It all started innocently enough. I was performing the Saturday suburban ritual of mowing the lawn. Little did I know the Gods of branding were preparing a wrathful brand-building lesson for me.

Blammo! Out went the side of the engine block on my riding mower. I’m not a mechanic, but I know if cast iron engine chunks and hot oil shoot out that doesn’t sound normal. The vehicle had been a reliable piece of antiquity dating back to the Nixon administration. This didn’t sound too good. I admitted to myself it was dead. My mourning passed immediately. I started thinking about a new mower. Since I was currently working on two large branding projects the whole process of designing for customer experience was top of mind. You remember the customer experience don’t you? That’s the real thing that happens in stores and online when people decide to part with their hard earned money. We in the advertising world like to mimic this sacred ritual by holding focus groups.

Back to my mission. I started thinking about my buying process. I thought, “What recommendations have I heard from friends?” It should not be surprising that this is our first step. 58% of us trust people that are like us (Edelman Trust Barometer 2008). This is exactly the reason Capstrat launched Engagement Marketing. “John Deere” I thought. I had seen the caps, license plate, frames and t-shirts. My neighbor owns a fleet of John Deere vehicles ranging from a riding mower to a large tractor with all sorts of implements of destruction. His loyalty was so strong. I practically felt ashamed to even consider another brand.

Step one. Word of mouth value. Research shows we trust friends more than advertising. Okay I get that.

So I do a little research online. The John Deere website is well organized. I quickly learn the differences between models. This allowed me to compare features that are most important. I can even skip right to the buying phase. But the price tag is so high I need to check them out in First Life. The Web site gives me a complete line of dealers. Not just big box retailers but also the small shops. The model that best fits me is only available at a small local dealer. Off I go.

Step two. Most buying decisions start online then lead to the offline world. Check.

As I stepped through the door I was instantly struck at the systematic organization. This John Deere dealer had all the branded signs, both informative and promotional displayed throughout. From any vantage point I could see the signage leading me to different topics. They were all coordinated and all beautifully created. There were displays filled will beautifully packed parts, apparel and oh yeah, lawn mowers.

Step three. Use your environment to always sell your message, not just your product.

John Deere gets this. While plenty of images show mowers, they focused on the customer benefits. All the grass was bright green and all the families smiled as they enjoyed their backyards. Lawn maintenance is hard work, but boy was it romanticized. I YEARNED to cut grass right then.

Within a couple of minutes a sales person approached me. I asked questions, he answered them. Funny how that doesn’t work everywhere. I immediately felt he was trained on the products and loved talking about them. As an effective sales person, he led me to decisions. He never sold me. Heck! He didn’t need to. I was ready to buy when I walked it. A good brand does that to people. I finally asked for his recommendation. It was the most expensive in the class but he acknowledged the price, explained it and told me how it fit with my criteria. There goes that customer experience thing again. It was about me. After a five-minute conversation I was ready to buy.

Step four. Fulfill the brand promise in everything you do.

I’m sure nothing makes CMOs cringe faster than realizing their clever, heavily researched advertising does a fantastic job of creating product desire only to be met with the blunt force trauma of sales staff apathy. Sorry I know that’s harsh but go through a fast food drive through and see if you get the same experience as they do on TV. Call me silly but consumers expect you to deliver what you promise. Too often organizations scrimp on training, particularly brand training, in lieu of larger marketing budgets. Don’t get me wrong, in my business I love large marketing budgets. We have to remember to balance the rush of advertising to build bigger audiences with real, sustainable experiences that reinforce the brand over the long term. A fast food chain in our area, Chick-fil-A, is a great example of this. They compete regionally with big chains like McDonald’s and Burger King. Instead of focusing on huge TV budgets they use lots of outdoor and stick to what they produce well. This allows them to spend more budget educating workers to be better customer service providers. The payout works. They do not over promise on the brand yet they over deliver on the experience. They make me feel less bad about eating fast food.

Step five. Listen to the users. Design and refine.

My new mower is incredibly easy to use. Everything is well designed and engineered to deliver a consistent user experience. The one-pull start, balanced bag holder, comfortable throttle bar and convenient blade lock. It all just works. Clearly John Deere knows the art of lawn mowing. It’s clear they have spent hours behind a mower. The product continues to get better and the reward for the brand enthusiast continues to grow along with it. Companies need to have a clear understanding of who owns the brand. It’s not a corporate brand manager. It’s the user. A brand is not what we say it is. It’s what the user believes. To effectively put research into practice marketers need to both listen and hear consumers. They’re different. Great brand do a lot of listening. Before I was enlightened I practiced the art of self-defense while mowing. The disco era mower would shoot things out, stall repeatedly and clog constantly. With a new mower that lives up to its brand promise I have it easy. Now I get in the mowing Zen zone and think.

I think about why brand building can be so complex. Then I think about John Deere and the most rewarding brand experience I’ve ever had. The brand promise that’s fulfilled each Summer Saturday morning.