I believe that an organisation’s brand does not belong to them but belongs to their customers. The organisation’s role is to manage, develop and protect it. There is an old saying that says:

your brand is what people say about you when you are not in the room.

Therefore, if the behaviour of your team, your customer service reps, your leadership, your delivery people or your ambassadors…..is not aligned with your stated brand values then how does it impact your brand?

To illustrate this point, there have been some interesting stories in the press lately about people’s behaviour and the impact that it has on their organisation and its brand:

• There’s lots in the news lately about Gordon Brown and his management style. Does it have an impact on Labour’s perception in the publics eyes? Check this out on Nick Robinson’s blog or here http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/nickrobinson/2010/02/browns_behaviou.html

and

• what about the Tories, who’ve just kicked off their annual beano, where this article shows that 36% of people don’t know what they stand for and, so, are they starting to question their ability to lead? http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/feb/26/new-poll-tory-lead-five-points

• Finally, what about Tiger Woods and the recent revelations and its impact on his endorsement contracts? Check this out http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8540167.stm

These stories show that companies or organisations do understand this link but can struggle to manage it. It’s a big issue for many organisations and one that requires some serious thought and lots of work into how they do business. I think it starts right down in the foundations of what organisations stand for, their values.

What do you think? Do you think an organisations brand is affected by the behaviour of everyone associated with it? What’s the best way to make sure branding is external as well as internal. Does it start with an organisation’s core values?