The Brightstar Boys – Does change matter?




I'm filling in for my colleague this week, and with all of about two hours to write a blog I didn't really have much time to think about it in any great detail....

I’m filling in for my colleague this week, and with all of about two hours to write a blog I didn’t really have much time to think about it in any great detail.

I thought about some of the big things that have happened this last week and are happening, an awards theme was my initial route, given the Oscars were held over the weekend and one our industry’s bigger awards ceremonies is being held later this week (the biggest of course being hosted on June 11th).

But that would have been too obvious, so I opted for the much less obvious subject of re-branding. Nothing to do of course with Brightstar, the multi-award winning specialist distributor, having re-branded just last week...

It’s something that always made me think, does a change of company name, or logo really make a difference?

Statistics would certainly suggest it does with most firms experiencing at the very least an increase in enquiries following a major re-brand.

Personally, I think so too if the change has been put in place for the right reasons.

As we’ve grown as a business we have evolved into a more dynamic, and corporate entity and we wanted the branding to go with it.

What’s more important though is maintaining the qualities, and people that have allowed that growth, and transition to happen.

All the fancy marketing and pretty pictures are for nothing if you cannot deliver on service or achieve the goal you have been tasked with by your client.

More so in our sector we are up against very stiff competition; this is evident by looking at our fellow nominees in the Mortgage Strategy awards categories we are up for this week and there are some quality firms looking to take our “Best Specialist Broker/Distributor” accolade. It’s the strong competition we face that helps drive us to be better every day.

Ultimately we are measured by our performance, and if this is not up to scratch then no amount of exposure or fancy artwork is going to allow you to retain your clients and gain repeat business.

What a company wants to achieve is a brand that is synonymous with excellence and professionalism, recognised as one of, if not the best at what they do.

Re-branding alone won’t achieve this, but committing to an unparalleled service and consistently delivering will.

As I look around the office at the fancy new logos, stationary and décor I’m reminded that all this was made possible by the commitment and hard work of those that came before it.

The people that started off in a small office, and worked tirelessly day and night to put in motion what eventually becomes an industry leading business.

People often say “you can’t polish a turd”, which is true, you can however roll it in glitter and make it look pretty. When you, for want of a better phrase, start to dig you soon find out that what appeared to be an enticing exterior turns out to be just a regular piece of…well you know.

A client needs to be able to scratch the surface and peel back the layers all the while finding nothing but quality from the outside all the way in. This is true for us when dealing with lenders, having a BDM who looks sharp in a fancy suit isn’t enough; everybody throughout the company must deliver at every juncture until the very end.

Bridging is one of the industries where mistakes and an inability to deliver are unforgiveable for two main reasons. The first is because of the amount of competition looking to take your piece of the pie.

The second is very much down to the nature of what we do, a simple mistake can cost a client thousands of pounds, sometimes millions if they have exchanged on a large asset.

With such a tight deadline to meet much of the time, it is all the more reason we must ensure we are at our best all the time, and for the most part I think the companies we deal with on a day to day basis truly are.

Attributed to Andy Jacovou, Bridging Loan Specialist at Brightstar

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