Beauty (And The Beastly Tweet)

One of the hazards of being a brand-watcher in a world of Google alerts is that I know much more than I care to of the antics of a certain Russell Brand. But sometimes this walking, (never stops) talking, living brand has something to offer brand-builders by way of a cautionary lesson.

My daily updates this week have been a-twitter with Brand's latest exploit which reportedly has wife Katy on the warpath. Apparently, her thoughtful husband snapped a not-so-flattering picture of Katy as she awoke and posted it to Twitter for his 1 million-plus followers to enjoy. Katy, unsurprisingly, was less than pleased to be pictured without her customary war-paint, and although Russell promptly deleted the picture from his account, the damage was done as celebrity watchers and news organisations around the world gleefully published the image through other channels.

Now, poor Katy looks no worse than any of us caught unawares first thing in the morning, but of course that's not the point. More than most of us, Katy relies heavily on presenting a gilded image to the world, and it hardly helps her cause to be seen looking less than glamorous, whatever the circumstances.

As it happens, I've been doing a lot of work of late with clients who help their customers to make a strong impression on the world, whether through fitness, dress or design, and we've had a number of discussions on the merits of 'before and after' shots to demonstrate the impact they've had on the face their customers present to the world.

Whilst there's no doubting the power of 'before and after' to illustrate cause and effect, I've got very strong concerns about using 'before' shots of customers, which have been borne out by what's happened to poor Katy Brand. It always seems to me to be patronising to talk of our customers as though we brought them down drooling from the mountains, and shaved, scrubbed and suited them, before showing them off to the world, Eliza Doolittle to our Professor Henry Higgins.

It's evident from the glee which greeted Katy's picture that this brutal 'before' shot only feeds the popular tendency to make mortals of our gods. When we're in the business of helping customers to reinvent themselves in some way, it really doesn't help to show them first in an unflattering light. Of course, we want to demonstrate the impact we've had on them, but much better to find a way that illustrates how we helped bring out the best in them, rather than suggest we've cured them of the ailment of being themselves.

As for poor Katy, I've chosen to use a picture of her looking her best to illustrate this post. The more prurient amongst you might prefer the dreaded 'before' shot, but somehow I don't care to add to the thoughtlessness of this particular Brand.

Simply Remarkable: Brooks Hotel

Arriving early for a meeting in the city-centre, I had half an hour to kill, so stopped by Brooks Hotel on Dublin's Drury Street for a coffee. Like most hotels at that hour of the morning, Brooks was in full breakfast swing, and I expected to be told that I'd have to choose the whole buffet option if I wanted to enjoy a table in the lounge. But no, a very friendly waiter welcomed me in, set a table for one and offered to fetch me a freshly-made coffee and scone.

Whilst I didn't want the self-service option of the buffet, I also didn't expect to be waited on so attentively, and so I braced myself for a suitably punitive bill (most likely to be a huge chunk of the full buffet tariff if my experience at other  hotels was anything to go by). But again no. Instead, the smiling waiter handed me the invoice with a flourish and told me she'd charged me a special rate, which I saw compared very well with the coffee & pastry deals on offer in coffee-shop chains elsewhere in the city.

How refreshing! Whilst it seems that some hotels have failed to learn the lessons of our recent economic trials, Brooks Hotel has taken a practical and thoughtful approach to the solitary guest who stops by to enjoy a brief moment of their hospitality. What a simple but remarkable way to make a visitor feel welcome.

Naturally, I'll be back, and as importantly, I'll be recommending Brooks to friends and colleagues looking for a friendly haven from the chilly weather on Dublin's streets.

Over To You: Where have you recently enjoyed service that was 'simply remarkable'?

Mirror, Mirror, On The Wall

So, who's the fairest of them all?

Wikipedia founder, Jimmy Wales, has some interesting advice for brand-owners concerned with their online image: "Make stuff that doesn't suck."

As the focus of so much marketing and sales effort moves online, this cautionary note from the man behind one of the internet's most popular sites (398 million unique monthly visitors at the last count) is more than a little timely.

