14: Your Brand Halo Handbook
View the warning on the contents page regarding "facts" presented by this author.
Franchise businesses have long leveraged operating manuals to ensure consistency of brand experience among retail operations that are spread out over vast territories and owned/managed by independent operators. Without extensive documentation, it is unlikely a corporation such as McDonald's would be successful in delivering a consistent product or experience in thousands of locations that span the globe.
The same tactic that is used in large companies can also be beneficial to small firms: having a detailed operating manual even in a single location is helpful. Having a written reference is essential to ensuring that that the customer experience is controlled and consistent, rather than accidental and happenstance.
The author refers to this reference as the "crand halo handbook," which incorporates your brand storybook, brand lexicon, visual identity manual, and all other references and guidelines for interacting with customers.
Contents
The author provides vague guidance about the contents of the handbook, and seems largely indifferent to the exact nature of the contents (what the sections might be), the format of the document (paper or electronic), the level of detail (highly detailed or just a collection of checklists). Ultimately, he concludes "there is no right or wrong way."
At a minimum, it should list the contact points, each described and accompanied by actionable advice. "Actionable" is of importance, as a reference manual that merely describes the brand is often set aside and ignored.
(EN: My sense is the author's intent is to avoid intimidating the reader by presenting a Herculean task of gathering, creating, and organizing a vast amount of information - but in doing so, he's come across as careless and indifferent, and the vague and general advice of "do it any way you want" leaves the reader stranded without clear direction.)
He then provides a "sample page" from a hypothetical example, which incorporates a random sampling of some of the advice provided in previous chapters for one specific instance (a sales presentation on a prospect's premises).
The author later refers back to this example, indicating that a person with no training could use the checklists to guide them when they are faced with the task of delivering such a presentation and, as a result, deliver a better presentation - perhaps not perfect in every way, but in any case better than they would have done without it.
Audience and Purpose
The author suggests "every employee should have a complete version of the handbook" - and moreover, every employee should have authorship: certain individuals may "own" certain sections of it, but any employee should have the ability to introduce new ideas and approaches to keep it up to date.
The purpose of the book is to provide guidance for employees in interacting with customers and prospects. Even an employee who has not had formal sales training should be able to refer to the handbook to do a better job. Employees who make frequent customer contact should be able to refer to the handbook to improve their delivery each time, eventually becoming adept at delivering the customer experience flawlessly.
And a return to the value of the handbook: having things documented in detail is more likely to result in consistency of action more than the "seat of the pants" approach based on general guidance.
(EN: Notes for this chapter seem a bit light - but this reflects the information presented. Much of the content was consumed by providing a hypothetical example and ruminating over loose and random bits of information that were already discussed in previous sections of the present book.)