What you're going to be eating in the next year is decided by chefs. If the consensus is that pot-bellies are in next season, that's what's on your plate. And I think that's a good thing, because we know, obviously, about food.”
“A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus.”
Branding shouldn’t be done in a vacuum. If the organization is not brought along, it stays behind. Marketers should engage C-suite and senior management in the branding journey that frees them up to think about what the company delivers in very un-boardroom-like ways. Shortcomings, strengths, frustrations, and what they want from the company for the future, and what gets them up in the morning. So they hear the concerns of departments they have less contact with and less knowledge about.
“All together now, All together now, All together now, All together now, Bom bom bom bompa bom.”
Part of your team’s consensus process is to know what your customer thinks of them.. You need to do deep dive, one-on-one conversations that reveal the good, the bad, and the ugly. And, potentially, the future. Ideally, you will talk to customers after having already spoken to senior management about their jobs and the promise of the product or service. Do they match up? Are you in sync?
“But you can’t create art with consensus!”
Branding ain’t art. It’s the foundation for the art of sales, marketing, communications, design, copywriting, engineering, development, programming, management, and pitching to the venture crowd.
Bringing your teams together to collaborate on the brand purpose and position is the best way to implement the gestalt of the brand, not just by the CMO or CEO, but by entire departments. The CEO can mold the consensus. The CMO can express the consensus, Sales can sell the consensus. HR can retain and recruit all those hires necessary for carrying out the consensus. But without it, everybody is just taking selfies.
Consensus branding is team building. Consensus is culture creating. Consensus is community. You can’t solve climate change, crime, or any societal issues without consensus, unless you want to go full dictator. You can’t lead companies without consensus unless you’re Steve Jobs, and even he had Jony Ive and a laboratory of the most talented minds in tech.
That being said, consensus can be lazy. It can be vain. It can be off. And that’s where we come in. The Fundamental Group brings to the party (actually, we bring the party) a series of exercises that will get your team thinking outside the boxes that humans create to keep things neat and tidy. We like our boxes, or we wouldn’t love getting them from Amazon so often, and the container section at Bed Bath and Beyond wouldn’t be as big.
Everybody contributes. Everyone debates. Everyone arrives at a place that everyone shares. From CEO to CMO to CFO to CRO to HR, and to all those responsible for carrying the brand forward and making sure it’s impacting the marketplace.
But when we feel a consensus is too easy – “Our tech company’s purpose is to increase productivity!” “Our tech company’s fundamental human value is innovation,” – we probably won’t let you get away with it. That’s not why you hired us. You want the “Ah Hah” moment where everyone in the room or screen nods their heads without knowing they’re doing that. And when that happens, creativity flows, contributions increase from the quietest corners, and big and small problems are solved.
Check out our site for our video and the testimonials that illustrate the success we’ve had with consensus branding, and how the process takes the boring out of branding.
We’ll offer ideas on how you can sharpen your message to resonate with prospects and energize your team.
We help brands discover what REALLY matters.