Social media in particular has encouraged a kind of narcissism, which often has business-owners more concerned with how their face is reflected in the various mirrors that surround them, than with the quality of what they do for their customers.

Off-line, a shopkeeper is unlikely to squeal with delight that, "I've had fifty-five people glance in my shop-window as they passed by today. Fifty-five! That's a whole five more than yesterday." On-line however, a certain hysteria seems to accompany the number of followers, fans and likes that a site or page attracts, which often proves an unhelpful diversion from the real business in hand: "Am I making a product or offering a service that people really want or need?"

In a recent Fast Company Article, Wales suggests that, "more than ever before, people like to talk about stuff that sucks. There's nothing to be done about it, except making a better product.

Of course, it's important to listen to what people have to say about you, but not if it distracts you to the point where it becomes all about the appearance of doing a good job, rather than taking care of the job itself.

Coming from a man who's certainly not short of online admirers, Wales' advice should encourage us all to stop preening, tear ourselves away from our reflected image and concentrate on what we're doing for our customers instead.

For not even the original mirror-gazer herself, the selfish Queen and stepmother to Snow White, ever heard the answer she craved most, when she turned to her reflection to ask: 'Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the fairest of them all?'

Stop Shouting, Harvey, I Can't Hear You

Go, Harvey, Go (& don't let the door hit you on the way out).

I'm so used to hearing international retailer Harvey Norman bawling at me from the radio in an irritating Australian accent that I've tuned out from his messages.

Even when he tried something new this morning, speaking in an unexpectedly reasonable tone to promote a special holiday offer, I was unimpressed. It seemed so incongruous, this personality who seems only interested in interrupting at the top of his hysterical voice, suddenly speaking calmly and in measured tones.

Sorry, Harvey, you just can't win. It doesn't work for me when you shout, and it makes me decidedly nervous when you try to appear calm and reasonable, like a nutcase trying to persuade me that he doesn't pose a threat.

At least when you were screaming hysterically, I knew where I stood. Now, I'm just confused and uneasy.

Over To You: Are you left disconcerted by brands that show worrying signs of split personality?

Sticking To The Script

Some of my colleagues at a network event were arguing the merits or otherwise of a sales script. Those in favour maintained that working to a scripted formula enabled the seller to guide the conversation with the buyer to mutual advantage whilst those against thought working from a script made for a staged and insincere exchange between the two parties.

Certainly, my first reaction was to reject the use of a script; I felt that it wouldn't allow for a natural conversation to occur and might lead to the buyer being maniupulated in some way. But thinking about it some more as I listened to the debate, I decided that it might make sense for the seller to take the lead so long as the customer's interests were safeguarded.

In my own experience, it can be both helpful and fun to be taken in hand by a skilful salesperson and carefully guided towards making the right purchase. Think of the waiter who directs you through the details of the menu or the tailor who knows what just what questions to ask as he helps you choose what clothes to wear for the big event.

When you think about it, we have an odd mistrust of the scripted conversation. It's as though we only trust spontaeneity. Yet some of the most influential exchanges in the world have been carefully scripted and rehearsed for maximum effect. Barack Obama's 'Yes, We Can' was certainly staged, whilst Winston Churchill's painstaking preparation for his landmark speeches was legendary.

Closer to home, I was struck recently by how the late actor Mick Lally (who played Miley in TV's long-running soap, Glenroe, as well as being a founder of Druid Theatre) was held in such high regard for his decency and immediacy, as well as his great acting talent, despite the fact that few of us had ever heard him utter a word that wasn't carefully scripted.

Like all the great performers and communicators, Lally used the script to both explore and express something deeper and more personal than words, and there's no good reason why a carefully made sales script can't do the same.

If we take it as read that the purpose of a brand is to help the buyer make the right choice, it stands to reason that we can draw on our experience to script our exchange with the customer in a way that guides us both towards an understanding of whether or not there's a match between what the buyer wants and what we offer for sale.

Of course, there are occasions where spontaneity is what's required, but the more I think about it, I'm all for sticking to the script.