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Times Business Section Interview

Please click below to read the Times Business Section Interview, December 2011.

The Aligner at Mothercare…

Background My husband and I are at the exciting yet terrifying stage of becoming parents for the first time and with 6 weeks to go until D’DAY I thought it was time for us to get organised and buy our “travel system”. That’s pushchair and cars seat to you and me. Being from a big family I’m no stranger to babies and the mountains of stuff that comes with them, so I thought that buying our pushchair and car seat would be a relatively easy and straightforward decision. Upon my Mum’s advice I decide to skip the Internet research and go straight to the showroom: “You’ll need to see how it feels and have a go at folding them away” Mum had said to me. So after work one evening I took myself to the first place that came into my mind: Mothercare. Although I didn’t expect to need much help with this purchase it felt right to go the place that had always been the experts in such things. The Experience Once inside I realised that it wasn’t going to be as easy as I’d naively imagined. There were so many different brands and different models within those brands, all screaming different benefits and features. Should I go for the Silverscross Surf “The Bentley of Pushchairs” according to my style conscious brother in law, The Obaby Monty, The Chicco Trio Living or the Mothercare Saftey First travel system?! And then there’s the car seats – do we want a combination car seat, rear or forward facing, Isofix or belted base for extra safety? After 20 minutes of taking it all in and trying to work it out, I was feeling a little overwhelmed and with prices going up to £800 I though I’d better get some advice. Not to worry though, I’m in Mothercare. They are after all the child and baby experts. Surely they’ll be able to guide me through this decision. So I looked around and it was really quiet being a Thursday evening and only about an hour from late closing. There was one person being served at the till, a couple of other around the store browsing, and then me. It shouldn’t be too difficult to find a member of staff to help me. Other than the lady serving at the till there were two other members of staff in the corner having a chat and another person moving around the store looking very busy so I decided to interrupt the chatters to see if one of them could help me. Just as I headed towards the chatters, another member of staff came from out of the back and header straight towards me so I left the chatters to it and asked Gemma. “Excuse me, I wonder if you can help me? I need to buy a car seat and push chair and could do with a little help” “OK” Gemma responds, clearly wishing she’d come out of the back a few seconds later. “Which one do you like?” “Oh well, I do quite like this Silvercross one”, closest I’ll get to a Bentley, “But it says it has an Isofix base and I’m not really sure what that is and whether I have it in my car” “Oh right” was Gemma’s response. I thought perhaps a direct question was the route to a better response so I tried with “If I was to buy this car seat but didn’t have isofix in my car, could I still use this seat or do they do a car seat with this pushchair that doesn’t have Isofix” “Oh, I dunno – I’m not sure” “Could you find out please?” So Gemma went to the till to find out. While I was waiting for Gemma I decided to have a play with a couple of the pushchairs I had liked the look off. For more than 5 minutes I occupied myself with pushing the display items around the space, and a few unsuccessful attempts at collapsing the pushchairs to see how easy it would be, which is not very without a demonstration. I’d given up playing by the time Gemma returned. “Yeah, you can put all the Isofix seats in with a seatbelt”. “Ok, right. So they don’t have a non isofix one with this pushchair?” “No” “And would you recommend getting this one even if I don’t have Isofix” “Well it depends if you wanna pay extra for something that you’re not going to use.” Well, I certainly don’t want to do that but I did want to know a little more about this wonderful Isofix so I tried “Can you explain to me what Isofix