THE THUMPF
OF A BMW'S DOOR CLOSING, THE MUTED CLICK OF CALCULATOR BUTTONS, A HUMAN ON THE
PHONE. IT HOOKS YOU IN.
“The devil is in the detail” is a cliché that
happens to be true, but let’s turn it around: The magic is in the detail. What
constitutes quality in a product, besides the raw materials you choose? The
attention paid to detail.
Look at a knock-off
Gucci handbag and consider its original counterpart: The difference, besides
the “leather” chosen, is in the stitching, the inside lining, the zippers, and
so on. In short, quality resides in the hidden details that aren't obvious to
most--until you touch the product and look at it up close. It's craftsmanship
that gives luxury fashion brands longevity and which lets them weather trends.
Brands are no different
from the products and services that they represent. Frantically searching for
the one “Unique Positioning Statement (UPS)” or logo design that is going to
simultaneously sum up precisely what your company stands for and differentiate
it from the rest of the pack is in some ways a meaningless battle. Taglines may
be catchy, but they don't, in the end, make people buy products. What
determines whether a woman buys Chanel No. 5 or Issey Miyake's L'Eau d'Issey
Florale? Not taglines but how either smells on her skin.
What
makes you so special?
What makes your brand
unique and better than the competition is the compounded totality of many
little things. That means you can’t just consider the attention given to
producing an outstanding service or product--you also have to think about how
the sales force and support team treats its customers and how the receptionist answers
the phone.
TAGLINES MAY BE
CATCHY, BUT THEY DON'T MAKE PEOPLE BUY PRODUCTS.
The Jawbone UP24 fitness
tracking device is a good example. After diligently tracking my sleep, workout
regime, and diet, I became properly addicted to the wristband and to its
accompanying iOS app. When the band suddenly stopped working, after three
months, I flew into a minor panic. All my data (and exercise momentum) would be
lost, I worried. But Jawbone turned out to have an excellent support system.
They troubleshot the problem with me seamlessly, on email and over the phone.
They used human beings, not robots. I followed the progress of my issue via a
concise thread on their support ticketing system. After they quickly exhausted
all possible solutions and saw that the device was still malfunctioning, they
shipped me a replacement band immediately. I became loyal to the brand thanks
to the humane and efficient treatment I received. The extra attention taken by
Jawbone to make sure that their staff was professional and courteous--while
making sure that I never got lost in a maze of telephone drones or automated
emails--made a huge difference.
Keep
the details invisible.
It’s the combination of
myriad details that shapes brand image in the minds of customers. These details
may be transmitted subconsciously. Not everyone recognizes that hand stitching
makes a serious difference. Expertly executed details, imperceptible to most,
should create a sense of magic and wonder. Think of an up-market German car,
such as an Audi, BMW or Mercedes. When you are at the BMW showroom and you step
into, say, a 5 Series model, the satisfyingly clean thumpf sound that the door makes as you shut it
signifies quality. There’s no rattling, no sound of sheet metal being slammed,
just that confidence-inspiring, compact sound. It’s the sound of outside noise
and discomfort being sealed off while you enter a safe, comfortable place.
Behind the steering wheel are carefully wrought details, too: the smell, the
way the seat feels, the feel of your hands on the steering wheel, the way the
dashboard buttons have a certain resistance, and so on.
For those who remember,
think about the perfect resistance and muted click of the Hewlett-Packard
scientific calculator buttons, compared to their competitors Casio and Texas
Instruments. The latter two companies clearly hadn’t spent a lot of energy
thinking about what it would feel like to press down the keys. And it made a
difference.
Advertising and branding
should be thought of in the same way. Yes, the big idea is important, but
success hinges on its execution, consistency, and attention to each and every
word. Do define the brand with succinct messaging, but also trust that
consumers will recognize the collective positive attributes of the brand rather
than just its tagline. Make sure your communications are well crafted and
recognizable. All touch points need to be carefully considered, down to every
HTML email campaign.
Apple and Crate &
Barrel stand out as excellent examples of how to design the perfect email.
Google’s emails, on the other hand, lack consistency and seem rather
haphazardly generated. Emails from Apple and Crate & Barrel are
advantageously laid out, with beautiful imagery that's logically arranged and
information that's easy to digest (if not concise). They're not afraid to make
us scroll; they don't cram content above the fold.
All these details, you
may think, aren't invisible at all. What's really invisible is the brand's
aptitude to carefully organize every detail, whether we see it or not. It all
adds up, and that's a lot.