A brand's actions speak louder than their (advertising) words

Most parents out there will recognise the phase:"Actions speak louder than words." It is something we might say when the kids promise they will behave..but then don’t!

It reminds me of the way too many brands behave.

You know the drill...

...you see see a nice glossy TV ad with a message promising that brand blah cares about their customers... then experience first-hand the misery of trying to speak with an overseas outsourced call centre.

...you are dealing with a brand organisation that states on their website, internal posters, etc, that customer service excellence is one of their corporate values - but their front desk staff behave like they don’t give a damn.

This is business suicide because when a brand says one thing and does another, consumers get hacked-off.

For me it is simple.

Brand organisations must consider the brand experiences they deliver at every consumer touchpoint (maybe using the path to advocacy framework), and break-down silos to ensure they promise, deliver and delight consumers - because that's how to drive loyalty and maybe even advocacy (two success drivers)

“Actions speak louder than words” should be the mantra of every brand organisations.