actually is and then benefit of using it?” “Well it’s just something to attach the seat to your car” “How can I find out if I’ve got it in my car?” “Oh, I reckon you’d need to go to the garage” “Is it safer to have Isofix rather than just using the seatbelt?” “I dunno, probably”. I did think about asking Gemma to go and find out for me but I didn’t fancy waiting another 10 minutes for her to return with another one word answer so I decide to thank her for her ‘help’ and be on my way. To give Mothercare the benefit of the doubt I did return with my husband at the weekend to continue our research. Unfortunately, Nikki was not much more helpful that Gemma had been a couple of days earlier, with a similar set of one word responses to my husbands questions. Later that day we decided to visit an independent local baby store a few towns away from us, which we’d stumbled across via a flyer in the hospital maternity waiting room. I pre-warned my husband that it would probably be more expensive than what we’d seen in Mothercare. We were greeted by Charlotte, who after our Mothercare experiences, was a breathe of fresh air. She was of a similar age to Gemma and Nikki early 20’s I’m guessing. After allowing us some time to browse, Charlotte had approached us with the offer of help and advice. She asked us lots of questions about what we thought we wanted, our expectations and our budget and then narrowed down the overwhelming choice with some recommendations to fit our brief. Charlotte demonstrated how to attach the different seat options for the travel systems she’d recommended and how to them fold away. She encouraged us to try pushing them around outside the store on the different concrete and grass surfaces, while she got us the prices for each combination, which to my surprise were hardly dissimilar to the prices we’d seen in Mothercare. Alignment I wondered whether it was me and that perhaps I’d got the wrong idea about Mothercare’s position so I checked their website, which said: “Mothercare is the name for Prams, Pushchairs, Car Seats, Cot Beds, Baby Clothes and much more. Established as the number one retailer for mums to be and parents alike, Mothercare can offer a wide selection of everything you will need for your Nursery, all your Maternity Wear and all the Toys and Gifts your baby could want. Supplying some of the finest quality pushchairs from Bugaboo, Maclaren, Silver Cross, Britax and Maxi Cosi. We of course have an endless supply of advice on pregnancy and parenting issues from our Experts in the field and all you Mums out there.” So I wasn’t being unreasonable expecting a little bit of knowledge and guidance about the products that they were trying to sell to me. I came away from Mothercare with no better idea of what to buy than before I went in, however after visiting the local store I felt excited and although we weren’t quite ready to make our decision, we were both clear that when we did that we’d be going back there to make our purchase. Charlotte had been extremely willing, helpful and knowledgable which was a stark contract to the service we had at Mothercare. Of course during a recession it can be difficult time for all retailers, and Mothercare is seeing its share of losses and store closures but it struck me that Mothercare’s issue is not the climate it’s operating in, but that the experience you get at Mothercare, unfortunately does not match the brand’s promise. This can’t have happened over night, and my mum assures me that in her day, Mothercare really was the place to go to find out about, and then buy the latest baby equipment, so when did they lose their way? Reducing their high street presence and focusing on cheaper retails spaces on the outskirts of towns sounds like a smart business decision at a time like this, so it’s a shame that Mothercare don’t appear to be applying the same level of intelligence to the training (and possibly recruitment) of their sales staff. It only takes one part of the experience to ruin the entire customer journey and the outcome – well I’ll be spending our £800 elsewhere and not only sharing our experience here on this blog, but will also share it with all the other Mum’s to be that we’ve been meeting in the parenting classes.

