The most important component of long-term sustainable advantage for any firm, regardless of its size, is its ability to attract, retain, inspire, and grow talent. Talent is the sustainable advantage. It is talent and only talent that creates and/or preserves every other form of sustainable advantage, whether it be innovation, new ideas, or superior service.
Brands that lead today do three things exceptionally well. They create an emotional advantage that customers cannot get elsewhere. They establish a distinctive advantage that customers recognize as meaningfully different. They build a connective advantage that keeps the brand relevant over time. These are not communications outcomes. They are strategic decisions.
Bloomberg BusinessWeek’s report on business schools’ ratings has just appeared. As expected, the big, elite business schools are holding the top ranks. Review the list of the top ten business school brands and aside from prestige and location, what is it that relevantly differentiates these business schools? Not every business school, even the top-ranking schools, has relevantly differentiated their brand purpose, brand promise, and brand values. Brands of business schools need proper brand management as...
Hain Celestial Group, the natural foods and organic personal care enterprise, just reported less than stellar results. This is not the first financial quarter that disappointed management, investors and Wall Street. There have been performance issues since 2016. This is a shame.
A brand is a promise of a relevant, differentiated trustworthy experience. Defining a brand means knowing the functional, emotional and social benefits of the promised experience; the values of the customer; the personality of the brand that appeals to those customers and the features that bring the benefits, values and personality to life.
