It was 10 minutes after 8:00am when I heard my family crying after receiving a phone call from the hospital. It was May 7, 2007, I remember that day in every detail. Before one day, I was in the hospital and for a moment I didn’t feel that my father was good, I felt something inside me, he had quadriplegia, he can’t move or talk. I kissed his hand and left.

In My Father, My Brand Inspiration – Part 1, I wrote about my father’s core values: passion, consensus, honesty, energetic, patience and faith.

In part 2, I will share what I learned in life after what my father raised in me. Here are another set of attributes that my father’s brand shine with:

Unselfishness:

“Salah Saleh was behind my new national record”, that statement is the title written on the newspaper. Mr. Abbas Jabbar is the new national hammer throw champion, my father’s record stand for 16 years and here is the story of the new record as translated from Mr. Jabbar’s interview.

“Salah Saleh was in the same military unit as mine, he was the national champion. I was watching him closely and watch how he throw the hammer. I even sometimes bring the hammer for him. With his support and encouragement and even the game is difficult, requires good technique and a lot of physical exams, I started to understand the game with all its tricks. Under his supervision and coaching, I broke the record”.

That’s one of my father brand attributes that created his unique personal brand, a brand that friends and family keep talking about it today even after five years, this is What Would You Like Someone to Say About You at Your Funeral?

As Mohammed today, I learned after all these years that selfishness in management is a cancer and paralyze the entire management system or project.  As in my current role as Chief Experience Officer, one thing I remind my team and upper leadership about is that I am building a management system that can run without my continuous presence, If I created that, I will consider myself successful, If I don’t and everything must run with my presence then I am kind of selfish. Just distinguish between being aggressive and selfish. When I hear that I left a value and good standing system in my previous roles, I knew that I am branding myself to unselfishness.

Humble:

My father can start and engage in a conversation with anyone, he can make fun with kids and seniors. He is a master when it comes to social life. He is not arrogant and everybody loves him, he don’t let others feel he is more important than them.

I learned that being humble is what makes friends, team or anyone you meet feel comfortable to connect with you in the future. Your charisma is what makes your personal brand unique and being humble can surround you with a network that you could need their help one day. I meet a lot of arrogant friends and till today, I don’t understand what the point of being arrogant in this short life. Being humble become like a Trust Agent for the team, people like humble person, they feel she/he close to them than a boss who just say hi and bye! until we have robots who the run the company, remember we are dealing with humans like us.

Thoughtful:

My father care about people he know and don’t know, he care about people walking on the street or even driving., he give preference to others, he give preference to others when driving even if he stop for 15min.! he is ready to cancel an important meeting if he want to help someone. He always want to make others happy, he used to buzz me to help people when they need it, he is doing it for no return, it’s just make him happy.

I am still learning that people don’t have good times everyday and that neglecting people emotions or feelings could result in weakening the team’s morals or demotivating employees to work, being thoughtful is attribute we should have, we all have to understand what the “Unknown” said:

When companies started to have a role like Chief Emotions Officer, it means that businesses started to care about employees and customers emotions, employees are not human resources, they are partners in your overall success or failure, we have to provide a culture and environment that makes everyone comfortable else you will end with more turn-over, resources wasted, and null referrals. Employees can create better customer experience, better business and better system. The sales minute, the decision change in choosing products, the click for putting an item in the cart are all reside in people’s emotions at that minute, your unsubconscious mind, that’s where it started, somebody who is thoughtful about others.

At the end, no one is perfect but I am sure that I and my sisters raised in a good hands, Allah bless his soul.

In How Dubai Builds Brands, I wrote about Dubai’s brand and how it always creating a promise of exciting events, thrilling brand extension and uniqueness of architects and buildings.

UAE didn’t stop to the examples that I wrote before two years, they continue the excitement by opening Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, the largest indoor and first Ferrari theme park, located on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, UAE. Also, Armani Hotel Dubai opened his first hotel in Burj Khalifa and much more!

What makes me write this post is Real Madrid building $1 billion resort island in the United Arab Emirates. The 4.6 million-square-foot venture is in partnership with the government of the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah is set to open in 2015 and expected to attract a million visitors in its first year of operation.

