Your brand isn’t a story you tell. It’s one where your customers live.
I used to joke that branding was marketing without any responsibility. It got a few laughs—and maybe a few side-eyes from the branding folks—but underneath that joke is a hard truth.
Many people have a misguided understanding of what branding really is. They think it’s about color palettes, logo design, and slick taglines. And while all that can help, none of it matters if your customer experience doesn’t live up to the story you’re telling. Because here’s the reality: your customer experience is your brand.
Beyond a Promise
When people talk about branding, the conversation inevitably turns to the “brand promise”—the expectations people have when they engage with your business. Is your brand about low cost? Is it a high-touch service? Easy returns? Great design? Hyper-personalized support?
Here’s the thing: it doesn’t matter what you claim. What matters most is what people experience when they interact with you. If you say you’re high-touch and premium, but customers feel like they’re navigating a maze to get help, your brand isn’t what you claim it to be. It’s what they perceive it to be—based on what you actually deliver.
Let’s take Disney. Everyone knows the Disney brand is built on “magical moments.” But that’s not just clever marketing. It’s deliberate. When something goes wrong in the park—long lines, cranky kids, overheated parents—suddenly, like magic, a character appears. A princess. A stormtrooper. Mickey and Minnie. They pose for pictures, delight the crowd, and reset the energy. It seems spontaneous, but it’s not. That’s engineered. It’s part of the system, and it’s all on purpose. That’s branding through experience.
You can do that, too.
The Customer Journey
If you want to discover what your brand truly represents, begin by deeply understanding what your customers experience. In my book, Great CEOs are Lazy, I explore the concept of “stapling yourself to a customer.” This idea means stepping into their shoes and experiencing your processes from their perspective. You’ll gain valuable insights, and at times, what you uncover may challenge your comfort zone.
You might remember the show Undercover Boss. The concept was simple: a CEO goes undercover to see what it’s really like to work in their own company. Almost every time, it was a revelation. Sometimes, people didn’t even recognize the CEO. At times, what they observed was heartbreaking, but it was always instructive. When leaders returned and made changes based on their observations, the impact was significant.
I remember when I was running a large company, and my computer started acting up. Within minutes, two senior IT guys showed up to fix it. I asked them, “Is this what you do for everyone?” They laughed and said, “Of course not. You’re the only one we do this for.”
And that hit me. What brand experience are we creating for everyone else? If we tell the world we’re a high-service company but only executives get concierge-level help, what are we really saying?
Not every business can afford to give VIP treatment to every customer—I get that—but you can at least find out what the regular experience looks like. If you can’t “staple yourself” directly to the journey, get a friend to help. Ask them to go through the process. Report back. Be honest with yourself about the brand you’re actually delivering.
Start with a simple exercise. Describe your ideal brand experience in five to ten words. Then, ask your team to do the same. Then, ask your customers. And here’s the critical question: are those words aligned? If not, what’s missing in your delivery?
That’s the key. Branding isn’t a brochure. It’s not the website font. It’s the lived experience. You don’t need to go full Hollywood to learn from this. However, you must be willing to listen, look closely, and act. Customers can detect the gap between promise and reality from a mile away.
A quote I love sums it up perfectly: “Your actions speak so loudly that I can’t hear your words.”
The Moments That Matter
As an entrepreneur, you don’t have time to build a fake brand. And you don’t need to. The most powerful brand you can build is one where the experience matches the promise. Where trust builds or diminishes every time someone interacts with your product, your people, or your platform.
So next time you’re in a brand strategy meeting, forget the slogans for a minute. Ask the harder question: What do people actually experience when they deal with us? That’s how brands are built—not in the marketing meeting, but in the moments that matter.
