Retail Observer

JANUARY 2019 RETAILOBSERVER.COM 29 • Harmony—When you have belonging, you can create harmony. Harmony is when all elements within the business are working in lockstep with one another. Harmony is when what happens inside the business–its systems, processes, innovations, behaviors and beliefs–are in accord with what the outside world experiences. A brand isn't what the company says it is–it's how the customers experience it. How do we get to harmony? Through practice. When everyone in the organization is practicing their beliefs in action, day in and day out, and when the company's beliefs are in harmony with its behaviors–how it works with people, inside and outside the company, that harmony will align all things together so that everything is connected to the whole. The company and its customers will be unified. • Magnetism—When a sense of belonging and harmony are in place, it creates a certain magnetism. Magnetism is what you feel in the presence of something beautiful. It's a felt sense, as much as a visual impression–and it has power to move people. As humans, we have no real definition for beauty. True beauty–not the fashion or cosmetics industry's superficial definition–pulls us in. True beauty is something that you can feel–it is both attractive and attracting and appeals to all our senses. People don't buy from the world's best and most beautiful brands–they join them. Their employees join them in their purpose, and their customers join their tribe. Beautiful brands don't chase customers. They stay true to the heart and soul of their principles. They stand up for what they believe. They have their own gravitational pull–they attract like-minded enthusiasts that remain loyal to their brand and products. When a beautiful business works from its center and operates from that center to pull people into its gravitational field, that business will attract us and become impossible to ignore. We won't be able to help but give them our attention. WHY DOES CREATING A BEAUTIFUL BRAND MATTER? Here's a little-known insight into the beautiful-brand principle behind all market successes: Every service and product that becomes a market success does so because it allows someone to do something they wanted to do, but formerly couldn't. Your product is innovative because it spans the gap between your customers' current state and their dreamy future state. Your brand must convey the experience and feeling that they get from your products' solution. Your marketing must tell the story of how their future lives will be changed for the better because of your product or service. Focus on improving lives and you'll sell products. Show your customers their future, and tap their imagination, and you'll capture their attention and win their loyalty. HOW DOES A BEAUTIFUL BRAND BEGIN? Beautiful brands start with the clear intention to create something that goes beyond simply making a profit. And while profit is essential, it shouldn't be the sole reason for your business to exist. I believe that businesses can inspire quiet or radical acts of transcendent experience that create a sense of belonging, harmony, and magnetism for the people inside the culture and the customers on the outside. Business done beautifully moves from the realm of simple transaction into transcendent experiences. Knowing that your business is working hard to attract more of the right customers, have you ever considered what beauty your brand holds? And if you know the unique beauty of your brand, have you intentionally woven it into how your company expresses itself internally and externally? There's beauty at the heart of every purposeful organization. By understanding and harnessing that beauty and expressing it to your customers, you'll create exponential results. For the past 25 years, Steve has served as an advisor and consultant on brand strategy, organizational life, and humanized marketing strategy, and has helped organizations and their leaders make a positive impact on their customers' world. He has been honored to work with 3,000 business leaders and more than 250 global, national and regional companies including Samsung, Habitat for Humanity, New Balance, Sony, LG, Amazon, NFL and MLB franchises, and others. He is regularly hired for in-house corporate keynotes, retreats, and workshops for organizations and is a regular speaker at events that have included TEDx, Creative Mornings, CES, HOW Conference, Social Venture Network, American Marketing Association, and AIGA conferences. Steve has published two books, Brand Love and Loyalty and Humanizing the Customer Journey, as well as a forthcoming book, The Evolved Brand: How to Impact the World Through the Power of Your Brand. In addition, his creative and thought leadership has been included in Business Week, Brand Week, Ad Age, Conscious Company Magazine, MarketingProfs, and HOW magazines, among others. Steve leads his own brand and business strategic consultancy, Mth Degree, which specializes in his proprietary brand of evolution programs. Contact Steve at steven@ theMthDegree.com, 619-234-1211 or www.theMthDegree.com RO

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