What They Say Behind Your Back

What is a brand really?

Dismantling myths: Beyond the logo and the name

The brand is often confused with its logo or its name, but these are just identifiers. The true brand is the meaning and reputation that these symbols activate in people’s minds. This meaning is not created by itself, but is built through repeated experiences, fulfilled promises and total consistency in every interaction.

Precisely because the brand is a mental construction, the real competition does not occur in the market, but in the customer’s memory: in the mental list of options they consider viable (their shortlist).

In summary, the strategic objective is not to be the only option, but to secure a stable and preferential position in that list.

Inside the shortlist you compete by value; outside, almost always, by price.

So what is a brand?

The brand is your reputation: not only what you say you are, but what people feel, perceive and comment about you. It is the intangible asset that concentrates the real value of your business.

That reputation is the engine of trust. And trust is the foundation of sustained growth. Without trust, you only have a product; with trust, you begin to build an institution.

There are large corporations —banks, telephone companies, electric companies, airlines, distributors— that survive with a bad reputation because they play by other rules: size, lobbies and market power.

As an entrepreneur, you don’t have that safety net. Your backing is the public perception and the solidity of your word.

Imagine your customers taking care of you

This case is deeply peculiar because it inverts the logic of a traditional commercial relationship. The normal thing in a crisis is that customers protect their own interest and abandon companies in difficulty. Here exactly the opposite happened: customers acted to protect the company.

The reason for this unprecedented response from Southwest Airlines customers was a brand philosophy and a corporate culture built methodically over decades. It was not luck, it was the result of key factors.

The radical difference: Southwest versus the industry standard

To understand why Southwest customers felt compelled to protect it, let’s look at how the airline managed situations that, in other companies, become a nightmare for the customer.

The Unexpected: When You Need to Change Your Flight
You buy a ticket on a traditional airline —American, United or low-cost like Ryanair or Spirit— and, if something unexpected comes up, you hit a wall. To change the date, they apply a change fee of 200€ or more plus the price difference with the new flight. Often, changing is more expensive than buying again. Clear feeling: you are penalized for something beyond your control.	For decades, Southwest was the exception: zero change fees. If you had an unexpected event, you could change the date without penalty. You only paid the difference if the new flight was more expensive; if it was cheaper, you received credit for future travel. Result: less stress and more confidence. Clear message: “We understand that life happens, we are not going to punish you for it.”
Luggage: The War against Kilograms and Suitcases
Most have turned luggage into a key source of income. You buy the ticket and the drip begins: fee for the first suitcase, more for the second and overweight surcharges for one or two kilograms. The counter becomes a test of nerves, praying that the scale doesn’t give you away. Feeling: they squeeze you at every step.	Their motto says it all: Bags Fly Free®. Two checked bags free per passenger, without temporary fine print. It was not a promo, it was a brand pillar. It eliminated the anxiety and cost of luggage, prioritizing a simple and human trip.
The Broken Merchandise: The Desperate Labyrinth of the Claim
You arrive, open the suitcase and the fragile object is broken. The odyssey begins. You must go to the claims office before leaving, fill out forms, and the typical response is to blame you for “inadequate packaging” or refer you to the fine print with a ridiculous liability limit. Everything seems designed to make you give up.	Here their culture of “employees first” weighs in: happier and empowered teams respond with empathy and resolution. Instead of hiding behind bureaucracy, they focus on the person. They seek to go beyond the legal minimum to maintain customer loyalty. The probability of a satisfactory solution is higher because the culture drives it.

Do you need help with your brand story?

Defining the story your brand tells is a challenge. If you have doubts about how to differentiate your product beyond its physical characteristics, leave us a comment with your case. We will analyze your situation and give you ideas to start.

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Marketing starts the conversation; the brand is the conclusion that each person reaches in the silence of their own mind.

Self-proclaiming “the best”

The initial reflex of many businesses is to proclaim: “we are the best”. Understandable, yes; also the clearest sign of novice marketing.

Talking about you instead of talking to the customer

That’s where the phrase “we are the best” falls apart. It does not communicate confidence: it betrays lack of focus. It talks in emptiness about the brand instead of talking to the customer about the solution to their specific problem.

A professional does not sell “the best car”; they sell “the safest car for your family”. They do not offer “the best software”, but “the fastest software to analyze your data”.

The marketing professional avoids self-proclamation and demonstrates why it is the smartest option for a specific audience, in a specific context.

Real strength is not in the label of “the best”, but in being the obvious answer to a well-defined question, backed by clear and specific evidence.

Managing your reputation

When your brand resonates, an echo appears: opinions, comments and criticism. That echo is one of your most valuable data assets, but it only works if you understand its origin. Not all feedback is the same; responding the same to all voices is a sure route to disaster.

The three voices to differentiate

Distinguish between:

Action plan for each case

Your most dissatisfied customer is your greatest source of learning.

