The experience gap<\/span><\/h1>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”2919″ img_size=”full” qode_css_animation=”” css=”.vc_custom_1652827639776{margin-bottom: 65px !important;}”][vc_column_text]Brand value is game-changing. It is by far one of the most important things a company can build. It\u2019s a core part of the CMO\u2019s mission. And when done correctly, brands reap the benefits of being top-of-mind when it comes to consumer awareness, including the ability to sell more products and services at a premium. Valued brands have a clear competitive advantage while building a deep moat<\/a>. Lastly, the most iconic brands with the highest brand value also benefit from a deep pool of talent because people want to work for iconic names.<\/p>\nBrand Finance has released their global ranking based on brand value for 2022:<\/a> the top 10 brands are Apple, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Walmart, Samsung Group, Facebook, ICBC, Huawei, and Verizon.<\/p>\nThese brands are admired by competitors and consumers globally. The level of consumer awareness around each of these brands is high, and the average consumer engages with at least three to four of these brands\u2019 products, services, and\/or software on a daily basis. Each of these brands continues to advance their staying power despite macro-economic pressures. [\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css_animation=”” row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”grid” angled_section=”no” text_align=”left” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern” z_index=”” css=”.vc_custom_1647887020635{padding-right: 15% !important;padding-left: 15% !important;}”][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1652738282632{margin-top: 50px !important;margin-bottom: 50px !important;}”]<\/p>\n
What is brand value?<\/span><\/h3>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Brand value goes beyond a company\u2019s logo and color scheme. Your company\u2019s brand is the soul of the organization. It defines your mission, values, and purpose. It\u2019s how your customers and employees connect on a deeper level, well beyond a product or service. A brand is hard to create, harder to deliver on, and the staying power of your organization depends on it.<\/p>\n
I have been fortunate enough to work with more than 200 brands across the world, all of which have made Brand Finance\u2019s list in 2022. As a matter of fact, most of these brands have been on the list for more than five consecutive years. I firmly believe that what all of these brands have in common is a thorough understanding of \u201cThe Experience Gap.\u201d<\/p>\n
[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”2271″ img_size=”large” qode_css_animation=”” css=”.vc_custom_1645112020855{padding-top: 25px !important;padding-bottom: 25px !important;}”][vc_column_text]Brand Promise<\/strong> sets the expectations for your customers and employees. This is the story or narrative your brand wants customers and employees to experience. It\u2019s the promise that, when delivered, creates the emotional connection \u2013 trust, love, and loyalty \u2013 all brands aspire to have with their customers and employees.<\/p>\nBrand Experience<\/strong> is the sum of the interactions your customers and employees actually have with your brand. These interactions are the moments of truth for your brand: it is within these moments that stories \u2013 both positive and negative \u2013 are created and shared by customers and employees.<\/p>\nThe Experience Gap<\/strong> is an accumulation of millions, if not billions, of stories told by a brand\u2019s customer and employee base every day.<\/p>\nThese stories can have positive sentiments that express love and loyalty, derived from employees connecting with customers: \u201cJohnnie was so attentive to our needs.\u201d \u201cSusie empowered me with style recommendations, and I feel more confident and beautiful when I go to work.\u201d These stories create trust, which facilitates love for the brand and a strong emotional connection that strengthens loyalty.<\/p>\n
On the flip side, these stories can have negative sentiments attached: \u201cI can never find my size when I visit the store, and it\u2019s always hard to get help.\u201d \u201cThe website is hard to navigate, and I can never find what I am looking for.\u201d These stories erode customer trust. They create negative brand equity as customers continue to repeat these stories whenever a brand is mentioned by a friend, family member, or colleague.<\/p>\n
Although brands want to control the narrative, it is very evident they are not in control. Customers and employees control the stories surrounding a brand. The ease of creating a video and posting it on social media or writing a poor Google Review has placed control in customers\u2019 and employees\u2019 hands.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1652738305970{margin-top: 50px !important;margin-bottom: 50px !important;}”]<\/p>\n
How can a brand ensure the story they want to be told is told?<\/span><\/h3>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]1) Acknowledge your brand is not in control:<\/strong> No matter how much money a brand invests in controlling the narrative, it will never be in control of customer and employee stories. And that\u2019s a good thing.<\/p>\n2) Build experience systems:<\/strong> The CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) and CXO (Chief Experience Officer) should be joined at the hip. The CMO defines the brand promise and tells the story of what customers can expect from the company. The CXO measures the brand experience. Together, they form a team to connect the dots and influence internal stakeholders to take action when the brand promise is not fulfilled. Experience systems enable brands to connect with the customer, resolve the issue, and tell a new story. These systems empower internal teams to take action in order to improve on how the brand delivers on its promise. This could be through coaching and upskilling frontline retail employees, optimizing the website for a more seamless online shopping experience, or changing an outdated return policy.