Operations and marketing are both key components of a company, however, often times these arms of a business function in silos. To discuss why a company’s brand is the responsibility of marketing and operations, strategic communications consultant, June Ip, joined iF on June 23rd to lead a Lunch ‘n Learn session on “What no one told you about operations strategy and your brand”.
June began the session by discussing the brands we are loyal to and why. She pointed to Amazon as having a loyal following because of customer-centric returns and excellent shipping, Costco for quality and price, Coca Cola for a superior tasting product, Android for endless customization, and Newman’s Own for great product and a charitable focus.
Though the brands highlighted are all very different with varying reasons for brand loyalty, June noted that they are successful for one very important reason: because their customer expectations align with their customer experience.
June pointed out that in her practice as a consultant, she’s often found that marketing teams disengage once the expectations are set for customers. They work hard to make their target audience aware, engaged, informed, and converted to their product/service, but then the experience piece is left up to Operations to execute on. June argues that this is not the best way to do things.
Why? June pointed to the two key points in the map of a customer’s journey, where they make the decision to buy into your brand or walk away. This happens first when they are being informed about a brand, and a second time when they actually experience the company’s product/service.
This is why June argues that brand should be treated as a policy that arches over both marketing and operations, to ensure the core mandates and essence of the brand is promised and delivered. You can view June’s full slide deck here and photos from the event here.
At each month’s Lunch ‘n Learn we also feature an interesting iF client to share a 5-minute highlight of their business. This month’s Factory 5 was Charles Burke of Start The Cycle, a non-profit bike share program partnering with libraries so everyone can access a bike like they would access a book.
Thanks to both June and Charles for sharing your stories with us!
Our Lunch ‘n Learn events are a great way to get out and network while enjoying a free lunch and learning something new! Make sure to keep checking our event calendar for upcoming Lunch ‘n Learns and other events in the ecosystem.
