09 Apr Book review: ‘This Way Please’ (building brand love)
I was very excited when one of my favourite podcasts, the Aussie born and bred Mojo Radio Show, had an episode entitled ‘How Brand Builders Create Brands that Customers Love’ (episode 175 for those of you who want to listen). Right up my alley. The interviewee was brand strategist, author and speaker, Darryn Altclass. I really warmed to Altclass because we share a passion for branding, because he was Australian, and because his approach was refreshing and compelling.
I gave the podcast such a glowing appraisal that my partner ordered me Altclass’s book, This Way Please: How to Build a Brand People Love.
What is a brand and branding?
Before I get to reviewing the book, I think it’s important to define and have a common understanding of what a ‘brand’ is, and the difference between a ‘brand’ and ‘branding’:
- A brand is what people think and feel about a product, service, experience or organisation – it’s essentially about the perception of others. Your brand is your reputation.
- Branding is the practice of getting people to think or feel a certain way about your brand – how you present and position your business or yourself. It’s the work you do to build your presence and reputation.
What does Altclass say?
In This Way Please Altclass ascertains that although gaining attention is an important part of building a brand, it’s only a step along the path – creating brand love is what it’s really about: ‘First you need people’s attention, but then you need their devotion. While attention keeps your brand in the mind of consumers, love keeps your brand in their hearts. Attention alerts people to the fact your brand exists and is worthy of checking out, but love makes your brand irresistible.’
I like Altclass’s premise that rather than asking how to make your brand stand out, a better approach is to ask how your brand can connect more deeply. Building a sustainable brand is a battle for the heart, not for the eyes or mind. Fundamental to this is knowing your business ‘why’ and telling the story in an authentic, compelling and emotive way.
At Beyond Business Groups we agree that your ‘why’ is the foundation of your business from which everything else follows, thus it’s a key component of Module 1 in our program. We like to cite Simon Sinek: ‘People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.’
The DNA of well-loved brands
Altclass tells us we should focus on longevity when building our business brands, rather than fads, trend and gimmicks to gain short-term popularity. He shows us how to build our brands using enduring qualities that people love and foster deep and long-lasting relationships with our customers. He’s identified what he calls the DNA of well-loved brands – nine timeless qualities people can’t resist:
- Significant: meet customer needs and make a real difference in their lives
- Heartwarming: a strong meaning can make customers feel wonderful about buying from you
- Helpful: be useful so that customers can’t do without you, e.g. solving problems, valuable information
- Generous: inspire people through surprising generosity, have a heart and soul
- Convenient: make buying easy and convenient; save people time, reduce hassle, allow customisation and flexibility
- Interesting: stimulate knowledge and have a unique viewpoint
- Personal: make people feel known and understood, and feel like they matter
- Attractive: be magnetic and hard to ignore (this is not just skin deep)
- Patient: take time to do things properly, offer value
Clear and concise, This Way Please is easy to read and grasp. Altclass is a storyteller, illustrating each quality with examples to show us what he means. The chapters are short and digestible. And at the end of each chapter there’s a quick recap to help consolidate what you’ve read. The final chapter has a framework that can be used to integrate the nine qualities into our businesses.
This Way Please has won my heart. I think it’s a great book about building brand connection that is valuable for all types of businesses. If your brand isn’t feeling the love, then you need to read this book.
Follow on insta: @thiswaypls
You can purchase This Way Please via Booktopia.