<\/p>\n3) Focus on connection:<\/strong> Stories are told on various channels. Empower your customers by giving them a voice, but most importantly, connect with your customers. Understand their experience. Listen to them to ensure you not only understand the experience, but also how it made them feel. Loyalty is rooted in connection.<\/p>\n4) Own the story:<\/strong> Brands always want to amplify the positive, heart-warming stories customers and employees share on social media. They re-share and utilize these stories in campaigns. However, all too often, brands fail to own negative stories. They blame the experience on macro-economic pressures like the supply chain instead of finding solutions for their customers. Owning the negative stories empowers your organization to change the narrative by delivering great experiences.<\/p>\nTake Domino\u2019s Pizza for example. It\u2019s an oldie but a goodie: in 2009, the international chain launched a massive marketing campaign<\/a> that celebrated customer complaints as a lever for improvement. In \u201cThe Domino\u2019s Pizza Turnaround,\u201d a micro-documentary associated with the campaign, the opening scene is a montage of terrible feedback about their pizza. The rest of the doc is just as self-deprecating. The message: not only do we hear you and acknowledge your dissatisfaction, but we are also aware enough to laugh at ourselves along the path to improvement. Public reception for the #newpizza campaign was phenomenal, and Domino\u2019s was able to save their ship from sinking.<\/p>\nEvery action (or inaction) your brand takes to close The Experience Gap by improving the experience for customers and employees is a way for your brand to live up to its promise. The Experience Gap is where a brand\u2019s equity can be realized. It\u2019s where connections with customers are made at a deep and foundational level \u2013 the soul. The Gap is where brand loyalty and all subsequent business successes (wallet share, customer lifetime value, etc.) are truly realized.<\/p>\n
Closing The Experience Gap is how brands ensure the story that is being told about them is positive. Storytelling is the greatest factor in customer loyalty and business, yet too many executives don\u2019t understand how to measure the impact of positive and negative stories. The consequence of not delivering on your brand\u2019s promise and not taking action to close The Experience Gap is that your brand loses its soul.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1645111712099{padding-top: 50px !important;}”]Chat with Zack! text XM<\/strong> to 20404<\/strong> and share your biggest take-away from this blog.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1644352612613{padding-top: 50px !important;}”]Want to Chat some more? Click Here<\/a> to schedule a 30-minute session with Zack.[\/vc_column_text][vc_separator type=”normal” up=”90″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css_animation=”” row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”grid” angled_section=”no” text_align=”left” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern” z_index=”” css=”.vc_custom_1652738512381{margin-top: 20px !important;margin-bottom: 50px !important;padding-right: 15% !important;padding-left: 15% !important;}”][vc_column width=”1\/6″ el_class=”blog_footer_picture”][vc_single_image image=”2773″ img_size=”full” onclick=”custom_link” img_link_target=”_blank” qode_css_animation=”” link=”https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/zackhamilton\/” el_class=”social-linkedin”][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”2\/3″ css=”.vc_custom_1643228569434{margin-top: 50px !important;}”][vc_column_text]<\/p>\nConnect with Zack for a chat<\/h5>\n
Zack Hamilton
\nSenior Vice President, Chief Experience & Strategy[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.chatterresearch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/blog_twitter_1x.webp\" "\\"\\"")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.chatterresearch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/blog_linkedin_1x.webp\" "\\"\\"")
[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css_animation=”” row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” angled_section=”no” text_align=”left” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern”][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n
[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
[vc_row css_animation=”” row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”grid” angled_section=”no” text_align=”left” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern” z_index=”” css=”.vc_custom_1652993414552{margin-top: 100px !important;padding-right: 15% !important;padding-left: 15% !important;}”][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1659040284201{margin-bottom: 15px !important;padding-bottom: 20px !important;}”] BLOG The experience gap [\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”2919″ img_size=”full” qode_css_animation=”” css=”.vc_custom_1652827639776{margin-bottom: 65px !important;}”][vc_column_text]Brand value is game-changing. It is by far one of the most important things…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":2919,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2273","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chatterresearch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2273","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chatterresearch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chatterresearch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chatterresearch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chatterresearch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2273"}],"version-history":[{"count":30,"href":"https:\/\/www.chatterresearch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2273\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4072,"href":"https:\/\/www.chatterresearch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2273\/revisions\/4072"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chatterresearch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2919"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chatterresearch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2273"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chatterresearch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2273"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chatterresearch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2273"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Brand Finance has released their global ranking based on brand value for 2022:<\/a> the top 10 brands are Apple, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Walmart, Samsung Group, Facebook, ICBC, Huawei, and Verizon.