P
remium brands are, by necessity, built one block at a time, and over an extended period
of time, until they weave themselves into the very fabric of our existence. Yet, as evidenced by
recent events, brands that have been meticulously and expensively built over a considerable period
of time can come crashing back to earth in a veritable blink of an eye. Just look at where Tiger
Woods is today compared with just a few short months ago. And the gold standard for automotive
quality over the past 20 years, Toyota, has seen years of brand building and cultural assimilation
go down the tubes almost overnight.
So what does this mean for the textile industry in general and yarn spinners in particular?
The answer is simple. Take absolutely nothing for granted, and be proactive communicators. In
today’s global marketplace, every activity, every transaction, every shipping error or
manufacturing glitch is visible for the entire world to see.
“Whether you manage a consumer products company, an automotive company or a textile
manufacturing facility, you are going to be facing a new communications reality over the next
few years,” said a Carolinas marketing and communications expert. “Today’s consumer has access to a
lot more information than ever before. Not only that, for the first time in history, consumers are
actually creating their own content on the Internet. Regardless of what you do or how you do it,
people are soon going to be talking about you on the Internet, if they aren’t already.”
She went on: “In years past, if there was a part of your company that someone didn’t like, he
or she might call her friends on the telephone. If he was really unhappy, he might contact the
Better Business Bureau or write a letter to the local newspaper. Today, however, he is likely to
get on Facebook or MySpace and make a post about your company — which can be instantly visible to
any number of people. If he or she is really unhappy, she might make a video and put it on YouTube.
These communications can be visible to the entire world.”
But the same also holds true if your consumer is deliriously happy with you. “If you have
delighted a customer, you might get positive exposure on the Internet,” she said. “But the gist is
this: Regardless of what your company does or how it does it, you’ve lost control of some of your
messaging. Your customers can now be just as vocal in the marketplace as you. Not only that, but
your competitors, your enemies — and anybody else — can also put in their two cents’ worth about
who you are and what you do.”
Be Proactive
So, what is an enterprising executive to do? According our industry observer, the answer is
to communicate more about yourself than others are communicating about you.”Start a blog about what
your company is doing,” she said. “It’s easy, everyone with Internet access can do it, and it
can have amazing results. Just look at the blog that inspired the movie “Julie & Julia.”
Get a Facebook or a MySpace page — for yourself and your company. Acquire friends and post lots of
updates about what you are doing. Put videos on YouTube about your products, people and processes.
In short, just communicate, communicate, communicate.”
So how does that apply for companies that produce what many would consider to be commodity
products? “Everybody has a brand,” she said. “You may sell your product as a generic for a
commodity price, but your brand is still behind that product. Your quality standards are there for
that product. Your delivery capability and reputation are included in that commodity. These are all
things you can communicate. In fact, communicating your standards and ideals in a commoditized
market is the perfect way to create differentiation from your competitors.”
The bottom line, she says, is that companies — yes, even yarn spinners — need to take a
proactive communications role because, in the end, “somebody, somewhere, is going to define your
brand for you. It might as well be you.”
February 16, 2010
