Editor’s note: This article was first published in October 2013. It refers to the 2013 rankings, including Apple overtaking Coca-Cola as the most valuable brand in Interbrand’s Best Global Brands 2013, and to 2013 rumours about changes at Microsoft; Frampton was Interbrand’s global CEO at the time.
Tech companies have taken the top spots both in the ranking of the world’s most valuable companies and in that of the most innovative companies, with one clear winner: Apple, which has knocked Coca-Cola off the top spot as the world’s most valuable brand and remains the most innovative.
Jez Frampton, head of Interbrand Global, says that building a brand takes a long time, but some tech companies, such as Facebook and Google, have learned to do it at a speed never seen before. For Frampton, these new companies that have had such a big impact on users can teach owners of small businesses a great deal, and he shares four lessons a small company can copy from global brands.
1. Be consistent
Persistent, consistent, insistent… If we look at the big brands, one of the things at the heart of their success is precisely consistency. They have a very clear vision of what the world is to them, what the world needs and what everyone wants, which is why Apple, Google and Facebook are consistent year after year, each in its own way. But the winner when it comes to consistency and persistence is, without a doubt, Coca-Cola.
2. Be agile
According to Frampton, new startups must be agile so they can quickly take advantage of gaps in the market. For Frampton, a business doesn’t always end up doing what it started out doing. In other words, many companies that once started as a social network are now an online shop or a newspaper.
See also: How to sink a business in four steps, as taught by El Corte Inglés
You have to be agile. This might seem to contradict consistency, but the truth is that you have to know how to adapt to changes in the market and recognise when the effort isn’t worth it given your prospects.
If we look closely, the companies that have shown the most agility are Apple and Google, which move at dizzying speed when it comes to taking decisions and changing direction. IBM, for its part, learned to change direction completely, and Microsoft, right now, according to some rumours, could be entering a period of change that will shape the company’s future.
3. Focus on service
Customer loyalty is one of the most important factors in the strength and reputation of our brand. “Brands are built through every experience people have”, so the service must be remembered as simply “great” and flawless. If you fail on service, you have ruined the whole process. That is why, once again, Apple comes out on top when it comes to service, and according to Frampton, it is very hard for any company to compete with Apple’s “Genius Bar“.
4. Use technology to your advantage
Many companies confront technology, looking for ways to stop new technologies from affecting their business. You should do exactly the opposite and make technology your ally.
(Read: 10 technology-based business ideas)
Digital innovation has been key to the success of many of the big global brands, especially the oldest and most traditional ones. Burberry is an example of a company that has reinvented itself through digital.
Above all, a small business should learn from these big global brands that it is not just about surviving. It is not about maintaining sales. You have to keep looking for growth, because if you don’t grow, another company will do it for you and sooner or later put you out of business. (Read: How much a business needs to grow to make it worthwhile)
Further reading
- Entrepreneur advice that contradicts what we believe
- Why an entrepreneur needs to be as prepared as a sniper
Featured image: Web Summit, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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