Small moments, big impact
Build Mode™ Issue 12.2024
How to turn everyday interactions into brand-building moments
So you check out a new restaurant that everyone in town has been raving about. The photo gallery on their website shows an ambiance that is right up your alley and your favorite dish is on the menu. You’re excited and arrive with high expectations.
But when you walk in, the host barely acknowledges you. As you’re seated, you notice your table is off-balance so you add a napkin under the leg. The menus are smudged. The server insists on memorizing your order instead of writing it down and they forget your special request. Once corrected, the food is phenomenal. After dinner, the check comes as a folded paper face down and a Bic pen clipped on top. There’s an automatic gratuity added. As you leave, the host says nothing, just a quick head nod.
How are you feeling after all this?
Even if the food was amazing, I’m guessing your overall experience is tainted by the accumulation of the little moments that fell short of your expectations. That’s the influence of brand touchpoints.
A restaurant experience is not unlike other professions. Your brand has touchpoints everywhere. They shape the perception of your projects, your firm, and your values. The question is: are you using them strategically?
What are brand touchpoints?
Brand touchpoints are all the interactions people have with your brand, big or small, direct or indirect.
That seems like a lot (because it is)! Brand touchpoints are not just your brand assets, like your logo, or website, or business card, they are cumulative moments that make up your clients’ experience with you, and your prospects’ impression of you, from the sign on the door to your phone greeting.
Think about where your brand interacts with your audience. Every touchpoint is an opportunity to make an impression and build a trusting relationship. This isn’t an exhaustive list, but here’s one way to break down the many ways your brand comes into contact with the people you’re trying to reach.
Physical (interactions in the real world):
Environments
Experiences
Signage
Physical products
Brochures
Stationery
Digital (interactions online and on our phone):
Website
Emails
Social media posts
Videos
Apps
Human (person-to-person connections):
Phone calls
Meetings
Networking
Indirect (connection to your brand from others):
Word of mouth
Partnerships
Public relations and media
From physical interactions to digital experiences, human connections, and even the intangibles you have no control over, each one contributes to how your brand is understood and remembered.
Why do brand touchpoints matter?
When it comes to the built environment and industries built on relationships, trust is everything. Because you’re selling more than a product, you’re selling the experience of working with you. This is why your brand touchpoints matter — they create connections, build trust, and shape your reputation.
Think of it like this…
Imagine your reputation as a bucket you want to fill up. Each touchpoint that leaves a positive impression is a single drop in the bucket. Little by little, drip by drip, it’ll take time, but eventually it fills up.
However, each touchpoint that leaves a negative impression is like spilling the bucket. Maybe just a splash for the small slip-ups, or a huge spill for the massive flubs. Once the bucket empties, you’ll need to replenish what you’ve lost plus fill it up again, one drop at a time.
Every. Impression. Matters.
The challenge is that many firms think the deliverable, the final outcome, is what matters most. They overlook the moments between the moments. The truth is your touchpoints speak louder than your product. Consider:
The snappy email response when something goes wrong
The weathered and torn construction sign that’s been neglected
The flimsy and folded business card with denim stains
The presentation that was hastily prepared with typos on pages 3, 11, 17, and 23
The webpage with technical errors and text too tiny to read
These are the kinds of touchpoints that chip away at your reputation, rather than build it up.
Flip it and reverse it.
Use these moments as opportunities to strengthen your reputation and others’ confidence in your brand.
A composed message that demonstrates steady leadership amidst challenging times
A consistent brand presence from your project site to your website
The premium business card that aligns with the premium quality of your own service
The well-crafted presentation with clear message demonstrating a purpose-driven firm
The website with leading edge technology that demonstrates innovation and intuition
At each touchpoint, your brand has an opportunity to either strengthen or weaken its relationship with your audience. It’s your choice to fill your bucket, or let it spill.
What you can do next with touchpoints
Now that you know the importance of touchpoints big and small, how do you ensure each one is working for you, not against you?
Here are a few things you can do.
List existing touchpoints
Take inventory of every interaction your company has with others. Where do they hear your name? Where do they encounter your brand? Use the categorization format above (physical, digital, human, and indirect) to catalog them all.
Audit the experience
Once you have your list, evaluate each touchpoint for consistency with your brand values, alignment with your brand identity, and its value to your audience. How might they be feeling at this point in their experience of getting to know you or working with you? The answers may reveal gaps and opportunities.
Design the journey
We can’t talk about touchpoints without talking about customer journey. Consider how your audience moves sequentially and seamlessly from one to the next.
Before people start working with you, how do your actions build awareness of your brand and lead them to choose you over others?
During the experience of working with you, how do your actions deliver a premium experience?
After people work with you, how do your actions ensure they work with you again and advocate for you in the future?
Optimize for impact
Back to our bucket of water metaphor…
Where you find leaks, fill them.
Where you find the water source, open the valve.
In other words, fix the touchpoints that are inconsistent with your brand and where you’re losing connection with your audience, and enhance the touchpoints that are already working well.
Experiment to start
It’ll be impossible to tackle everything everywhere all at once. Choose just one touchpoint, one where you’ll have the most impact, to focus on improving this month. Even small adjustments can have a big impact.
At the extreme end, brand touchpoints are moments that can make or break your reputation. More realistically though, they are moments – that when taken cumulatively – will deepen relationships, communicate your values, and differentiate your brand in your industry. With the primer above, you can now turn interactions into meaningful moments that build trust and build your reputation.
That’s all for the December issue of Build Mode! Thanks again for being here.
Hopefully you’ve gotten something useful from this breakdown on brand touchpoints. Did it resonate with you? If you need help mapping or enhancing any of your brand touchpoints, this is an area where I can support you. As always, feel free to get in touch.
Talk soon!
Best.
Kenny Isidoro
See my latest on Instagram, LinkedIn, or feel free to book a call.
How you do anything is how you do everything.
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