Baseball season has come to a close and the Boston Red Sox are the 2007 World Series Champions. Mike Lowell may have won the MVP, but he was definitely not the only candidate. David Ortiz put it best when during the celebration he exclaimed "I can't point to one guy that did this for all of us. It was everybody. That made it very special."
The team effort was also a highlight of Red Sox chairman Tom Werner's post-game comments. He talked about how he felt that it was a special win because every player was able to contribute in their own way. More importantly he talked about how the win wasn't just because of the team on the field. He felt it happened because of the efforts of the entire Red Sox organization. Werner went on to discuss how "it is a family which provides tremendous support to each other throughout the season." He added that "this family extends beyond the players and staff to the entire Red Sox community including the 6 million fans which make up Red Sox Nation." Later, team owner John Henry added his comments about how these fans were so important to the success of this team. He said "It is because of the fans we had the resources to hire top talent and put the best possible team on the field. That is why we are now World Series Champions."
Unlike the Red Sox who understand the important role the customer plays in their organization, many companies forget that the customer is the only reason the company exists. If the customer disappears, so does the resources to run the company. Everything we own is paid for by our customers and every member of an organization must remember that the customers not only pay the company's bills, they pay the employee's personal bills by way of a paycheck. Without them, we have no food, no shelter, no clothes, no car, and no vacations. Yet even though companies need customers, they often take them for granted and provide their customers with an experience that does little to build a connection to the organization and passion for the brand.
The Red Sox have built a brand culture that inspires customers to be passionate about the organization. Their fans take ownership of the brand and do their part to actively support the team. Because of this, the Red Sox are rewarded with extreme customer loyalty and the financial resources that go with it.
Your Most Valuable Player is your customer. So, like the Red Sox, don't just settle for repeat customers, loyal patrons, or even plain old fans. Build a brand culture surrounding your organization which recruits advocates and inspires people to actively contribute to your organization's success.
Dave Lubelczyk is president of IMAGEidentity, LTD which helps organizations achieve success by building advocacy through brand development and organizational development. He can be reached by phone: 508-259-9016 or at http://www.imageidentity.com
Archives of Minding Your Own Brand articles are available at http://www.mindingyourownbrand.com
© 2007 Dave Lubelczyk, All rights reserved.