The Aligner in Manchester…

After walking through the Arndale Centre at lunchtime today, I saw this. I stood and looked for a while, and then I smiled. It’s Manchester’s Love Wall and it is part of a campaign launched by Manchester Arndale and Marketing Manchester in defiance of last month’s riots. This sea of post it notes reminded me of a favourite Michael Eisner quote; about building a pointillist style picture with each coloured point, representing positive actions on the brand, eventually building up a bright, colourful image & leading to success. This is what Manchester needs to do to counteract the negativity of the riots, though a slow process it will be…point by point, post it by post it… We all saw the effects of the rioting ricocheting around the world in hours and it proves how in today's modern world, stories of negative experiences caused by the minority can travel fast, doing more damage than any brick thrown the evening of the riots could ever do. But what I saw today was Manchester's heart starting to beat again. Before me, wasn't just a wall of post it notes, it was so much more than that. It was a pink and yellow wall of strength, and perhaps the start of what our city must do to right the wrongs of the devastation and get Manchester back on track; back to its best and back on brand. This small gesture has made a big impression, stirring up support and feelings of love that money can’t buy and HR departments can't train. The people of Manchester's emotional response to the riots is testament to how the people make a city, and the residents of Manchester are the biggest advocates of the brand. After all, we choose to live, work and socialise here. We represent what Manchester stands for, undeterred by mindless thugs. Unlike our shop windows, today our Manchester spirit cannot be broken. Perhaps, this city should not pride itself on it's shopping, or its football teams but it's togetherness. The response to the riots should trigger people to think of not Wayne Rooney when Manchester is mentioned, but team work, pulling together and a closeness that comes from the people of Manchester's undoubted love for their city. But how can this unity continue? How can Manchester become known as The City With The Biggest Love? Will this sense of community we've seen of late continue and keep momentum, or will it fizzle out, just as the trustworthy Manchester rain fizzled out the riots? Building a brand, especially around a city, that’s image has been literally torched, takes commitment, time and patience. Rome wasn't built in a day. And neither was Manchester.

The Aligner at the Sony Centre

Background The story starts with a classic lack of alignment by DELL and their totally rubbish back up that leaves my Founding Partner with no working laptop, no support and frankly no interest whatsoever from DELL. Shame: we were just about to move all the company's Laptops to them…still what does that matter to them! We needed to get back up and running, we are an SME and time is money, so we shot down to buy a Sony laptop from the Sony Centre mainly for the brand values of quality, reliability, and service. After all this was the company whose mission was to change the way the world thought about Japanese products…believe you me they have really succeeded in that…negatively! We came to understand that the Sony Centres aren't Sony Centres; they are Sonex Centres selling Sony and that seems to be the starting point for some very unaligned behaviour. The Experience The first experience of the Sony (Sonex) Centre was pretty good. They seemed to be informed, helpful (if a little disinterested), they understood what we needed and were delighted when taking over £1,000 off us. We left happy in the knowledge of the brand and its overt reputation – oh how I wish I had gone onto the web chat rooms about their laptops, it would have saved days of hassle. Within 36 hours our high speed machine was running at the speed of a tape driven Sinclair of the 1970's - so off we go to visit 2… somewhat less satisfying! When the problem was explained, the first thing they did was to discover a scratch that required an electron microscope to find it. This meant that as it had cosmetic damage it could not be replaced and must go back to Sony to be repaired. Trust me; if there was a scratch then we would have accepted it. The staff member even phoned Gary later to say how upset he had been to do that but it was company policy to make sure they did not have to offer a replacement!! Process designed to enhance the brand reputation, I ask myself?! Ultimately, they had to send the machine back to Sony as they were a franchise and had nothing to do with Sony! So off it went. And there stood poor Gary, laptop-less. His machine returned 3 weeks later, with a free screen cleaner and a note from the head of Sony customer service UK. The fan had been replaced and all was well. It was not. The fan made the sound of a low flying spitfire and it did not have the power lead we left. We phoned about the lead to be told that we were wrong and we have taken it away with us…so now we have been made to feel like liars! …Only to be phoned the next day to say they had found it. An apology? You guessed…no chance. Back to our friends at The Sony Centre for more ritual humiliation of a customer. It was highly unlikely that anything was wrong (we were clearly incompetent idiots) but they would send it back anyway. To describe the environment as hostile would have been the understatement of the year. So a further 3 weeks later the machine arrived back and all is well in the world. They basically threw the machine at us! A delighted Gary returned to his laptop, but none of the software we had put on it was there, so a phone call was made, to a delightful man who informed that this was my problem not his and he even said it was a pleasure when I thanked him for handing his customer problem back to the customer. When I asked him about the value he felt he was adding to the Sony brand his reply was that they were merely a franchise and in fact no different to a Comet or Currys! He did agree they only sold Sony, had Sony over the door and did present themselves as a Sony brand! From their website.. Sony Centres are the pinnacle of Sony's retail distribution. A cutting edge store environment dedicated to offering the full Sony product range. Staff are Sony trained and committed to offering exemplary levels of customer service, coupled with impressive technical know how. As well as a selection of competitive and exclusive offers, they also carry certain products which are exclusive to Sony Centres. Brand Alignment? Do I really have to spell it out?! Alignment is not about saying things and hoping we believe it is about doing things and making us believe, the consumer has the power to make or break brands that say one thing but do another. Ask M&S and Sainsbury about that one. Shocking and shameful. This is clearly a case of everything works well when shifting boxes but at the time a customer really needs help both of the brands involved run for the hills. One is driven to the conclusion that for Sony this further reflects their decline as seen in their security breeches in its gaming division and as for Sonex…sorry Sony Centres,.. they have processes, policy and training that are great at selling but not for looking after customers. In such difficult trading times I would have thought they would seek to keep and grow their customer base rather than create negative advocates. The sad thing is that it isn’t just us, it's all over the internet, where real consumer conversations are going on. The insides of organisations always leak out and I wouldn't mind betting both these organisations are scratching their heads as to why they have issues with their brands and its relationship with its customers….others do it so much better. However my campaign to impact on the brand is currently running at 2 conferences I have presented at, and at least £6000 of sales prevented for both Sony and Sony Centre. I will hopefully beat my target of £10,000 soon, although the slump in retail sales isn't doing much to help me. To sum up, it’s so so dangerous for a business to put its brand in someone else's hands. Customers don't distinguish. They vote with their feet, their wallets, and their blogs.

