A Brand That Works

Hard work? Yes. The payoff however can be counted in high customer satisfaction, sales, and revenue. For example, before launching an online store, Williams-Sonoma wanted to ensure that the customer’s online experience was consistent with the catalog and retail brand experience it had carefully crafted. The company defined new business processes so that every functional area supported the new channel. This meant working with merchandising, inventory management, call center, distribution center, database marketing, and financial reporting areas to make sure that the mail order systems, retail systems, and web site worked together. Distribution center and retail employees were trained to ensure that customers had virtually the same experience with the Williams-Sonoma site as they did in a physical store. The firm exceeded its revenue goals and has been able to significantly grow its business in this specific channel.

A brand-customer relationship is the bedrock on which great companies rise, or mismanaged, it’s the chalk on which mediocre companies fail. Great brands that aspire to perfect touch points create the coherent experience to which customers respond. If you fail, you’d better watch your back.