Of all the things that your company owns, brands are far and away the most important and the toughest. Founders die. Factories burn down. Machinery wears out. Inventories get depleted. Technology becomes obsolete. Brand loyalty is the only sound foundation on which business leaders can build enduring, profitable growth.
Interpretation
Brands are the most vital and resilient assets of a company, crucial for long-term success.
In this quote, Jim Mullen emphasizes the critical importance of brand loyalty as a foundational element for sustainable business growth. While physical assets like factories and technology can become obsolete or fail, a strong brand can endure challenges and foster customer loyalty, making it an invaluable asset for any company aiming for long-term profitability and stability.
In practice
In a business presentation discussing brand strategy.
When you are in business for a long time, you go through good times and bad times. When you go through bad times, you learn to control costs, satisfy customers better, satisfy employees better and become more transparent. Therefore, you build character in the company.
I find it fascinating that a lot of business books that do well are from people who've never made any money in business.
A brand for a company is like a reputation for a person. You earn reputation by trying to do hard things well.
When we launched a new company, I reviewed the ads and marketing materials and asked those presenting the campaign to read everything aloud to test the phrasing and concept. If I could grasp it quickly, then it passed with muster. We would get our message across only if it was understandable at first glance.
A lot of entrepreneurs hate big companies. But if you hate them so much, why are you trying to build a new one? The truth is, as soon as a startup has any kind of success whatsoever, it will face big company problems.
Companies that get confused, that think their goal is revenue or stock price or something. You have to focus on the things that lead to those.
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