Are You A Brand of One?

The start of October has been filled with frustration for many.  For some, it is difficulty with financial aid systems at one university.  For another, it's a horrid start to a football season.  For way to many, it is the blind actions of politics - from the Second World War memorial in DC to furloughs on a campus near you.  For me, an incredibly frustrating encounter with the U.S. Army and our ROTC.

So all that to say this (thinking of the Army):  Are you a brand of one?

Scott Stratten is a refreshing "unmarketer" and his message is simple.  There is no such thing as branding.  Your customer determines what they think of you, and one interaction at a time that reputation either goes up or down.

Take an hour.  Watch (or listen) to this all the way through.  When it is over, ask yourself:

Do you students get attention they deserve from service areas?

Do you make your media jump through hoops regularly?

On your interactions with the public, are you moving the brand up or down one person at a time?

From time at Northwestern State, I can testify to what this means.  Students who complained about troubles with the student record system and refunds that we interacted with -- and publicly --  on the official Facebook page were more informed, less likely to continue to rail (once we explained) and some became our advocates (stepping in to threads to say . . . did you contact the Facebook page for help?).  It didn't solve the problems, but it did take some of the sting out.