The online edition of my local newspaper carried a story today about employees getting tattoos of their company brand image.
Who would do such a thing?
I'll tell you who...
It's a fitness company and the logo is of a running man. Over 200 of Anytime Fitness' employees from their 1300 clubs have gotten the company brand image tattooed somewhere on their body. Mind you, this is no temporary tattoo as you see at some company conferences; it's the 'go-to-your-grave' kind of deal.
In a prior post I commented on lovemarks, how customers identify with some brands at a deep emotional level and seek to make it a highly visible part of their lives. Harley Davidson Motorcycle is one of the examples we all recognize, and it's not uncommon to see some of their customers sporting a tat of their favorite brand.
Just as interesting as the tattoo story are the online comments from readers of the article: universal dismissal of the practice, of the people doing it and outright fear that it reflects a new level of employee intimidation. I make no such judgment about the employees or management of Anytime Fitness. Let's assume they are employees who are absolutely passionate about the service their firm provides and think it's a cool tattoo. (And if you read the online comments of some who got the tattoos at Anytime Fitness, you'll see that is exactly how they feel.) The readers' comments, however, do raise an interesting question...
When have you felt obligated to demonstrate loyalty to your company beyond what you really felt?
Have you ever felt you had to defend your company or pitch their goods and services, even when they weren't the best option for a customer? I'm not talking about getting a tattoo to demonstrate your loyalty, but have you felt some pressure to say the product your company provides is better than the competitor, even when you know it's not true?
Do you instead envision yourself as the Macy's employee in the movie Miracle on 34th Street, willing to tell a customer Gimbel's has what the customer really wants?
Or have you felt that you are expected to press your company's superiority no matter what, and to do anything less is 'disloyal'?
Tell me you have never been torn about this if it might change the prospect of a sale. Tell me you never wondered someone 'up the organization' would be put out if they knew you played the 'go to Gimbel's' card.
In the professional services industry, and especially in the area of organizational development consulting, it's a matter of integrity to tell your client the reality as you know it, even if it means don't get the next engagement. I like being able to tell a client, "No one pays me to be nice; they pay me to be honest." That's a very freeing mantra. But if you work for anyone other than yourself, it also requires you work for someone who will back you up for doing the right thing even if it costs a sale in the short-term.
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Real time example. Among the services we provide at M Squared Group is survey design and analysis to capture the voice of customers. A client recently told me how they moved from an external survey vendor to an internal customized design which also resulted in more buy-in from key stakeholders. The problem is that they have more demand for survey support than they can handle. We could pick up that slack was my first thought. I heard myself then tell the client that while we and other firms could help, the internal process was a good choice and he shouldn't move away from it. Best choice: fight to build internal capability, borrow staff time from internal colleagues and keep the surveys feeling like they are uniquely tailored to your firm. Back up choice: have a support vendor but keep them firmly in the background, so you don't lose the ground you have made building internal commitment and ownership of the process.
Will we be doing survey design for them in the near future? Unlikely. Will I loose sleep over recommending they keep it in-house? Not a wink.
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This, by the way, is what Jan Carlzon was referring to when he wrote about "moments of truth" in customer service. How you choose to act reflects the real customer service values of your company:
1. When there is a choice over who comes first, is it the customer or the short-term company goal that matters more?
2. Do the actions of managers suggest that they firmly believe that how their staff acts toward customers becomes the company's brand message over time?
So what's your story? Where was the moment of truth when you had to choose customer need or company need? Who backed you up and who questioned your company loyalty?
You don't need to get a tat to show you love your company. But you do need to show your customers whom you really love.