The Aligner at AMC

As an uber Harry Potter fan, I could not wait for my final encounter with Harry, Ron and Hermione. But where to go for the final chapter of Harry’s epic adventure? The Odeon that are ‘fanatical about film’ or maybe Vue who promise ‘the ultimate guest experience’ Generally speaking, I always opt for the cinema nearest to me (in this case the AMC). However, do we ever choose a cinema due to what the brand promises? And, if not, is there a real gap here for a major cinema chain to truly differentiate themselves? AMC describe themselves as innovators and entertainers, priding themselves on superior guest service but does the heart of the brand come through in reality? The Experience The first thing that hit me as I walked through the doors of the AMC on Wednesday was that it felt very cold, both physically and visually. No glimmer of entertainment, just a huge queue. As I approached the box office the staff smiled but apart from that buying my ticket was a dull affair. There was no interaction or even a thank you for choosing to come to ‘AMC’ – I’m a stickler for manners! However, the price was fantastic at £6.75 compared to the Odeon prices which reach a whopping £8.85 for a ‘standard ticket’. Then I encountered one of my favourite parts of the cinema experience, the purchasing of the popcorn! Now don't get me wrong, I cannot fault the product at all, but the service and ambience was a bit of a let-down. The staff seemed bored which was quite ironic seeing as this is a company that embraces entertainment. There was certainly no sign of their brand values shining through. Finally, the main auditorium. Overall I found this to be quite a pleasant, yet generic, experience. The seats were comfy and I had room for my drink and popcorn (always a concern). The room was very clean, which is always a good sign, showing that the owners care. Brand Alignment From a film point of view I can't praise the AMC enough; for me, I feel the final chapter of Harry Potter was fantastic. However, the experience was completely generic and couldn’t be attributed to any cinema brand. I feel the main problem with the major cinemas (the AMC being no exception) is that they all look and feel pretty much the same. None of the cinema chains stands out and truly differentiates themselves in terms of the experience offered. As the cinema industry predicts what happens now the Harry Potter mayhem has come to an end and what the next big innovation will be (such as 4D and more bespoke cinemas opening), is there an opportunity for one of the major cinema players to think beyond the film (which in this case, I see as an hygiene factor) and focus on creating an unique cinema experience, which staff can embrace and deliver day in and day out? Even though other main chains in the UK have a bigger presence, AMC, potentially, are in great position to create a unique brand experience aligned with what is already rooted at the heart of their cinema – exceptional guest service. Did you know that AMC were the pioneers of the cup holder? Now that is a little gesture that made a big impact on the guest service. Could AMC create new and exciting gestures to deliver a truly entertaining experience? Could they bring the essence of entertainment back into the cinema world beyond the film? Looking at the cinema chains, what does seem clear is the potential for AMC (or potentially another of the big UK cinema chains) to really be famous for creating a uniquely different experience. It will be interesting to see how the industry continues to develop; maybe in years to come we will not only be excited by going to see a film but also the cinema we are going to watch it in.

