Being brave is a risk, we all know that. We’re not talking about a controversial press advert or a raunchy tv commercial. We’re talking about brand. How can a brand be brave, so much so, that it starts to win you business?
We recently worked with one of our clients, SFS, on a brand project (you could call them a start up in a very crowded market). The team knew that from experience, in this sector, being or sounding the same as everyone else would not create the cut-through that this ‘new kid on the block’ wanted to achieve.
The leadership team used all their experience to help brief the curators at YST on what they wanted. They then stood back and allowed us to take on the start of the brand journey. Our workshops and brand days helped carve the name, proposition, values and the all-important story. Part of that story was to tell customers not just what we do, but how we go about doing it. This was the beginning of a shift in culture at SFS.
‘Not just what we do’ but ‘how we do it’ was like hearing the business talk with a sense of vulnerability, honesty and emotion.
We all know the phrase of ‘you can walk the walk but can you talk the talk?’ There’s no benefit of saying how you do something, if you cannot deliver what you’ve promised. By turning the selling proposition around and letting customers into the heart of the business, this created that cut through. Something that wouldn’t have been possible, without being brave.
In a sector where everyone makes and installs the same solutions, it’s easy to go unseen and frustratingly miss out on new business.
We crafted a number of items, of which one is a main stay of the communication world of tools. The printed and digital brochure.
This tool has been around for decades and still cuts its teeth in the boardroom when decision makers are looking at who to work with. We understand that it has its time and place and that a brochure now has to work so much harder. But how much harder can a printed brochure work?
This created a challenge. But that’s what we love!
We created a unique piece of communication, that has seen SFS win business off the back of this tool alone.
Titled “What gets you out of bed in the morning” is a frank and open document on how the teams at SFS deliver the services they offer. You could argue this is just another way of saying “about us”, but it goes deeper than that.
This document outlines their culture, their ethos. There is no hiding place here. Get it wrong and it ruins reputations. Get it right and deliver everything you’ve set out to do, then the rewards will follow. And they are. This document doesn’t hold back the punches and in places has really made people stop, think and question how they can transfer this culture, to their own teams.
Commercial Director David Fitzpatrick has recently presented and won business with this document alone. Customers have commented on how refreshing it is, to hear from the heart of a business and what defines them as an organisation. Not just words, but in print. Now that’s brave and especially in construction.
A cleverly thought out tool that has opened doors, started conversations and generated business.
Not because of an advert that caused controversy, but because as a brand, they were brave. Taking that step back and looking in on themselves, SFS were never going to be defined by what products they offer. What’s defining them today is what will continue to define them in years to come. Honesty and an inner belief that if we all do it right and are proud to tell our customers how we do it, then the rewards will come.
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