<\/p>\n These brands are admired by competitors and consumers globally. The level of consumer awareness around each of these brands is high, and the average consumer engages with at least three to four of these brands\u2019 products, services, and\/or software on a daily basis. Each of these brands continues to advance their staying power despite macro-economic pressures. [\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css_animation=”” row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”grid” angled_section=”no” text_align=”left” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern” z_index=”” css=”.vc_custom_1647887020635{padding-right: 15% !important;padding-left: 15% !important;}”][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1652738282632{margin-top: 50px !important;margin-bottom: 50px !important;}”]<\/p>\n [\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Brand value goes beyond a company\u2019s logo and color scheme. Your company\u2019s brand is the soul of the organization. It defines your mission, values, and purpose. It\u2019s how your customers and employees connect on a deeper level, well beyond a product or service. A brand is hard to create, harder to deliver on, and the staying power of your organization depends on it.<\/p>\n I have been fortunate enough to work with more than 200 brands across the world, all of which have made Brand Finance\u2019s list in 2022. As a matter of fact, most of these brands have been on the list for more than five consecutive years. I firmly believe that what all of these brands have in common is a thorough understanding of \u201cThe Experience Gap.\u201d<\/p>\n [\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”2271″ img_size=”large” qode_css_animation=”” css=”.vc_custom_1645112020855{padding-top: 25px !important;padding-bottom: 25px !important;}”][vc_column_text]Brand Promise<\/strong> sets the expectations for your customers and employees. This is the story or narrative your brand wants customers and employees to experience. It\u2019s the promise that, when delivered, creates the emotional connection \u2013 trust, love, and loyalty \u2013 all brands aspire to have with their customers and employees.<\/p>\n Brand Experience<\/strong> is the sum of the interactions your customers and employees actually have with your brand. These interactions are the moments of truth for your brand: it is within these moments that stories \u2013 both positive and negative \u2013 are created and shared by customers and employees.<\/p>\n The Experience Gap<\/strong> is an accumulation of millions, if not billions, of stories told by a brand\u2019s customer and employee base every day.<\/p>\n These stories can have positive sentiments that express love and loyalty, derived from employees connecting with customers: \u201cJohnnie was so attentive to our needs.\u201d \u201cSusie empowered me with style recommendations, and I feel more confident and beautiful when I go to work.\u201d These stories create trust, which facilitates love for the brand and a strong emotional connection that strengthens loyalty.<\/p>\n On the flip side, these stories can have negative sentiments attached: \u201cI can never find my size when I visit the store, and it\u2019s always hard to get help.\u201d \u201cThe website is hard to navigate, and I can never find what I am looking for.\u201d These stories erode customer trust. They create negative brand equity as customers continue to repeat these stories whenever a brand is mentioned by a friend, family member, or colleague.<\/p>\n Although brands want to control the narrative, it is very evident they are not in control. Customers and employees control the stories surrounding a brand. The ease of creating a video and posting it on social media or writing a poor Google Review has placed control in customers\u2019 and employees\u2019 hands.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1652738305970{margin-top: 50px !important;margin-bottom: 50px !important;}”]<\/p>\n [\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]1) Acknowledge your brand is not in control:<\/strong> No matter how much money a brand invests in controlling the narrative, it will never be in control of customer and employee stories. And that\u2019s a good thing.<\/p>\n 2) Build experience systems:<\/strong> The CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) and CXO (Chief Experience Officer) should be joined at the hip. The CMO defines the brand promise and tells the story of what customers can expect from the company. The CXO measures the brand experience. Together, they form a team to connect the dots and influence internal stakeholders to take action when the brand promise is not fulfilled. Experience systems enable brands to connect with the customer, resolve the issue, and tell a new story. These systems empower internal teams to take action in order to improve on how the brand delivers on its promise. This could be through coaching and upskilling frontline retail employees, optimizing the website for a more seamless online shopping experience, or changing an outdated return policy.<\/p>\n 3) Focus on connection:<\/strong> Stories are told on various channels. Empower your customers by giving them a voice, but most importantly, connect with your customers. Understand their experience. Listen to them to ensure you not only understand the experience, but also how it made them feel. Loyalty is rooted in connection.