Recruiting Session 3:

In our last session, we discussed the importance of making your company brand stand out and how a great way to do that is to experience your own version of It’s a Wonderful Life. To find out what your customers and employees would be missing if you didn’t exist. We began looking at that branding process for our fictional carrier, the Keep On Trucking Company, and in this session, we’ll see their results.

But first, let’s talk about you.

After all, their story’s not real, but yours is. Do you have it down, and are you sharing it well? Maybe you say, “Yeah, Matt, we do. We’ve got this.” And if so, that’s great. But if not, or if you’re not sure, here are a few things to do:

First, be sure the boss is onboard. It goes without saying, but any significant re-writing or re-telling of the company story has to be led, or at least, endorsed, from the top. Otherwise, it’s not going to stick.

Second, don’t start from scratch. Review your history and any you’ve used to define yourself up til now. That could be a motto, a mission statement, or a set of company values. Even if they need a facelift, they might be well worth preserving, if not already set in stone.

Third, and I think most importantly, talk to your drivers. If you want to know your employer story, ask your employees. They’ll tell you. Sit down with longtime drivers and find out what brought them to the company and why they’ve stuck around. Ask what they value and what they’d change.

Ask your new drivers, too, those who have just finished their first 90 days or first year. They have a fresh perspective, and can tell you what’s stood out or surprised them. Whether it’s good or bad.

After you’ve consulted all your sources and found your unique story, it’s time to present it well. That brings us to our second second essential brand characteristic, quality.

Quality

Dynamite quality takes time, but it’s worth every minute. All joking aside, it takes not just time, but skill to build a quality brand, both the look and the messaging. And I’ll just shoot straight with you. If you don’t have an internal creative team who can make you shine, then hire one. Find experts to help you write, design, code, and whatever else is needed to make your brand excellent.

That’s what Keep On Trucking did. They picked an outstanding marketing agency, whom I know they would recommend. *wink* *wink*

So, let’s take a look at their results, as seen in their new home page. It’s just a part, but a good sample of their overall brand.

You can’t help but notice just how much better it looks. The updated, professional design makes a great first impression. Let’s consider the most important visual improvements.

First, the overall site design is modern with an attractive, easy-to-use interface. It’s also responsive, meaning it’ll load and look great on any device, whether it’s a computer, phone, or tablet.

Next, the site reflects a new company style guide. Think of this as a dress code for a brand. It governs the look of the brand wherever it appears and provides consistent standards for things like fonts and colors.

Finally, the anchor of the new look is a new logo. Remember when we talked about the original meaning of brand. A mark of ownership burned onto property. That’s a logo. It needs to be both recognizable and simple.

Recognizable because it’s the symbol of your company. Something people should notice and remember when they see it.

But also simple because it needs to show up in lots of different sizes and locations. From a tiny symbol on a shirt to a huge sign on the side of a truck.

So the overall look is much improved, but so is the story. Just two examples are:

The new tagline. “We’ll quit when someone else cares more.” Not only is it fresh wording, but it also ties right into the company name and answers the question of how long they’ll keep on. Until someone else cares more. Which is both a promise to their people and a challenge to competitors.

The main headline on the page tells the same story: “We care too much not to carry on.” And it leads into an explanation of what that means.

Those are just two examples of the new messaging, but they illustrate the power of having a unique, well-crafted, and unified story. Which brings us to our final essential brand characteristic, consistency.

Consistency

Inconsistency makes you seem totally Cuckoo. It’s like having multiple identities. Unfortunately, I see so many companies with mixed up brands, and they don’t realize how it can cause confusion about who they are and what they have to offer.

If you think I’m making too much of this, imagine what you’d think if Walmart changed its slogan from “Save money. Live better.” to “Spend money. Live large.” Or what if Apple Computers announced the new slogan, “Think the same as everyone else.”

Would we be scratching our heads? Trying to figure out what happened to these companies that we know so well? Would a high-priced Walmart or a conformist Apple computers even be the same companies any longer. I’d say not.

This is why consistency matters, and my advice here is really simple. Be true to yourself. Once you have a unique, quality brand, stick to it, and apply it consistently across your business.

For Keep On Trucking that means, having the same brand on their:

• Letterhead and emails
• Advertisements
• Company signs and equipment
• Social Media

And on their driver landing page. When it comes to recruiting, a driver landing page is the single most important place to get your brand right. What’s a driver landing page, you ask? We’ll cover that in our next session.

Until them, I’m Matt.