How to Damage a Good Brand Image

Wish I had a nickel for every time I’ve heard an in-house marketing person exclaim, “We’ve got to work on improving our brand!” And, then, they’d go on to talk about a catchy new slogan, changing corporate colors or (groan) updating the mission statement.

An organization’s brand is its heart and spirit. It’s a living thing, to be treasured, cherished and nurtured. It’s your reputation and promise – how you walk and talk and behave in business. It’s about integrity. Even more important, a brand is how others see, perceive and speak of you. It’s not something that can be contrived by a new coat of whitewash or silly, self-serving slogans.

An organization’s brand – whether major corporation or entrepreneurial endeavor – is also fragile and can be easily damaged. And, most organizations that suffer from a poor brand image come about it because of self-inflicted actions … such as doing shoddy work, not keeping their word, cheating and lying.

Particularly in today’s digital era, with vast information resources at our fingertips, we can quickly determine who has a good brand and who does not. But, can we?

A brand is only as good as its weakest link. The bad behavior of an employee, vendor or business partner can damage your brand. And when that happens, it can be like having some clumsy and foolish work associate spill paint on your beautiful Brioni suit. Your brand becomes tarnished. Permit it to happen enough and your brand could be ruined.

Here’s an example – GEICO.

GEICO is a good brand. Funky, oddball and inconsistent TV commercials but a good brand, nonetheless. They’ve also been my insurance company for more than a decade. Because of me, my daughter became a GEICO customer. It’s called brand loyalty.

Knock on wood, I’ve been fortunate … I haven’t needed to turn to GEICO very often over the years. But recently, when my nice Volvo was scratched on the roof and trunk by a vandal, GEICO said they’d have it repaired, good-as-new. That is, after all, their brand promise.

GEICO steered me to their Express Office at Bailey’s Crossroads Body Shop in a suburb of Washington, D.C. My first impression was it looked more like a junkyard than professional body shop but that’s where GEICO has an office. GEICO and the body shop work together on claims.

When I dropped off my car, the GEICO customer service agent said it would take a couple of days. That stretched into five days … odd, I thought, because it’s a bit long to repair a few scratches. Then, I began to see what happened – the body shop had damaged my car … a fact that they, at first, denied. Three days later, they admitted my car had been smashed in their body shop.

The clue were broken parts left in my car. Not only that, the “touch-up” that I requested had turned into a complete and shockingly sloppy paint job of my car roof and trunk. Here’s what I quickly saw:

• Paint that was not smooth and shiny but rather looked like an orange skin, pitted and blistered. In fact, it reminded me of those old TV commercials of a car paint job for $29.95.
• Overspray of paint on the hood, back window and rubber trim.
• Weather stripping around doors ripped, torn and ruined by the body shop’s machines.
• Amateurish attempt to repair the side of my car that had been bashed by the body shop.
• Trim on the right door bent by the damage.

I could go on … but you get the picture. I was furious, not only about the fact that my car’s finish had been ruined but the vehicle had been damaged, and the body shop owner had lied about it. He lied in front of the GEICO agent and me.

GEICO is now promising that if my car goes to another body shop, it will be done correctly … “guaranteed.” Yeah, but, the first place was guaranteed. It will cost me more time and bother but what option do I have?

“We gave them an award for their speedy work,” the GEICO customer service agent shared with me about Bailey’s Crossroads Body Shop. Then, he added, “Guess that wasn’t a very good idea.” No, I thought … no, it was not. Because here was a GEICO vendor – Bailey’s Crossroads Body Shop – which was the weakest link in GEICO’s brand image doing shoddy and deceitful work … and their paint was spattering on GEICO’s good brand image.

Filed Under: Featured • Reputation management

Tags: brand image • GEICO