Copyright Fast Company
Often, when I hear people talk about “branding” a company, it reminds me of how people talk about clothing: An exterior layer, with colors and messages that say something about what’s inside. As a CEO, first at E*TRADE and now with the financial technology firm Vestmark, I recognize the importance of a brand’s outward-facing parts. But I also believe a brand is much more than just a logo and a tagline. It’s not a new idea that brands are more than skin deep. Any branding expert says brand-building starts with identifying what’s true about a business and finding ways to express that externally. I don’t claim to be a branding expert, but as a CEO, I have a vested interest in what a brand says and how it comes to life. This topic has been on my mind, especially recently, as Vestmark has been engaged in working on our brand expression. Some changes—like our newly-redesigned website—are very visible. Yet I care equally about the intangible or less-obvious brand-building happening at every level of the business. Subscribe to the Daily newsletter.Fast Company's trending stories delivered to you every day Privacy Policy | Fast Company Newsletters The brand starts with people and products Vestmark is very much a business-to-business brand: Wealth-management firms and other financial firms use our trading and rebalancing platform and investment services to manage transactions and client accounts. The most important aspects of our brand are product and service functionality, and our customer base’s happiness. In that sense, every person whose work impacts our customers—product development, sales, customer service, and everyone else—is a brand builder. We sell something bought by relatively few customers. Those customers rarely revisit or change their purchase decision. Choosing us as their partner is a pure business decision, and if we don’t add value, we’ll be out. Nothing our branding does matters as much as how well we serve our customers. That includes being able to listen to customers, accept constructive criticism, and even change how we do our business—improving a process or product, for example—based on that feedback loop. So why invest in branding? So, why should Vestmark invest in branding’s external elements? For that matter, why should anyone? Shouldn’t the product or service speak for itself? Strong, consistent branding reflects the organization’s internal values and culture. In recent years, Vestmark has invested more in new product innovation, adapted its business to serve new markets, and become more responsive to market trends. Yet our external branding has been largely unchanged. More dynamic elements in how we look and talk can signal that something new is happening. These impressions matter, especially when pursuing new customers. Today’s sales cycles might involve dozens of touchpoints, from a social media post passing through a prospect’s feed to a bigger sales presentation. As much as possible, a strong, consistent brand with a clear message helps a prospect connect these touchpoints in customers’ minds and build a fuller picture of what we promise. For existing customers, this opportunity allows us to strengthen and connect the work we do. advertisement When a product is tightly enmeshed in a customer’s operations, it may be easy to overlook. If we incorporate our brand whenever we serve our customers—whether an employee’s voice or our name in a communication—it buys us some space in their minds to note all we do for them. A brand’s message reverberates The message carried by external branding needs to be consistent throughout the organization, extending far beyond the marketing arm. Done right, it’s a self-reinforcing cycle: We create brand elements based on who we are, then use those elements to inform how we do our business. Less-obvious aspects of brand building include executive visibility and the presentation of the salespeople and customer service representatives. In the case of Vestmark, we highlight our company’s diverse expertise, which positions us to solve new challenges not previously part of our purview. Our leaders actively engaged with media and influencers demonstrate that value. Similarly, we want customers to understand how our product suite can be adapted to their firms’ needs. We invest in new sales materials, messaging, and sales techniques that adapt to the opportunity. Internal alignment on the company’s vision and brand requires leadership commitment and consistent messaging across all levels. Constant effort and external perspectives help break out of the internal “echo chamber” prevalent in many organizations, and carefully reinforce the company’s identity at every touchpoint. Brands are living things. They require care, nurturing, and feedback to grow and thrive, which isn’t simple and doesn’t happen overnight. But with a strong perspective, solid execution, and consistency, a brand contributes significantly to business success. Karl Roessner is the CEO of Vestmark.
