What brand owners value and what customers value are not always the same thing

Organisations often overlook the vital importance of building personal relationships and connecting with the individual. A friend of mine recently took his Tesla in for repairs. He has been a very passionate and loyal Tesla advocate for 10 years. He has bought and owned 3 models. In the early days, they bent over backwards to provide great customer service. Now, he was received in a cold, over-lit, unfriendly workshop with barely any human interaction. When he asked if they could just check a couple of extra things over while it was in they refused and told the care had to be booked in seperately for anything else. The bill was high and the service dreadful.

Suddenly, he felt abandoned and abused. He re-told the story to me and I'm re-telling it now.

Brands are built on 2 kinds of customer experiences: Value-creating or value-destroying. My friend's long morning spent at the Tesla garage was a good example of the latter. I can see his brand affinity waning before my eyes.

So, Brand Owners out there: Ask yourself: Where are your emotional connection points that link you to your customer? They are sometimes to be found in unexpected places. These are the telling 'moments of truth' that define peoples' opinions, attachments and future behaviours. They are the source of raw materials on which to base a BRAND PROMISE.

Today's brand challenge: Make 2 lists: Your Value-Creation-Points (VCPs) and your Value Destruction Points (VDPs)? Are your clear and sure of these? Do they readily come to mind?

If you want a deeper understanding of your VCPs and VDPs check out the Brand Compass Guide