Plain White Trucks...

His voice was almost shaking when he said it… “ You were right, I should have listened! Nobody knows who I am… they love our work but they don’t even know the name of my company. I don’t have a brand… you warned me.” I was a bit overwhelmed and didn’t know quite how to respond?

Eighteen months earlier this client had come to me with a familiar request. “I’m expanding, we just moved into our new location and I would really like to upgrade my image and take my business to the next level.” Not an uncommon statement, in fact, most of my client meetings start with a similar request. Another common statement with local entrepreneurs is “I want you to help make us look bigger than we are.”

After reviewing all of his business forms, and existing marketing materials (or lack thereof), he decided that he “really didn’t need a logo” or any “fancy signs” on his trucks. After all, he had run a successful plumbing business in this town for 12 years without all that stuff. He didn’t want to go to the expense of designing a new logo or put any real effort into building his brand. So, we printed all of his business forms and a laundry list of other materials with the new address, he put up a generic sign and purchased several more new trucks and continued to do business as usual. He decided that his new trucks didn’t even need signs!

I thought it was very strange that he spent several million dollars on a new facility and expanded workforce, but didn’t find it important to invest in his image and public perception? But just as my clients continue to teach me new lessons every day… he came to learn something very important from some of his customers. “The reason he was standing in my office” he went on to say, “is that I decided to get our and call on some of our customers because things were stating to slow down and in a one week period, I heard several disturbing comments.”

The first came when he visited one of his oldest and most loyal customers who in turn wanted to introduce him to his staff. When he turned to his general manager and said, “this is John from Acme Plumbing” she looked confused and shook her head. He went on to say “this is the owner of our plumbing company… you know?” Still nothing… Then he said, “you know, the guys with the big white trucks… they’re here several times each month?” Ah, now she remembered… the big white trucks… yes.

Then, on another visit to another long-time customer, he received a very similar response during his introduction. This time the comment was, “are you the guys with the plain white trucks with no logo on them?” he admitted that he half stammered in shame as he answered, “yeah, that’s us.”

The third time was the last straw, a nearly identical situation AGAIN! This time, he introduced himself to an office manager that he had never met before and she responded with the same puzzled look. Then she looked at his shirt and said, “oh, you are the guys that don’t even have a logo on your shirt or your truck… yeah… I was really nervous the first time you guys showed up… I didn’t know what to think. Somebody shows up in a plain white truck, it could be anybody, you know?”

My client looked me square in the eye after relating these stories to me and said. “You were right, branding does happen. I realized at that moment that my brand was the guys with the plain with trucks with no logo.” He had just visited three loyal customers who didn’t know what to call him or how to find him. They even admitted that most of the time they had to go to accounting department to find out whom to call when there was plumbing issues in the complex.

Your brand will happen whether choose to manage it or not. Your customer’s perception will ultimately define who you are to them… and that will become your brand… like it or not.