems. Brands are made to serve people.
And brands should be built to last. Personality-layer elements do need to keep evolving, as all brands must do with time—but at its core, a brand should be built on first principles driven by purpose.
The more the visual and verbal brand is built from the inside out, and the more customers consistently experience it—the more familiar it will feel. Reputation reinforced. Trust won. Churn averted.
Now just do that every day.