Posted 1 week, 3 days ago at 11:34 am. 0 comments
I remember when I was in High School, at the end of the year when we would get our year books, we’d all pass them around on the last day of classes and everyone would write a little something on the inside. Sometimes it was just a signature and other times there would be a long paragraph. In any event, when we got our yearbooks back, we would all read word for word what everyone wrote to us.
Has anything changed?
Not really. The only difference now is that it will cost you some dollars to pass your yearbooks around to your customers in the form of a survey. We want to know what people think about us, we want to know who else they like and we want to know who else they have done business with plus a whole lot more. However, I think that some company owners are a little scared to ask what people think about them. This is especially true if they know where their weaknesses are and they know what needs to be fixed and hearing the truth from the outside about these weaknesses isn’t very pleasant. But the beauty of a research study is that customers will give you those tough love messages and let you know where your weaknesses are; where they were disappointed and they will let you know why they left you and went elsewhere. Painful, however, quite necessary to know. Think of an airplane that travels from Boston to Los Angeles - the plane finds itself slightly off-course most of the time, yet there is a mechanism in place to make sure it gets back on course. That is exactly what a research study will do for you.
Wouldn’t you like to know if a customer had a negative experience with one of your people? Wouldn’t you want to know if people left you because of price? Or if people think your products are inferior to your competitors? It’s amazing what people are willing and eager to reveal if you ask them.
Posted 1 month ago at 2:03 pm. 1 comment
Suppose for a moment that you need new tires for your Jeep and when you visit your local tire shop, you discover that MAYBELLINE® cosmetics now manufactures its own line of off-road tires for 4X4’s. Would you consider buying them? WAIT! Before you answer, what if I told you that MAYBELLINE spent millions of dollars on R&D to manufacture the best off-road 4X4 tire money can buy. Would you buy a set now?
YES, I would buy MAYBELLINE tires for my Jeep
NO, and I wouldn’t buy Michelin lipstick either!
Now, suppose that Tupperware came out with its own line of garage flooring that was made out of recycled plastic bottles. Would you consider purchasing Tupperware garage flooring?
YES NO
There are infinite stories of companies that have successfully extended their brands into and onto other products and services. Think Apple - they have brand extension down to a science. Apple “extended” into; and quickly dominated the music player business with their iPod and they successfully extended their brand into the communications business with their iPhone. On the flip side, a brand extension that hasn’t enjoyed quite the same level of success is the Harley-Davidson Cake Decorating Kit.
It seems very natural for a computer company (catering to “creative’s” and trendsetters) to extend its brand into music, entertainment and communications. It doesn’t seem quite as natural for a motorcycle company (riders who identify themselves as “HOG’s” adorned with tattoo’s, denim and leather boots; some successfully pulling off a “bad-ass” look) to extend into the cake decoration business.
Before considering a brand extension, much research should be done to determine how “stretchable” your brand is because simply having a strong brand name is not enough. Can your brand be leveraged into other categories? (Think Philadelphia Cream Cheese snack bars vs. Coca-Cola bananas) Why should people leave a brand they are loyal to and try yours? Will your brand extension be welcomed with enthusiasm or only merely accepted? Are you in danger of diluting your core brand to the point where people no longer understand what business you are in? (I thought you guys build bad-ass, loud motorcycles!) Or, will you enhance it because you are offering something new to enhance the brand experience people already relate to? (OMG! An iPhone – I gotta get 1!) Yes, a lot to consider…
My final thought on this matter? I don’t care how well MAYBELLINE tires may take me through a couple harsh Wisconsin winters while I enjoy listening to my new Whirlpool car stereo. I’ll stick with my Michelin’s!
What do you think?
Posted 1 month, 4 weeks ago at 4:41 pm. 0 comments
I implore marketers to stop using meaningless marketing phrases in their communications. You know, stuff like:
“We are the leading…” (In whose opinion?)
“The GSX 5500 is the premier…” (Compared to what?)
“Our employees embrace…” (Really?)
“America’s favorite…” (Can you back that up with survey data?)
“Your number one…” (What about the 13 other companies that say they are ‘number one’?)
“Cutting edge” (What exactly does this mean?)
“Industry standard” (Um, standard also means average.)
“We harness to power of technology.” (You’re the only one?)
In my opinion, not only are these phrases meaningless, they actually make the company using them look ridiculous. Phrases like these offer no value, and even the worst manufacturer of the worst product can call their junk “industry standard.” People know better, they see through false hype, and phrases like these repel much more than they attract.
Think about some of your most respected sports figures like Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Brett Favre, David Beckham, etc. Do they walk around telling people how they are the “number one” athlete, how they are “cutting edge,” or that they are “America’s favorite athlete?” No, they don’t. They say it with their actions on, and off the court, course, and field, and that is precisely why people respect them and look up to them as much as they do. They stand for something much greater than for the sports they represent and that should be the goal of your brand. If you are truly great, people will talk about you, brag about you, blog about you and refer their families and friends to you. It’s a movement.
So yes, brands have a personalities. Think of brands that are fun and engaging, and also think of those that are boring and shallow. Think about brands that have deceived you. Now think about brands which represent all that is virtuous and noble.
Instead of trying to come up with flashy phrases (that don’t mean anything anyway), place your focus on telling people how, and why your product or service will enrich and improve their lives. How you will make them look good and how you will help them grow their business. Think in terms of benefits and integrity; not hype. If you do this, your brand will speak for itself and people will listen and surely follow.
