As Marcus Lemonis says: “Business is simple. It’s people, process and product. If you get those three things right, you win.” That wisdom from the successful investor and star of “The Fixer” cuts straight to the heart of what makes organizations succeed or struggle.
Lemonis’ framework strips away complexity and gets to the fundamentals that actually matter. When he evaluates a struggling business, he doesn’t get lost in elaborate strategic plans or fancy marketing concepts. He looks at three core elements that determine whether any organization will thrive or fail.
The same framework that helps Lemonis transform failing businesses can revolutionize how you think about your organization’s brand. Most places get caught up in logo redesigns, color palettes and marketing campaigns when their real brand challenges run much deeper.
Your brand isn’t just what you say about yourself; it’s what consumers experience through your products, processes and people. When you put your credit union or bank brand through the Fixer’s filter, you start addressing the fundamentals that create lasting competitive advantages.
1. People
Your people are your brand. Every interaction consumers have with your staff either strengthens or weakens your brand positioning. Ask yourself some questions:
- Do your employees understand your brand well enough to live it?
- Are they equipped with the knowledge and tools to deliver brand-consistent experiences?
- Do your hiring, training, and performance management systems support your brand promise?
In one mystery shop we performed, the staff felt so little passion for their institution’s brand that they directed our shopper to a competitor. Yikes! The leadership of this organization needed to go back and answer those people-related questions.
Scripted interactions or forcing artificial enthusiasm aren’t important here. You need a team that genuinely understands your brand values and feels empowered to deliver experiences that reflect those values.
The most effective credit union and bank brand training both teaches people what to say, yes, but it also encourages them to connect words to values. When your people truly understand and embrace your brand, they become your most powerful marketing asset.
2. Process
Process either strengthens or undermines your brand, often without you realizing it. Every interaction, every procedure, every system either supports your brand promise or contradicts it. Ask yourself these questions:
- Are your processes designed around consumer convenience or internal efficiency?
- Do your procedures reflect your brand values, or do they create friction that damages relationships?
- Are your systems enabling great experiences or preventing them?
Here’s a common example of a process that contradicts brand values. Many credit unions pride themselves on friendliness and accessibility to local communities. However, they implement phone systems that force consumers to talk with inept, annoying robots. This feature screams “giant institution” rather than “local friend.” The process contradicts the brand promise, creating cognitive dissonance that frustrates consumers.
The most successful organizations design processes that intentionally reinforce their brand positioning. Perform an honest assessment of every consumer touchpoint and decide if anything needs a revamp. You may also need a whole new journey map to operationalize how your brand translates into the service experience.
3. Product
A product isn’t just physical. It can be intangible, and many products offered by financial organizations are. You are still “selling” something to consumers, even if the checking account is free. The product filter forces you to ask these tough questions:
- Are your offerings actually solving problems, or are they just copying what competitors do?
- Do your products reflect your brand values, or do they contradict them?
- Are you delivering solutions that create genuine value, or are you just checking boxes?
Too many financial institutions have product portfolios that evolved by accident rather than design. They offer nine checking accounts because they just kept adding over time without any strategic subtractions. They want younger demographics, but they have loan programs inaccessible to those niches.
You need the right products that consistently deliver on your brand promise. When your product portfolio aligns with your brand strategy, every service becomes a brand touchpoint that reinforces who you are and what you stand for.
The Fixer’s Truth
Marcus Lemonis’ success comes from focusing on fundamentals rather than getting distracted by superficial fixes. The same principle applies to brand building for your organization.
When you put your brand through the Fixer’s filter, you stop treating branding as a marketing exercise and start treating it as an organizational discipline that touches every aspect of your operation.
That’s when your brand stops being something you have and starts being something you are.
Ready to have a brand like that? Book a free consultation and let’s discuss credit union or bank brand training and consumer experience training today.
