Brand Switzerland - A Miracle in Danger
COLUMN Brand experts Thomas Harder* and Lino Helbling** discuss the reasons behind Switzerland’s brand miracle, the current negligent approach to it, and ideas for positive development.Switzerland occupies a leading position among the locations. This leading position is in danger. The recently completed "Swissness Tester" study of over one hundred Swiss companies and institutions concludes that awareness and consistency are dwindling: a significant increase in compromises in performance and quality, falling behind the competition, more Swissness on the surface. Observations made during consultancy work confirm this. What is at stake with this development? How can Switzerland continue to survive in the thin air of the top level?Omega, Logitech, Roche, ETH/EPFL, ICRC, Herzog & de Meuron, Roger Federer. These names are associated with impressive facts and images: Top positions in rankings and world rankings, Beijing Bird's Nest, mediation where no one else can mediate, groundbreaking medical and technical inventions, Nobel Prizes, the first watch on the moon. The names stand for many more with a similar sound. In no other country in the world is the density of institutions and brands with international appeal as high as in Switzerland.As a country, Switzerland can also rank among the top positions for important factors: Innovative strength, competitiveness, quality of life, security. In terms of gross national product, Switzerland is one of the G20 countries, although it only ranks 94th in terms of population. What makes this small country so great? A look at the "brand" provides an interesting key: more than almost any other country, Switzerland implements the three central dimensions that make up a strong brand on a daily basis: convincing performance; difference that makes a difference; consistency over the years.Performance: Switzerland practises top-class sport at all levels. The performance mindset and standards are above average. People work hard and are only satisfied with the best, the perfect. Accordingly, Swiss companies, products and institutions are positioned at the forefront of their market segments - USM, Stadler Rail, Zimmerli, Lucerne Festival. Almost more pronounced than performance orientation in Switzerland is the power of differentiation as a second dimension. Thinking independently and unconventionally is deeply rooted and opens up horizons: direct democracy, the militia system, social peace and the dual education system are just as much an expression of this as the above-average innovative strength of Swiss companies.As a consequence, the punctuality and reliability of the entire system - a prime example of this is public transport, the extremely high standard of infrastructure from ambulances to hiking trails, and the above-average cleanliness. Soft factors play a decisive role in all three dimensions: restraint, solidity, consensus, trust.All in all, Switzerland has created the Swiss brand miracle through its diverse cells without a conscious plan, but with impressive consistency and a feel for its customers. Becoming a brand miracle is one thing, remaining a brand miracle is something else.The following impulses lead back to the foundation of the brand miracle and thus to the top position and provide players with specific pointers for its use - especially in the environment of the strong franc.Firstly: stick to the recipe for success with refinement: Those who take a leading position today have the best chance of taking a leading position tomorrow. Switzerland stands for excellence in the broadest sense. This is what customers expect and should be pursued with consistency and refinement. This also means class before mass.Secondly, to enforce the necessary Swiss top performance prices: This first requires recognizing what is special about one's own services and not taking them for granted. This additional performance must then be translated into the necessary price to cover the higher investments in products and the market. Against this backdrop, an undifferentiated discussion about high prices is playing with fire. Just like higher prices without additional performance and costs. The Swiss cross alone does not justify either one or ten percent higher prices.Thirdly, place performance and what lies behind it at the center of sales and communication: The enormous efforts and expenditure for innovation, careful production, provision and aftercare of the services are less and less known to customers, because more and more is being communicated, but with less and less content. The understanding of the necessary price is decreasing accordingly. The widespread emotional communication without reference to performance is therefore particularly fatal for a top-performing country like Switzerland.We have a brand miracle in our hands. That should be a fascinating task for us, not a problem.This text was originally published as a guest commentary in the NZZ and has been slightly revised for MK. The results of the Swissness Tester study can be found on the Website of Swiss Brand Experts.
