Nickleby
Brand strategy for Nickleby Facilities Management
For Property Directors and Contractors, Nickleby provide a real solution for managing and maintaining commercial properties. Ensuring ongoing improvement in a world when things are generally going wrong, don’t comply, need fixing or are simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Brief
Nickleby have been supporting a chain of retail outlets across the UK for a number of years with ongoing success. But rather than resting on their laurels and waiting for the work to come to them, Nickleby have been looking at cross-selling their solution and expertise into all commercial property arenas.
To do this they needed to get their story straight…who is Nickleby? what is Nickleby? why use Nickleby? when to use Nickleby…..all these questions needed answers and then refining.
Seeing as Birddog are experts when it comes to bringing brands to life, it came as no surprise when Nickleby came knocking on our door, begging for our help. We didn’t like to see them suffer so we soon agreed to help. With a super-suit and extra special brand goggles to see things that most people don’t – in other words, the valuable contribution a good brand strategy can make to a business – Birddog set to work.
Brand strategy development
To begin with we sat back and listened. Asked appropriate (and some inappropriate!) questions. Absorbed all the trials and tribulations that make up the challenges faced by Property Directors across all commercial sectors. And took the time to understand the Facilities Management (FM) space, a stepping stone in realising the significant contribution Nickleby are able to make when delivering maintenance solutions.
Armed with this information the brand consultancy team at Birddog went away and had a good old fashioned think. How could Nickleby differentiate both its brand personality and FM service offering? The information gathered came from an established process which takes into consideration not only the industry and widget element but also the emotional side to FM. How do Property Directors feel when faced with maintenance issues. Frustrated? Annoyed? Hassled? Pressurised? Restricted?
The Nickleby’s customer base is faced with a number of issues all of which become repeat problems. These ‘problems’ create a knock-on effect with regards to cost implications, quality control, visibility and compliance. The issues are obvious. But it’s important to articulate how Nickleby are able to deliver even more value than the competition.
Outcome
A unique message has been developed based upon the focus of achieving immediate results and the benefits gained, not just the process of delivery. Nickleby and its lead product Emergence is the ultimate pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. This metaphor focuses on the ‘result’ and shifts the perceptions from a product or process to the value delivered.
The ‘result’ approach ultimately encourages Nickleby’s prospects to demand an easy to use process, with a guaranteed benefit and release from the frustration and crap that is currently available in the FM marketplace.
Nickleby has the people and tools to cut the crap (out of business). As Nickleby steps out into the big wide world of FM they are now armed with values that capture the essence of the brand, which will continue to be relevant at a corporate level. Clear, Pioneering, Flexible and Radical.
A strong brand promise will also focus the communication of the Nickleby brand further. It must be different to the competition and consistent over time. The promise Nickleby make to its customers and prospects alike, is to effect change which results in a cycle of improvement using real people, with real expertise with an approachable manner and ultimately a tool that is unique and can make a difference to the way FM business is currently is managed. Nickleby – Real people for a change.