Maybe it’s because I’m a writer, but I miss personality.
One of the problems I see more and more frequently is companies experiencing a corporate identity crisis. It’s not about logos or letterhead, or even about their twitter feeds and Facebook pages. It’s about who they’re telling us they are.
It sounds ephemeral, but a lack of corporate personality can be a killer when it comes to revenue, and I see it over and over again with my clients. There are often two things going on: CEO’s and owners are questioning themselves, and they’re also questioning their customers. If you’ve ever wondered why so many clothing stores feel the same these days, it’s exactly because of this issue. Remember when Banana Republic had safari trucks in their stores and they sold vests with more pockets than even the most insane photographer would need? If you walked into the store now with a blindfold on, I bet you’d be hard pressed to figure out if it was a Gap, J. Crew, or the B-Rep.
With large scale businesses the second issue is most often the big one. They assume their customers all like the same things and are most likely unwilling to veer too far from the highway. With smaller companies (and companies that are experiencing rapid growth) it’s the opposite. They second guess their own vision along with their own goals and dreams. They think they have to sacrifice how they first imagined their company in order to achieve growth.
And yet, over and over again we find that companies with the strongest voices, the most personality, and clearly distinct messages win over their competition. When it comes to business, democracy is often trumped by a creative, and occasionally benevolent, dictator. Someone who not only has vision, but opinions, personality, and the ability to hold onto those things even in the face of huge opposition.
All along the way we’re each tempted to tone it down, level it out, make it more appealing, or dumb it down. And each of those temptations leads to disaster. If someone doesn’t hate your product, the chances are slim that anyone will love it either.
The point isn’t to craft a personality that you think will sell. It’s to look at why you’re in business in the first place, and then say it as strongly, loudly, and honestly as possible.