How to Build a Trusted Brand? 3 Lessons from The Brothers Karamazov
It's considered by many, including Freud and Nietzsche, a masterpiece of Fyodor Dostoyevsky:
The Brothers Karamazov. All of us can learn many lessons involving human behavior.
For example, the competition between the father, Fyodor, and his eldest son Dmitri, for the love of Grushenka, a beautiful 22 years old woman, can teach some lessons on how to build a trusted brand in the fierce competitive market in the twenty-first century.
Now, pay attention to what John Morgan, author of Brand Against the Machine, said: he states that the only thing that really distinguishes your company from another it's your brand, and your brand is defined by how your customers and potential customers feel about you, their perception about yourself, and their confidence, and connection with you.
Your brand is defined by how your customers and potential customers, feel about you, their perception about yourself, and their confidence, and connection with you.
Let's go back to The Brothers Karamazov, Grushenka is young, beautiful, extremely attractive, and she's aware of it. Attracts attention wherever she passes. But her motivation is not noble though later seek redemption. She seeks financial independence at all costs even if it means leaving her admirers, totally crazed, and place even father and son against each other. Do not kid yourself judging by first impression, because she has a hidden history that needs to be explored. Grushenka, if she was a brand, she would have one of the components that compose a Trusted Brand: Visibility. Here is the first lesson on how to build a trusted brand.
1. Visibility is what first takes you to the door and your ability is what keeps you there. Often, many companies have incredible stories of generations of innovation and success, but you need to explore it by talking to them one, two, three or as many times as necessary until the hidden treasures are found to be used towards a greater visibility of the brand.
Dmitri Karamazov understood perfectly this lesson. A beautiful woman like Grushenka draws attention, yes, she has great visibility, but not automatically mean she was someone with whom to have and maintain a trusting relationship. Can you imagine the Dmitri's disappointment, hearing her beautiful lips, saying:
"I did not promised you anything" , here we have a second lesson.
2. Attention does not equal trust. Customer trust is the most important thing for your business. Although brand visibility is key this does not equate to sales messages more thunderous. Companies need to focus on selling trust and then sales will come. Morgan believes that customers don’t care how you do “it”, they just care that you do.
After some time of relationship with Grushenka, Dmitri was completely in love. Despite having available as an option, another woman much more beautiful, rich, and stable, he remained faithful to his love for Grushenka. No other made sense. Our third and last lesson:
3. Relationship. You must build a kind of relationship with your customers and consumers to make them feel they are cheating case choose another brand. For a brand to gain authority, the company needs to be positioned as a resource and not simply as a service or product. Truth be told, its products and services do not differ much from the producer or marketer on the corner of your street. The differential is positioning the product or service as a solution to the needs of its customers. The goal is not to be perceived as a great choice of high quality, is marketing a product or service, but be perceived as the ONLY option.
Building a successful brand involves the value of what you can do for someone and it must always be believable, desirable, and achievable. Your brand may not be for everyone, and so far, so good. Your goal should be building trust and rapport with a select group of brand ambassadors who will carry the flag for you and fly it with pride.
In the novel The Brothers Karamazov, the youngest son Alexei is the hero. Young, good-natured, friendly, and spiritual. His friendship with Grushenka is such a positive influence, making she seeks for redemption, resulting in the qualities' outcrop like: kindness and generosity that were hidden despite her proud and fiery temper.
If Grushenka was a brand, and you, responsible for transforming her into a trusted brand, what would you do?
Reading the novel The Brothers Karamazov from Dostoyevsky may help, suddenly, finds an answer.
Author: Alexandre Marins Augusto
Blog: August Alexander
More articles: Pulse At LinkedIn
P.S.: You can read a Brazilian Portuguese version of this article clicking here.
