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In an ideal world, your entire team would demonstrate the skill and enthusiasm needed to make every marketing campaign a success. Unfortunately, though, you're going to encounter subordinates who don't measure up.

In a post at Harvard Business Online, John Baldoni offers some quotes purportedly sourced from actual performance evaluations. Comments like: "Works well when under constant supervision and cornered like a rat in a trap." Sound familiar?

When you encounter a problematic employee, Baldoni offers the following good advice:

Converse. Before getting into work-related issues, find out if an employee has a personal reason for spotty performance.

Coach. Explain where improvement needs to happen, solicit input on solutions and make sure to set a timetable and provide whatever resources might be needed.

Can. If the employee fails to meet expectations, and has no extenuating circumstances, you should encourage them to find another position for which he is more qualified. Importantly, resist the urge to foist the employee on another department. "[T]hat simply kicks the issue over to another boss," he says.

you don't need to be a Fortune 500 company to reap the benefits. Here's how to get started:

Clarify your position. "The first step to building brand equity is to define your positioning," he says, "the single thing your company stands for to your customers. Single is the operative word here." Get all of your key players in a room and decide what makes you different and better than the competition.

Tell your story. Give your position an external expression through your best corporate stories—an insight that led to the company's inception, the extraordinary measures you took to satisfy a customer or how your big breakthrough happened.

Bring it to life. "Make sure that the way your company looks and feels to the outside world matches that truth," he says.

Build the brand before they buy. You can make an impression before your customer ever initiates a transaction. O'Toole cites a naming consultancy called Igor that publishes at its Web site a free 100-page guide on its methodology.

The Po!nt: "These are practices you don't need a billion dollar marketing budget to emulate," says O'Toole, adding: "In fact, you can start today."

Of course we want customers to like our brand. But recent research suggests that an even more important driver of brand equity is brand attachment.

Brand attachment represents the emotional bond that consumers have between a brand and themselves. (Ahhhh! That's the cologne he wore on our wedding day!)

Consumers who are emotionally attached to a brand don't just like it, they love it. (Think Mickey and Minnie, Ben & Jerry, Harley-Davidson!) That is, they feel connected to it, regard it with a great deal of affection, and feel a great deal of brand passion.

This isn't just speculation: data based on a measure of brand attachment shows that it strongly predicts a consumer's loyalty. It does so even after taking into account the effects of strong brand attitudes, brand involvement, and customer satisfaction. None of these factors score as high as a true brand attachment.

The advice for marketers? Rather than asking whether your marketing activities induce brand liking, see if they enhance brand attachment. Does your brand offer a sentimental link to special occasions or activities? If so, consider that focus in your next promotion.

The Po!nt: Encourage attachments. Tying your brand to special life moments may enhance its long-term value.
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