The Aligner at Jessops

Being somewhat of a novice to all things photography, I was predictably nervous when it came to buying a new camera. The photos taken on my mobile over the years had served me well up until this point, but I knew that this year’s holiday snaps deserved to be in focus. With such a massive choice of cameras on the market, I knew that there must be at least one camera that could enhance my ‘talents’. Online shopping would have been my usual port of call if I was after convenience and a potential bargain, but I knew I needed a little bit extra in this scenario. I needed a person to talk me through my options, advise me, and provide a little bit of hand-holding. Enter Jessops- ‘with over 75 years in the photography business and the perfect choice for all of my photography needs’. The Experience Walking through the City Centre wondering where to look for my new camera, I literally stumbled upon the opening day of a brand new Jessops store. There were balloons outside of the store on the main high street and smiley staff chatting to passersby, offering the best deals around. I couldn’t believe my luck! I was warmly welcomed into the store by a young lady: “Can we help you today?” They certainly could help me. “I need a basic camera that I can use for work and holidays. Something I can pretty much sling around in my backpack and use on the go”. Warm lady responded: “I'm sure we’ll find you just the thing. Let me pass you over to XX, our store manager who will help you”. The store was very busy and I was somewhat surprised to be passed to the store manager, but very impressed by this all the same. I explained again to XX what I needed, stressing the point that I could not go out of my budget and hopefully giving him the message that I was not going to be his biggest sale of the day! XX didn't flinch and didn’t stop smiling for the rest of our encounter. I felt extremely pleased that the manager of the store was taking the time to provide such great customer service. He nodded intently, asked me a few more questions and I was shown a couple of cameras without delay that seemed perfect. Well done brand Jessops- I am very impressed at this stage. XX was called away and beamed that he had to leave me with a young chap (we'll call him Bob) who would take good care of me. I thanked XX and turned to ask Bob which camera would be best for me out of the final options. This is where the problem started. “I don’t know. They're all the same price” shrugged Bob. Oh dear. Bob looked bored and was already scanning the room for other prospect customers. I selected what I thought was the best camera and after some seriously pushy, sales behaviour about an additional accessories package, Bob rolled his eyes at my resistance and had seemingly had enough. He turned his back on me and spoke over his shoulder: “cash or card?”. I made my purchase and nothing else was said. Brand Alignment Sadly, there was no thank you for my purchase, no eye contact, no smiles; things that I had expected after such a sterling display of customer service from the rest of the team. Was this a younger team member who was simply not invested in the Jessops brand, or was this a case of commission-based customer service? You don't earn them commission; you don’t earn their best service? I have worked in several commission-based roles in my time, yet I'm sure I'm not the only one who can recognise an ‘upsell’ at 50 paces. My customer experience that day was brilliant up until that point, and all it took was just one moment of poor service to undo all of that hard work. The ironic thing is that if Bob had really listened to my initial needs (a camera to use on the go and sling around in my backpack) he could have quite easily sold me a case for my purchase - of course I needed one. I have actually purchased a camera case and a memory card elsewhere since. A customer journey is a precious thing. If it fails to meet your expectations at every point where you come into contact with the brand, it is all too easy to drop out (often into the arms of the competitor) and have your needs met elsewhere. Jessops certainly know how to deliver a very good customer experience and they stand firmly as the product specialists of their field with remarkable customer service standards - I commend them on that. If they can align their whole business to these wonderful standards, I will no doubt return and recommend their services. I might even go back for those camera accessories one day…

The Aligner in Venice (Airport!)

