Who Are We?
I was walking into work the other day early in the morning, as a matter of fact the sun was just starting to peak over many of the buildings downtown. Sometimes when the downtown streets are quiet my mind wanders since there's not a lot going on. Of course in these early hours, my senses are always a little bit heightened because I'm thinking a little bit about security, or lack thereof, before the streets start to bustle. It must be this somewhat heightened state that enables me to have some of my either best or just plain active thoughts. Yep, I'm definitely a morning person.
Back to my morning walk to the office and why I'm telling you about it. I passed a FedEx truck. I pass that exact truck all the time, but for some reason on this morning, I really paid attention and noticed that their tagline is FedEx - The World On Time. To me it seemed perfect. What a great descriptor. I'll bet it took a lot of hours to finally come up with that. They always say simplicity is genius. As I continued my walk, I was thinking that I knew as soon as I got to my computer my curious mind would take over and I would want to understand how their tagline came about and what their primary competitors tagline was. I learned that the "The World on Time" became FedEx's tagline in 2011. The tagline, or as they like to call it, brand line communicates a greater sense of speed, urgency, and precision over their competition. Each word speaks something and reinforces the company's position as a global provider of time sensitive delivery service. Many times we will say FedEx even when it may not be FedEx services you're actually using. So they've been really successful in having their name becomes synonymous with universal speedy delivery service.
So of course I had to also look at their primary competitor UPS. Their brand line which has been in place since 2003 is UPS - Synchronizing the World of Commerce. My research with UPS shows just how difficult coming up with a great tagline or branding line can be. Don't get me wrong, theirs is good - Synchronizing the World of Commerce, but it sure didn't hit me like FedEx's. Like FedEx, UPS has had a variety of taglines and branding efforts and probably many of them have been superior to FedEx's. Both companies are so incredibly successful, we would all do well to study them and pluck out whatever lessons we can.
As I looked back to who we are as a company and our tagline RealWired - Streamlining the Process of Commercial Real Estate, it's easy to be critical. Our tagline was developed nearly 10 years ago. So maybe it's gotten old and stale. But as I look at it I'm probably too close and so I still see it as having good value. Here at RealWired, whether we are bringing software solutions or providing educational or consulting services, at our core, we are looking for ways to make the business of commercial real estate go faster. You and I work in a paper and process laden industry which requires a lot of players and a significant level of complexity. While I'm still okay with Streamlining the Business of Commercial Real Estate, I'm only okay with it. I'd like it better if it told in a few short words, that we believe that people are the most important part of any real estate transaction or process. I wish it conveyed that we truly believe that the way to help people do things better and faster is by helping them discover the positive benefits of change. I wish our tagline better described the benefit people would receive by working with our team. I guess that's why on my early-morning walk to the office, I was so struck by FedEx because its four words - The World on Time, spoke so clearly and my seven words don't quite say what I wish it did.
I challenge you. Do you have a tagline? Do you give consideration to what other people think. Who is your brand? I think for many of us in commercial real estate, we forget about the fact that what we're trying to convey is an emotional story. Most branding exercises certainly take you through a process that will help you determine a good descriptor...it's not easy, but it's powerful. And as a good friend of mine who is an excellent marketer once told me, "If you're not willing to take the time and effort to develop and share a brand you believe in, you'll be subject to the brand that other people give you." So I guess I also challenge you to give this a little thought no matter what the size and nature of your business. Take some time and put together your company's strengths, your target market and the niche that your product or service best serves. And while you're doing so, wondering whether it's a good use of your time, think about one of the oldest taglines and the value it brought them - The Greatest Show on Earth. I know you know the company behind it.