Posted 2 months, 2 weeks ago at 2:54 pm. 0 comments
Great service, top quality and speed are what everyone expects. In fact, these are the rights of entry to compete in any industry.
Surveys suggest that many consumers (both B-to-B and B-to-C) are challenged to understand what makes one company different from their competitors. For example, if you sell life insurance, your products and services are probably quite similar to those that your competitors offer. You are also fast, offer excellent service and your customers like you. What about the other dozens of other life insurance companies that compete with you? Do they not offer the same things you do…probably so.
I like to ask my clients to place themselves in the position of the consumer (not being quite as savvy about all the products and services available to them as you are) and scroll through the websites of 10 companies offering similar products and services to theirs. Do they all pretty much say the same things, just in different ways? They find that most of them “advertise” the following messages:
“The leading…”
“The fastest…”
“The most respected…”
“We’ve been in business since…”
“The number one…”
Are any of these unique selling propositions? Really?
Or, is this is where creativity needs to make its debut? I’ve always believed that no challenge can stand the assault of sustained thinking. Ego’s aside, invite several people throughout your organization to join you and think about what you could offer to consumers that is truly UNIQUE to your company and brand. Make sure it’s relevant and make sure it’s exciting.
Scott Seroka
Posted 3 months, 1 week ago at 10:48 am. 0 comments
It’s no secret that unless you’re in the petroleum industry, your company is living a little leaner and fighting a bit harder to stay buoyant and still make a profit at the end of the day. Much more focus and attention is placed on retaining current customers, (who aren’t spending as much as they used to) and attracting new ones. This leaves little, if any, time or energy left over for thinking of new ways to outshine your competition and become more relevant in the eyes of consumers. Meanwhile, the competition is doing whatever they can to siphon your customers from you. As marketers, we’re kind of like a bunch of dogs chasing a parked car.
So what do you need the most right now? A plan…and fast; a plan to keep the sales strong, the pipeline full and a plan to win more business. Be wary not to make one of those on-the-fly or play-by-play plans that are reactionary and only focused on the short term. With not enough thought given to the impact it may have on your brand, company, employees and/or reputation, these ad hoc plans designed to get your company through the next few weeks, the next month, or quarter can come back to bite when your company tries to return to business as usual. If you cut back on service or quality, you may lose a high amount of your customers for good…people are not very forgiving when they notice companies cutting corners. For example, there was a “public investigator” in Milwaukee, Wisconsin who caught some coffee shops pouring a little less java into their cups, shorting some customers as much as 50 cents worth for their gourmet morning brew. How well do you think that tactic is sitting with consumers who either experienced this shortage themselves, or at the very least, read the article? Is this a plan? Technically, yes, but it’s also unethical and sneaky.
So what kind of plan is needed? A plan that is focused on defining or re-defining your value or selling proposition. A plan to introduce a new product or service that will attract more buyers. A plan to give people new or more reasons to do business with you. Consider the home improvement store that offers “how to” classes on the weekends to teach their home-owning customers basic plumbing or electrical skills. Or the drycleaner that offers to pick up and deliver dry-cleaning to businesses in office buildings. Or the health club that offers valet parking services during inclement weather. Think of the many ideas that have yet to be thought of and think of what you could do that would get you noticed – in a clever way.
Scott
Posted 3 months, 3 weeks ago at 4:14 pm. 0 comments
There’s something very appealing to me about white papers and industry reports. Just about every day I’ll get an email asking me to download a white paper about a specific topic. More often than not, I go ahead and click “download now.”
I’m quite impressed with the whole concept of white papers…they are much shorter than books which enables me to read the entire document in the time it takes to sip my way through a cappuccino. And, most are packed with relevant data, eye-opening statistics and interesting research findings that I can underscore and store in the banks of my memory to recall as needed. White papers afford would-be book authors the ability to brand themselves as thought leaders, building their credibility and positioning them as experts. It seems like the perfect alternative to investing the time, energy and money necessary to write a 200+ page book, look for a publisher and wait for your book to populate the shelves. Some people have become so prolific at writing white papers they are able to crank one out and have it distributed online in just a few days. Can you say “Abracadabra?”
From a marketing and sales perspective, white papers are considered to be one of the hottest selling tools used by business leaders to capture new business. Get them in front of the right person with the itchy trigger-finger and it may make the difference between a win and a loss. White papers and reports demonstrate that you intimately know and understand a specific industry and/or audience group and that you have the intellect and insight to help your customers solve their problems and build their businesses.
Millions of white papers and reports have been written, most on very specific topics. But, interestingly enough, the more that are written, the more in demand they become. Why? Balance. For example, while six authors may each write on an identical topic, all six deliver a different perspective. The varying viewpoints provide a range of information that helps people make more informed and intelligent decisions. So, if you’re concerned that a topic you want to cover has already been written about – don’t be. Your opinions and perspectives are probably in high demand. People crave relevant and meaningful information that can help them build their business, gain knowledge, become a better company, and attract more customers. Anyone who can provide it to them will be revered as a hero.
Are you thinking right now that this sounds like a grand idea but you don’t consider yourself a writer? You don’t need to be. Many white papers are “ghost-authored” by professional writers who interview industry professionals, organize the data and research, and make sure all the information flows well for the reader. Then your name goes on the story.
You’re an industry professional and people are waiting to hear from you. Think thought leadership and tell people who you are.
