I believe it has to begin with owner or CEO in the company. I often consult within the manufacturing sector – medical device and electronics to be more specific. So often the owner or CEO considers cost cutting over experiementing with brand marketing. I say, experiementing, as this is how branding is often looked at by those who don’t have brand marketing as their passion. I express the fact that committing to a brand strategy, as your “outperformism” will most certainly lead to a significiant competitive advantage.

My joy is working with those who welcome a better path in building relationships over taking orders.

The one thing I notice is that you equate branding with the buy-in of customer-facing staff. In my experience, gaining commitment, not just cooperation, of the customer-facing staff is critical and difficult to achieve. Old habits, processes and compensation structures all conspire against you in motivating employees to “step out” of the company guidelines to provide a memorable experience to their customers.

You must start with vision, as you have outlined here, but you cannot stop there. Enlisting early adopter employees, gaining quick wins and marketing internally all are critical components to achieving success at such a meaningful change.