At one point, Starbucks was just one little coffee shop, McDonalds was one little hamburger stand, and Whole Foods was one little co-op grocery store.
But now, here they are, decades after their inception, with hundreds of stores, thousands of employees, and millions of dollars.
So how did they do it?
And how can non-profits and other organizations, working for environmentally sustainable and socially responsible causes, learn from these for-profit businesses?
These are the questions that are asked, and in part, answered in a book called Branded Nation which analyzes the success of varying organizations and their branding efforts.
Obviously, the challenges that face non-profits are in many ways more complex than their for-profit counterparts (when it comes to communicating brand message) but many of the basics remain the same: consistency of communication, attention to detail, superior customer service, adherence to the mission statement.
If NGOs and non-profits are serious about being successful in fulfilling their goals, this book would be a great place to start.
And if anyone else out there knows of similar literature demonstrating successful techniques of other organizations, we here at CivilizedNation.com are all ears.
Let us LEARN from each other.