Branding for business.

• Author: Holtzman, Henry
• Position: Required Reading

"Managing the Customer Experience: Turning Customers Into Advocates" Shawn Smith and Joe Wheeler Prentice Hall/Financial Times London, England 2002, 254 pages, $24.00

Every now and then a business book comes along that puts an often misunderstood subject into clear perspective. It's even more surprising when the book is a text for marketing students by marketing practitioners, not academics. Shaun Smith and Joe Wheeler are beginning to earn the reputation of marketing gurus, especially in the field of "branding."

About 15 years ago marketers were able to measure a qualitative shift in the concept of branding. As the authors explain:

"If we go back to the beginning of the 20th century, brands were simply a means of identifying goods. Our need for safety and security created brands that, over time, became proxies for quality and dependability. ...We were at the basic level of seeking security.

"Brands reassured. They were warm, domestic, comforters. Kellogg's became synonymous with health breakfasts, Gillette with safety razors, and so on. Then, as consumers became more affluent and motivated by ego needs, brands became more aspirational and visible signs of success. We wore them like badges. ...For many consumers in the 1990s, driving a BMW was as much about who they were as was wearing Armani jeans or Nike cross-trainers."

The authors point out that in today's world both consumers and commercial buyers are looking for service experiences that complement their view of themselves. In the case of consumers, that view is reflected by lifestyles. Among corporate buyers it's their perception of the corporate culture.

Strictly speaking, a brand is a trademark, a logo that clearly identifies one set of goods and separates one supplier from another. Smith and Wheeler highlight the evolution of this basic concept, noting:

"...We know that brands are so much more than that. A brand represents a pact between supplier and customer. The brand owner promises to deliver a particular experience and the purchaser promises his business in return. Like all pacts, its strength depends on the brand owner's ability to deliver and to ensure constantly that...