[마케팅]사업을 위한 브랜딩 경험 : 책을 써라

Marketing

A Branding Exercise for Your Business: Write a Book

By Steve McKee on February 22, 2013

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-02-22/a-branding-exercise-for-your-business-write-a-book

It’s easy to poke fun at the thousands of mediocre business books churned out annually. But planning a business book—regardless of whether it makes it to store shelves—is a useful exercise for business owners seeking to define their brand better and stimulate demand for their product or service.

Determining the book’s title is a good start. After all, focus is at the root of branding, and if you can’t describe the essence of your brand in a single, simple turn of phrase, it’s probably an area in need of improvement. Working on the title should prompt you to answer crucial questions about the story you want to tell your customers: What’s the common thread? What thesis helps connect the dots? What is the overarching point?

Fifteen years ago, legendary Chief Executive Herb Kelleher wrote a book chronicling the secrets of success at Southwest Airlines (LUV). The title was as simple as it gets: Nuts. That, in a word, not only reflected Kelleher’s easygoing, lighthearted approach to business, but the humorous culture and efficiency of his airline.

More recently, Tony Hsieh, Zappos’s popular CEO, published Delivering Happiness. It, too, captured the essence of both his business philosophy and company mission. While Hsieh was much younger than Kelleher, and his company is in a very different industry, his commitment to customer satisfaction made the title of the book almost obvious. Perhaps that’s why, in 2009, Hsieh was able to sell the then 10-year-old venture to Amazon (AMZN) for about $1 billion.

A handful of other business leaders have had a similar literary vision. Loews Hotels’ (L) Jonathan Tisch wrote Chocolates on the Pillow Aren’t Enough, reflecting the company’s premise that great products and services need to deliver “experiences that are unique, memorable, and deeply rewarding.” Starbucks’ (SBUX) Howard Schultz wrote Pour Your Heart Into It to share the values by which he built his coffee empire. And Bill Gates’s Business at the Speed of Thought made the case that a computer on every desk was only the beginning.

The discipline of organizing their thoughts into a book compelled each of these business leaders to examine what their companies stood for. And their books reinforced the elements they attributed to their success, suggesting the volumes belonged on the shelves of each of their employees as well as the local Barnes & Noble (BKS). A well-written business biography is as much a manual for corporate culture as it is good reading.

Again, I’m not suggesting that you invest the time in writing a book about your company (at least not yet). I’m recommending you work on its title. Think of it as a two-story elevator speech: short and sweet. Is the core of your brand’s appeal rooted in responsive service? Technological prowess? Premium pricing? A unique corporate culture? Whatever the case, reducing its essence to a few well-chosen words or a distinct turn of phrase will underscore your brand’s reason for being and what your fundamental focus should be.

Avoid the temptation to use clichés that any company could use, such as “Quality Matters” or “Because We Care.” Work to come up with something that’s clearly distinct. It might be descriptive like “Delivering Happiness,” suggestive like “Chocolates on the Pillow Aren’t Enough,” metaphorical like “Pour Your Heart Into It,” or reflective of your unique attributes and culture, like “Nuts.” There’s no one way to go about naming a book, and it may be instructive if you come up with multiple titles—particularly if they fundamentally differ. It might be worth including your team.

By going through the process of determining the essential idea by which your company is (or should be) known, you’ll gain appreciation for what your brand is all about. And you might find it doesn’t stand for much, which in itself would be a valuable discovery. Everyone knows you can’t judge a book by its cover. But if the title isn’t even compelling, nobody will bother to pick it up.

요약

 경영자가 비즈니스 책을 쓰는 것을 계획하는 것은 더 나은 브랜드가 무엇인지 정의하는 데 도움이 되며, 제품이나 서비스에 대한 수요를 자극하는 데 좋다. 책의 제목을 정할 때에도 당신의 고객에게 어떤 이야기를 하고 싶은지에 대한 답을 내리게 한다. Southwest Airlines의 성공 비결에 대한 책을 쓴 Herb Kelleher는 단순히 제목을 Nuts로 했는데, 이는 그의 활발한 성격과 비즈니스에 대한 가벼운 접근뿐만 아니라 재미있는 문화와 효율성을 드러냈다. Delivering Happiness를 쓴 Zappos의 유명한 CEO Tony Hsieh는 사업 철학과 기업의 미션의 중요성을 나타냈다. 아마 그 이유로 아마존을 약 10억 달러에 판매할 수 있었을 것이다. Loews Hotel의 Jonathan Tisch은 Chocolates on the Pillow Aren’t Enough를 썼고, 스타벅스의 Howard Schultz는 Pour Your Heart Into It를 썼고, 빌게이츠는 Business at the Speed of Thought를 썼다. 잘 작성된 비즈니스 전기는 읽기에 좋을 만큼 조직 문화의 메뉴얼이 된다. 

 필자는 책 한 권을 쓰라는 것이 아니라 책의 제품을 정하기만 하라고 제안한다. 잘 선택된 단어나 문구는 당신의 브랜드의 존재의 이유와 당신이 무엇에 중점을 두고 있는 지를 강조할 것이다. 어떤 기업이나 사용할 수 있는 표현은 삼가하라. 차별화할 수 있는 제목을 선택하라. 필수적인 아이디어를 결정하는 이 과정을 거치면서 당신의 브랜드에 대한 모든 것을 알게 될 것이고, 당신의 브랜드가 의미하는 바가 없다는 것을 찾을 수도 있다. 물론, 책 표지로 책을 판단할 수는 없겠지만, 제목이 매력적이지 않다면, 아무도 선택하지 않을 것이다.