<\/p>\n 4) Own the story:<\/strong> Brands always want to amplify the positive, heart-warming stories customers and employees share on social media. They re-share and utilize these stories in campaigns. However, all too often, brands fail to own negative stories. They blame the experience on macro-economic pressures like the supply chain instead of finding solutions for their customers. Owning the negative stories empowers your organization to change the narrative by delivering great experiences.<\/p>\n Take Domino\u2019s Pizza for example. It\u2019s an oldie but a goodie: in 2009, the international chain launched a massive marketing campaign<\/a> that celebrated customer complaints as a lever for improvement. In \u201cThe Domino\u2019s Pizza Turnaround,\u201d a micro-documentary associated with the campaign, the opening scene is a montage of terrible feedback about their pizza. The rest of the doc is just as self-deprecating. The message: not only do we hear you and acknowledge your dissatisfaction, but we are also aware enough to laugh at ourselves along the path to improvement. Public reception for the #newpizza campaign was phenomenal, and Domino\u2019s was able to save their ship from sinking.<\/p>\n Every action (or inaction) your brand takes to close The Experience Gap by improving the experience for customers and employees is a way for your brand to live up to its promise. The Experience Gap is where a brand\u2019s equity can be realized. It\u2019s where connections with customers are made at a deep and foundational level \u2013 the soul. The Gap is where brand loyalty and all subsequent business successes (wallet share, customer lifetime value, etc.) are truly realized.<\/p>\n Closing The Experience Gap is how brands ensure the story that is being told about them is positive. Storytelling is the greatest factor in customer loyalty and business, yet too many executives don\u2019t understand how to measure the impact of positive and negative stories. The consequence of not delivering on your brand\u2019s promise and not taking action to close The Experience Gap is that your brand loses its soul.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1645111712099{padding-top: 50px !important;}”]Chat with Zack! text XM<\/strong> to 20404<\/strong> and share your biggest take-away from this blog.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1644352612613{padding-top: 50px !important;}”]Want to Chat some more? Click Here<\/a> to schedule a 30-minute session with Zack.[\/vc_column_text][vc_separator type=”normal” up=”90″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css_animation=”” row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”grid” angled_section=”no” text_align=”left” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern” z_index=”” css=”.vc_custom_1652738512381{margin-top: 20px !important;margin-bottom: 50px !important;padding-right: 15% !important;padding-left: 15% !important;}”][vc_column width=”1\/6″ el_class=”blog_footer_picture”][vc_single_image image=”2773″ img_size=”full” onclick=”custom_link” img_link_target=”_blank” qode_css_animation=”” link=”https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/zackhamilton\/” el_class=”social-linkedin”][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”2\/3″ css=”.vc_custom_1643228569434{margin-top: 50px !important;}”][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n Zack Hamilton [\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [vc_row css_animation=”” row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”grid” angled_section=”no” text_align=”left” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern” z_index=”” css=”.vc_custom_1652993414552{margin-top: 100px !important;padding-right: 15% !important;padding-left: 15% !important;}”][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1659040284201{margin-bottom: 15px !important;padding-bottom: 20px !important;}”] BLOG The experience gap [\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”2919″ img_size=”full” qode_css_animation=”” css=”.vc_custom_1652827639776{margin-bottom: 65px !important;}”][vc_column_text]Brand value is game-changing. It is by far one of the most important things…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":2919,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2273","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chatterresearch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2273","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chatterresearch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chatterresearch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chatterresearch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chatterresearch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2273"}],"version-history":[{"count":30,"href":"https:\/\/www.chatterresearch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2273\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4072,"href":"https:\/\/www.chatterresearch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2273\/revisions\/4072"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chatterresearch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2919"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chatterresearch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2273"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chatterresearch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2273"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chatterresearch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2273"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}What is brand value?<\/span><\/h3>\n
How can a brand ensure the story they want to be told is told?<\/span><\/h3>\n
Connect with Zack for a chat<\/h5>\n
\nSenior Vice President, Chief Experience & Strategy[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text] [\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css_animation=”” row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” angled_section=”no” text_align=”left” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern”][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n