Bill Gates

Discredit campaigns

Unlike an isolated attack, when a discredit campaign scales it is not ignored. The brand must issue official statements clarifying the situation; silence is usually interpreted as acceptance of the accusations.

The battery crisis of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7

In 2016, Samsung launched the Galaxy Note 7. Weeks later, reports and videos emerged of devices that overheated and exploded. What seemed isolated became a global safety alarm: airlines banned it and consumer trust plummeted. It was not a troll attack, it was a real danger.

Samsung could not ignore the situation. It opted for a drastic and costly measure: the global recall of the device. It accompanied the decision with a communication campaign to explain the problem, apologize and detail a new rigorous quality control process. Silence would have annihilated trust; its public and forceful response, although expensive, was the only way to begin rebuilding reputation.

Entering the “Shortlist”

[Image of brand loyalty pyramid]

The challenge of undifferentiated products (commodities)

In marketing, positioning is your place in the consumer’s mind. The challenge appears in markets saturated with commodities —soaps, cookies or online courses perceived as almost identical. In that ocean of indifference, without a clear differentiator, you are left with price war: pure wear and tear.

The way out is usually not more money, but prestige and brand identity. A strong brand not only differentiates you; it transfers a complete idea and allows you to open new categories.

The concept transfer of Dyson

Dyson did not sell “vacuum cleaners”, it sold an idea: future technology applied to everyday objects. Its visibly technological design communicated the promise before turning on the product. The brand came to mean visible innovation and superior performance.

When entering beauty with Supersonic, it did not just transfer prestige: it transferred that identity. The public did not buy a hairdryer; they bought the “Dyson” concept: futuristic object with effectiveness far above what was known. They paid to have the same cutting-edge engineering at home that they admired in its vacuum cleaners.

The brand was the bridge that moved a powerful idea from one market to another. If you build reputation on a clear idea, you can apply it to almost any product.

Your goal: enter the consumer’s “Shortlist”

When deciding on a new smartphone, no one evaluates 50 brands. The brain creates a shortlist: 2–3 (rarely more than 5) viable and trustworthy options.

• If you are in the Shortlist (Apple, Samsung, Google): first battle won. You compete in a small group, with a high probability of sale. The customer no longer doubts whether you are valid; he compares features, price and value proposition among few. You can better defend the price because the brand has already been validated.
• If you are NOT in the Shortlist (the rest): you have no attention. To enter the conversation you have price left. “Look at me, I’m cheaper” erodes margins, devalues your product and puts you in a discount war against dozens of equally invisible brands.

How do you build a powerful brand?

The moment of truth: the brand is built (or destroyed) after the sale

Many companies believe the relationship ends when closing the sale. In reality, there the real construction of the brand begins. Every post-purchase interaction —doubt, claim, return, warranty— is a moment of truth that confirms whether your promises were real or pure smoke.

A bad after-sales service sends the most offensive message possible to a customer: “I already have your money, now you are a problem”.

That feeling of having been used not only generates dissatisfaction: it creates active detractors. On the other hand, an excellent after-sales service demonstrates commitment and turns buyers into ambassadors of your brand.

Key question: do you build a relationship for a single transaction or for life? That answer defines the destiny of your brand.

Short-term gains that sacrifice customer trust are the most expensive debt a brand incurs in the long term.

The Brand Harvest: Rewards, Patience and the Price of Prestige

After the strategic work comes the question: what do you gain? The benefits of a powerful brand change the rules in your favor. But there is a side B: a real price that is often underestimated.

The Rewards: Superpowers of a great brand

• Sell with less advertising (or without it). A solid brand self-propels. Trust and loyalty activate word of mouth and organic recommendation. You stop buying attention because you already own it.
  • Starbucks: the third place as a ritual. Stores and cups become advertising medium, with contained traditional investment.
  • Wordpry: objective: faithful community where growth comes from reputation and direct reference, not from perpetual ads.
• Defend higher prices. Prestige is monetized. You don’t just sell a product: you sell certainty, status and the peace of mind of making the right decision. The customer pays the premium for trust and emotional value.
  • Apple: higher prices despite comparable specifications; the public pays for design, ecosystem and quality/status promise.
• Conquer saturated markets. On shelves of commodities, a trusted brand acts as a mental shortcut. A recognized logo reduces doubt and directs the purchase almost automatically.

Side B: the hidden price of building a legacy

The rewards are enormous, but they are not free. The cost is not just money.

• The most expensive currency: time. It is a marathon. Years of consistency and patience, sustaining the vision when results are not immediate.

Building a brand is a marathon, not a sprint. It is endurance, not speed.

• The cost of absolute consistency. Every decision —support, packaging, returns— must align identity. Exhausting discipline that requires that the entire organization lives the values. The minimum inconsistency cracks trust.
• The sacrifice of saying “no”. Reject customers, projects or promotions that don’t fit even if they sound profitable. Every “no” to what you are not reinforces what you are. Without this filter, the brand dilutes.