UAE is doing a doing an excellent marketing. Marketing for their brand by using other brands. Attracting other brands fans to talk about UAE brand. Moving the brands fans from brands home and bring them to UAE so they feel their brands overseas too.

Smart strategy.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WYBtaiPyfg

Boring Saturday at the mall, every sales agent greeted me with the traditional “How can I help you?” and a fake smile. Customer service is still swinging in a fixed place.

Your business brand is what people think about it in terms of experience which comes from feelings. Nothing stick in mind if you don’t have emotions or feelings with the product or service.

Scott Stratten in his book UNMarketing wrote about his life time experience with carpet-cleaning man, let’s quote part of his excellent book:

“I had a meeting at Wynn during the BlogWorld conference. I strolled in though the majestic doors with a friend of mine. As soon as we walked in we spotted a man (Wes) using a large carpet-cleaning machine. He wasn’t in our way, so we really thought nothing of it, but he thought differently.

He stopped what he was doing. He looked … and smiled. Not one of those “it’s part of my job to smile” ones, but genuine, warm, authentic smile. And then he said, “Good afternoon, and welcome to the Wynn, please enjoy your day” all the while looking on us right in the eye, like it was his mission to ensure that we knew he meant business.” His welcome changed my entire perception of the Wynn.”

Scott now is a loyal customer for Wynn. Someone in Wynn business moved his feelings and it stick with him forever. Honestly, it moved mine and I would love to test it one day in Wynn Las Vegas.

The same thing apply to restaurants, hospitals, shopping malls, tourist cities, airlines, etc.

It’s in your customer’s unconscious mind where all the action is. I will talk about that in the upcoming post but right now, tell me:

What your business is doing to evoke customer’s feelings?

I am a big fan of Ralph Lauren, Nike, HUGO BOSS, and many other fashion brands. Whenever I visit my favorite brand stores, I see people, I see joy, and I see people in line for the cashier.

Whenever I visit Lacoste stores, I see Lacoste sales people. I see new products. I see colorful shirts. I see high prices. I see clean floor.

Today, we are lucky to have many communication channels open to talk about brands and empty store stop the conversation about your brand. All what people talk about Lacoste brand are high prices and good products but good products should attract more cu$tomer$ not the opposite.

Smart business owners and store managers should keep their stores busy, they should activate the power of brand conversation by developing innovative ideas such as:

• Make every Saturday a day for people to buy according to their budget, make it like a car dealership bargain.
• With every $100  or more purchase, offer one free piece with free shipping to be delivered after a week, make them eager for your product.
• Offer the customer a tablet with smart app to make him design a model they want, send customer design to manufacture and share it once it’s ready on Facebook or Twitter, do you think the customer will “share” it on social sites or buy it online?
• Develop some co-marketing strategies with stores that customers visited before yours (and study why?).

I don’t go to empty medical clinic, I don’t try empty restaurant, I don’t step in empty shopping mall but I could go to empty gas station . I believe the crocodile is frighten people from entering Lacoste stores.

It’s just another day that I go to the barber. Nothing new, going on time so nobody take my place and reading some magazines which all of them talk about Kim Kardashian!

The cleaner at the barber bought Perfect Pushup and he was trying to make some push-ups while all the barbers are making fun of him! Here is what happened:

1 – All barbers did a push-up.

2 – All customers did a push-up (including me).

3 – All customers decided to order Perfect Pushup (including me).

4 – Everyone was HAPPY, period.

Happy customers > strength relationship > build trust   > story telling  > word of mouth > $$$

Here is what the barber can do to keep or bring more customers or to make new business:

1 – Make a show case for Perfect Pushup or any other tool that the barbers can experience in front of the customers. They will buy because I did.

2 – Make it competitive for the customer by offering free haircut, hair color, etc.

3 – Make a record table for the winners to build emotional connection with the brand (barber shop) and to make other customers ask about that table.

4 – Share some pictures on the barber Facebook page or Twitter. Other customers will like to have that experience.

The customers are coming to have their haircut done but if you have it done with a remarkable experience, they will come back again and again. BTW, I did not notice my new haircut until I get back home and my mother told me about it. I was enjoying the experience during the haircut.