Companies with bold views stand out

A company with no stance doesn’t stand out.

There’s a fear in marketing that if the brand messaging doesn’t allow for everyone’s opinion, the customer portion who disagree will be alienated by the company’s stance. There’s some truth to this; any company whose brand stance maintains that white people are superior to black people will lose customers in Chicago. However, many of the ways a company’s values stand out would generate dialogue, not distress (Miller).

Muldoon’s stance on business coffee usage is an example. Muldoon’s asserts that businesses waste six percent of their total payroll on employee coffee trips. Their research and assumptions on employee habits open a discussion on the topic and set their company apart. With this stance, Muldoon is saying they believe companies should offer better coffee to their employees and that, if they don’t supply better coffee than Starbucks, they’re wasting money by supplying on any office coffee at all. That message stands out and is likely to cause dialogue about office activity and coffee.

A marketer might balk at this stance, for some businesses will say it’s foolish to waste money supplying their employees with gourmet coffee. Others will say that, if a company will supply coffee, they ought to supply other beverages as well. What the marketer doesn’t realize is that: 1) the customers who disagree with Muldoon’s stance were unlikely ever to be paying customers and 2) the customers who do want gourmet coffee will identify Muldoon as a place they can get it. If the brand messaging were vague, something like “we supply delicious instant coffee at an affordable price,” their brand is no different from Keurig.

The aspects that make a company unique should become part of their marketing strategy, despite the hesitance that customers may disagree with your stance. There is wisdom involved to be sure, but the four-fold bottom-line does make the businesses we are considering stand out. To be ‘spiritually open and respectful’ is not a value I’ve ever seen a company advertise, but that would certainly generate dialogue in the marketplace and attract a subset of customers who value that openness, many of whom I probably wouldn’t expect. A polarizing stance doesn’t have to split my customers into two camps, those who hate me and those who love me, but can make my brand stand out and impact the marketplace.

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