How extending your authority drives success
“We're excellent at customer service.”
“We produce quality.”
“We deliver on time.”
The problem is…so does everybody else.
These statements are bland cliches!
Bland because they are soothing in manner that activates no passion. They are not irritating, stimulating, or invigorating.
Cliches because, even though they might be true, they are overused and betray a lack of original thought.
And the idea that a brand is built on these three pillars is probably BS.
So what’s the alternative to trotting out phrases more worn than my favourite pair of ugh boots?
Our make-up as humans is that we've never been taught how to trust a brand, we’re only taught to trust humans.
Because of this, we should be talking about your authority and not your brand.
This could include your authority as an individual or as a business.
Therefore, brands need to be human like, and one kind of humanity you want to bring is your authority.
Your authority consists of the following parts:
1/ The convictions you bring. What do you stand for? Do your actions stack up to what you say you believe in? What hill do you die on?
A negative hypothetical example: A large company that makes sports cars trumpets the organisational principal of “Looking after our people – we’ve got your back”. However, in a recent round of justifiable rationalisation, hundreds of staff handed forced redundancies were given only 24-hours notice, even though these had been planned for months. The car maker is still an authority on making sports cars, but it’s not an authority on looking after people. While many executives think this move doesn’t affect car sales, results show it inhibited the company’s advertising targeting car buyers which uses the same phrase, “We’ve got your back” in the country where the staff cutbacks occurred.
A positive hypothetical example: A fitness solopreneur stands on the conviction of “Making you healthier – people over profit”. Because of this principal, her classes are smaller, clients can pay more for one-on-one training, and she has some basic rules regarding attendance at training sessions. One client suffering from medical issues due to being overweight rarely attends her one-on-one sessions. The solopreneur suggests she stop training the woman until the woman commits to maintaining a basic level of attendance within her abilities. The solopreneur would have a tough conversation and give up a paying client in the hope she can shift the client’s mindset onto a healthier path.
2/ Solution - the value you add. The sports car company sells a car to one person and that person receives the value-add of a sports car. But beyond that, the company’s authority is growing because it makes innovations in the speed, efficiency and aesthetic of its vehicles and is an authoritative voice in these areas. Because of its growing authority the company sells more cars. The fitness solopreneur is making lives healthier one person at a time, but her business grows as she begins to influence her industry and set trends locally, builds a reputation as someone who puts the health of people before profit.
3/ Presence - that reaches people. Your authority is limited by its reach. The authority of a government is limited by the borders of the nation it leads, the legislation that guides its people and the arms of government that influence adherence to the national authority. Step over the border and much (if not all) of that nation’s authority over you is extinguished and you are now under the authority of another nation. How does this example apply to businesses? Businesses don’t exercise authority over national boundaries. Instead, businesses exercise authority over ideas and beliefs.
Real example:
While we’re talking about sports cars, have you seen the film Ford v Ferrari? It tells the true story of Henry Ford II’s decision to buy a sports car from Ferrari. Ford’s reputation was waning in the 1960s. Car sales were declining because Ford was seen as reliable but boring. Hence, Ford wanted to extend its authority in the marketplace.
Businesses battle over authority: Just like countries battle to claim land and extend their authority, businesses battle for pieces of our minds. In the Ford v Ferrari battle, Ferrari declined Ford’s offer and Ford built its own supercar. The only reason you see Mustangs driving around the suburbs these days is because Ford’s “Ferrari Killer” won the 1966 Les Mans.
When you stand by your convictions and win the battle, you can extend your authority: Ford’s slogans of the 1940s-50s ('All The Best For The Years Ahead', 'The Car Everyone Would Love to Own', ‘There’s a Ford in your Future’) were waning by the 1960s. They had lost valuable land in the authority war. They faced competitors and their market share was shrinking (they didn’t own “all” the market and certainly not “everyone” wanted a Ford). In the late 1960s the company started saying, ‘Ford has a better idea’ – and they were right.
Bin the industry language
What are you for and what are you against?
I work with service-based people and they are about changing the world in their own way. Which is, once you connect them to it, their “convictions”, their strongly-held beliefs regarding what is valuable to the world.
In the process of uncovering and decoding deep convictions, I try to come at it from a multi-faceted place and put it into a new language.
Sometimes they’re hiding their convictions under taught language.
Put simply, what hill do you die on? Think about this question through three lenses – your business’ outputs, what you provide for the customer and what the competition is doing.
Dare to be disliked. There's only space on the shelf for the red-hot chili noodles, but the people who like chili resonate with them!
Want help standing out?
In our Designing Authority workshops, we’ve refined how we quickly tap into what you stand for and how you increase your presence. Want to find out if you fit our Designing Authority workshop?
Grow from ‘meh’ to MAGNETIC
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