It's that time of year when many of us will be flying off on holiday and enjoying the experience of at least two different airports; an enjoyable indulgence or an ordeal depending on your point of view. On a more serious note the Competition Commission has recently ruled that BAA must sell off two of its airports. There are mixed views on this but certainly a strong body of opinion that this will be a good thing. Bob Atkinson from Travelsupermarket.com thinks the ruling will be welcomed by consumers. “The introduction of new operators for some of the UK’s key airports will give consumers greater choice and in turn should raise the standard of service within all UK airports across the board.” A future of greater choice and better service suggests that airports will be actively competing for our business. So as we prepared to fly from Leeds Bradford to Venice I was intrigued to see just how each of these fine airports are positioning themselves now. I suspected perhaps the ‘easiest’, ‘most hassle free’ or perhaps ‘the gateway to…..’ It was worth a look. The Brand Position Sadly the web sites was not too revealing. They worked perfectly well and were packed with useful information but no hint as to why we might choose to fly from their airport rather than one of their competitors. Very functional, very helpful but not really compelling. And to be fair to both of them, I have been on others and found the same kinds of messages. And maybe that’s for a reason. Could it be that the decisions we take are so driven by the airline routes and costs that the airport’s role is just to do a good job and get the hygiene factors right. It’s an interesting hypothesis and worth testing. The Experience At Leeds Bradford and checked in within 5 minutes of walking through the front door. This was exceptional and got us off to a great start. The facilities were adequate enough and if you didn’t fancy your cappuccino amongst hyper active children ready for their holiday or with adults who think the sun goes over the yard arm at 7.00 am then there was a lounge where you could pay and chill out. Arriving at Venice was also efficient enough, passing through baggage claim and passport control, but then it got interesting. In a very high profile position in the airport was the information and ticketing point which created a real feel that Venice Airport was a welcoming point to that region of Italy. The boat ride from the airport to Venice completed the experience. Now not every airport is built next to a lagoon, but Leeds Bradford didn’t really feel like the gateway to anywhere and so we could already start to see a positive differentiation in the airports. Leaving Venice was an altogether different story. The queues at the check in were not just long they were managed quite appallingly. People were trying to guess which line was going in which direction and no one from the airport was helping. I think there is a rule amongst B&B owners that the breakfast must always be great because its the last thing that people experience and it will live long in the memory. Having arrived at the check in 2.5 hours before takeoff we dashed to the gate as the flight was boarding. This is one experience you would want to forget. Not only was it stressful but the opportunity to enjoy the cafes, bars and shops which seem so important to the airport’s offer was completely lost… and the revenue with it. Brand Alignment My wife is an employee of the NHS and her first view was that if they had queues like that they would out amongst the people explaining what was going on and why as well as trying to sort it out. Well done brand NHS! Her second was more telling. Her honest view was that if we return to the region we will not be using Venice airport. There are plenty of alternatives and with a bit of planning the cost of flights will not be that different. In fact a small premium is probably worth paying to avoid this. And if you were going to invest in the region does this represent the level of efficiency and organisation you are likely to face. Not all decisions are taken rationally! So perhaps the brand for all airports does need defining and the actions need to be aligned to it. Leeds airport did nothing wrong but a more compelling proposition and experience from Manchester, East Midlands or Doncaster might make a difference. But even if airports do consider themselves to be a cog within a bigger process they are clearly gateways to both Brand England and Brand Italy. In which case they need to align to the positioning and values of the bigger brand. Either way there is a brand alignment challenge here. Airports could take a clear, differentiating position and seek to attract travellers – this will please the Competition Commission. They could be aligned to the bigger place brand that they serve and that will enhance the place brand. What seems clear is that their processes and behaviours should be aligned to these values because it is clear that decisions will be made or at least be influenced by the experience.

The Aligner at Homebase

Homebase has a lot on its plate if it’s to keep us fussy customers happy and maintain its position as the second largest home improvement retailer. Claiming they are recognised for offering choice, how did they do when I made a visit there to buy a few lowly grow bags for my wilting tomatoes? The Experience On my way home from work the other day, I walked nonchalantly into the garden section of Homebase with my trolley and headed to the outdoor bit expecting to pick up a few 50 litre grow bags for my tomatoes. On reaching the garden section, the only grow bags on offer were Homebase's own 33 litre grow bags, or Jamie Oliver's 50 litre grow bags. I hunted backwards and forwards around the garden section, getting increasingly frustrated looking for other grow bags, unable to believe that this is all they stock. All I wanted was a bog standard 50 litre grow bag, not some celebrity endorsed one at great cost or a bog standard 33 litre grow bag which wouldn’t really be big enough for my poor old tomatoes. In the end, after much consternation I decided to go for the 33 litre own brand grow bags because I couldn’t face buying a Jamie grow bag. I lugged four onto my trolley, paid and left feeling a bit disgruntled about the lack of choice and the way I felt I was being manipulated into buying a brand that I didn’t want to. Brand Alignment Now don’t get me wrong, I haven’t got anything against Jamie – he’s done great things to try and encourage healthy eating in schools and I truly admire his guts and get up and go. The Jamie Oliver brand is an amazing success story. But what I do question is whether the Jamie Oliver brand has stretched too far and whether Homebase has lived up to its aspirations of offering choice for customers. Whilst I can accept the cookery books and the pots of Jamie pesto you can buy from Sainsburys as well as the Jamie kitchen utensils and equipment, I struggle to feel comfortable seeing the smiling happy chappy on my grow bags every time I go into the greenhouse to water my plants or pick some salad leaves!! Is the brand being too opportunistic, stretching into these new areas? Some would argue that the Jamie brand is about healthy eating, so what could be healthier than growing your own veg? Whilst I agree with that, I'm uncomfortable with it because I feel the brand has become greedy, turning something that is essentially a good thing into something that is another commercial enterprise. In the end, my eventual choice was more of an emotional choice than a rational choice – if I was being rational I should have just bought the 50 litre Jamie bags, but I couldn’t be rational. I suppose it goes to show that we relate to brands on an emotional as well as a rational level. I also question Homebase's claim about offering choice for its customers – I certainly didn’t feel I was offered choice, I felt I was backed into a corner and had to take something I wasn’t totally happy with. Who would have thought that just buying a few grow bags would make me ask some philosophical questions like how far can a brand can stretch and how well does Homebase keep its promise of offering choice for its customers? Well my visit to Homebase did just that!

The Aligner at Premier Inn

The Premier Inn is a real success story – it's the UK and Ireland’s biggest and fastest growing hotel company and plans to get even bigger, adding 4,000 new rooms (a 9% increase) over the next year and expanding by 50% in the UK over the next five years. So what is it about Premier Inns that makes them so successful? The Experience I almost always stay in Premier Inns when I’m away on business. It’s not like I’m looking to be wined and dined at the Ivy and put up overnight at the Ritz, I just want something comfortable, clean and fit for purpose and this is exactly what my experience from Premier Inn almost always is. Booking my room on line is quick, straightforward and simple to do – I love all those things in my busy, over complicated life! Then on arrival, the staff are generally friendly, welcoming and helpful. The room is almost always just what I need – as a business traveller, I normally work flat out, so I need space to do this which I tend to get in bucket loads! Then when I finally crash I must have somewhere that’s comfortable to crash in. The beds are always King Size, the pillows are always comfortable, the sheets are always ironed, there’s never any springs coming through the mattress and I always get a good night’s sleep. In the morning, usually after a run, I want to get showered in somewhere that's clean and has more than just a trickle of water – I have never yet come across a bathroom that's been dirty or grout that's looked orange! The breakfasts are simple, filling, and healthy (if you go for the continental) and reasonably priced too – I don't feel ripped off at just over a fiver. So, all in all a really positive experience the majority of the time – how do they do it? Brand Alignment The answer is quite simple – they do what they say on the tin! They are a brand that is amazing at doing what they promise – consistently. And why are they so good at this? It’s because they know what their brand stands for and they make sure everything they do delivers this brand promise – a great example of brand alignment. Part of the Whitbread Group, they have a clear vision which is to build the best large scale hospitality brands in the world by being the most customer focused organisation there is. They do this by providing outstanding value and making everyday experiences feel special. Premier Inn has worked hard to deliver this vision by understanding what their customers want, which is ultimately a good night’s sleep. They also pride themselves on providing a warm welcome, comfortable beds, and great food, all at relatively low prices. Simple isn't it? But they know their customers and they deliver what their customers are after really well. A great example of a well aligned brand which is succeeding in this tough economic climate, where everything is premier apart from the price!

The Aligner at B&Q

With Focus DIY entering administration, how does B&Q live up to its promises? B&Q's mission is to help people create homes to be proud of, and they claim to be driven by five values - Customer first, Down to earth, Respect for people, We can do it and Nobody does it better - that live through all of their colleagues. As summer enters full swing, I needed a new lawnmower to help me keep the garden in state I could be proud of. B&Q had to be the perfect place to go… The Experience Online Jumping online, the B&Q website immediately asked me if I needed a new lawnmower by tomorrow. It was as if it could read my mind - I certainly did! And if it could save me a trip through the commuting masses, then all the better. This was going to be easy, or so I thought. A simple click later, and I was told that ‘the page you were looking for has not been found’. Not so good. Giving diy.com another chance, I finally found the lawnmower page, but was presented by a confusing mass of choice. Did I want rotary or cylinder? Hovver or tractor? Electric or Petrol? I had absolutely no idea. I wanted a nice friendly person to help me do it, so I got in the car and decided to go to the store. In Store B&Q Chester started much the same as diy.com - a mass of loosely associated products. I ambled down the lawnmower aisles for a few minutes and found one that seemed perfect: electric, cordless and under £100. Too good to be true? It was - at the counter I was informed it was actually £249. So why was it with the £89 mowers? Maybe products and process not working hand in hand. After ten more frustrating minutes I finally found my saviour, the lovely Elaine. Whilst she was as baffled as us by the pricing system, she certainly knew her onions and after quickly and imply assessing the size of my garden and what I wanted the mower for (to keep the grass down, not to create a mini Wembley Stadium), she directed me to a small petrol rotary. Mountfiled was the brand she recommended -the biggest and the best in her words, and I felt thoroughly confident in the model she’s chosen for us. She even passed on an insider top tip about changing the oil after first use, which wasn’t even in the manual. Brilliant. So - a fantastic in store colleague experience, but as soon as I had selected my mower I was straight out of the store. A missed opportunity for B&Q. Brand Alignment The delivery of the B&Q brand through its people were brilliant, but it felt like at every stage of my customer journey processes were pulling against the brand. The colleagues in store embodies the spirit of ‘Down to earth’, ‘Customer first’ and ‘Nobody does it better’ that are crucial brand values, but the confused and broken website and messy in-store pricing really challenged my patience as a customer. So many businesses have a brand vision yet struggle to motivate their people to deliver it. This is clearly not the case with B&Q, and yet there are fundamental challenges to the complete alignment of their brand. This needs to be addressed and out right, because if the B&Q people’s passion wanes, they become just another home improvement store.