The Difference Maker

Build Your Brand Without Building An Ad

noreply@blogger.com (J. Spell) — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 19:04:00 +0000

It probably doesn’t surprise you that consumers aren’t big fans of the ads most marketers and ad pros spend their time and money creating. There is, however, a form of brand communication the majority of consumers prefer.

In a brief blog post quoting research from the Custom Content Council, brafton.com reports that almost three-quarters of consumers prefer to receive information from companies in the form of valuable content or articles instead of ads. And over 75% of that group still hold that view knowing the company providing the information is trying to sell them something.

The reason, although undocumented in the article, would seem to be that consumers increasingly want to be better informed as they make their buying decisions. That holds true, and possibly even more so, for business and industrial buyers as well.

What is valuable content then? It’s information that helps the buyer understand considerations like:

the various options available to solve a particular challenge
advantages and disadvantages of different choices
sizing, selection and usage factors
reasonable expectations
dangers to avoid

And that’s just a few quick ideas. Adapt this to your industry and audience by thinking about the questions they seem to ask most often. Help them answer those questions and you’ll help yourself become a more valuable and respected resource.

In fact, in a second article from the same source, it’s indicated that 67% of consumers find custom content valuable and 61% say they are more likely to buy from brands or companies that provide that type of information.

So, am I telling you to stop developing ads? No! Ads are a valuable marketing tool with a specific purpose which I’ll address in a future article and blog post.

What I am saying is this: good information or content is desired by buyers of all types. And your usage of it as a business-building tool can be extremely powerful and influential in creating the positive brand perception necessary for prospects to prefer your brand over your competitors.

Brand Benefit #6: Better internal focus and guidance

noreply@blogger.com (J. Spell) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 18:48:00 +0000

There are many good reasons why brand development can be a difference maker for your business. This is the sixth of ten posts highlighting those reasons for your consideration. Read the previous post.

One of the greatest challenges your company will face as it grows is to maintain a clear, unified focus of direction and priority.

Increasing demands for time and attention will test your leadership's ability to stay connected and coordinated with the core principles that produced success.

Divergent marketplace and departmental demands as well as an increasing number of new employees with new ideas can create a powerful wave of pressure to become reactive rather than proactive.

A strong brand can give your entire organization a reference point for unity.

Guiding leaders toward positive growth strategies and away from core conflicts. Keeping sales, marketing and manufacturing focused on compatible developmental opportunities. Recruitment and personnel targeted on employees with the right abilities to sustain excellence. And everyone operating with passionate purpose to deliver the brand promise of the organization to your customers.

Read about the other 9 brand development benefits now.

Let me know what you think. Leave a comment.

10 trade show traps to beware of

noreply@blogger.com (J. Spell) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 20:25:00 +0000

More than a few marketing dollars are blown at trade shows and often with little to show for the expense. Carefully consider these 10 areas of potential waste to better manage the risk and maximize the reward.

While it’s true, conferences, trade shows and exhibits are key components in the marketing communications plans of many business and industrial brands, they also have the potential to be some of the most wasteful expenses too.

Just because an event exists doesn’t mean you have to participate. Even if all your competitors exhibit. A fear of conspicuous absence is not a good reason to get involved.

The presence of the right type of prospects, with the right type of business expectations and the right type of opportunity to engage and influence them is the key.

In an article recently published by cbsnews.com, Michael Hess outlines 10 important trade show traps that can make or break your budget and your results. Several of the topics he touches on include:

Going too big
Extras
Travel expenses
No advance work
No call to action

The read is certainly worth your time if exhibits and shows are a big part of your prospect contact program. It’s always good to review the reasons and rationale you use to select and then develop the communications conveying your brand promise.

That’s especially true when every decision made has such a big effect on someone's bottom line…yours or the exhibit organizers.

Can you spare a second? ...Or 15?

noreply@blogger.com (J. Spell) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 13:17:00 +0000

Who else hates to wait online for a video ad to play before you can get to the digital content you really want to view? That’s what I thought, 46% of you.

I know this because I just saw a short news item on the BtoBonline.com blog that said 54% of internet users polled said video ads online are acceptable if they are no more than 15 seconds long. What is your maximum time limit?

Other choices given those responding to the research were 30 seconds, 45 seconds or 60 seconds. But the favorable percentages dropped steeply after those who admitted being willing to view a 15-second spot.

So while you can’t extend these findings to all online video content, especially when the video content is the reason the viewer selected a link, the takeaway for me is that online ads of all types have to be very simple and direct to generate any expectation of a response.

Just how simply can you convey your brand difference? Can you make your point in a good 30-word sentence? A simple 10-12 word statement? A tight 5-7 word thought?

Distill your brand difference into a message you can deliver with that much focus and it will improve your communications in every form no matter the length.

Leave a comment.

How Steve Jobs Made Apple Different

noreply@blogger.com (J. Spell) — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 13:48:00 +0000

At the risk of re-posting just another glowing memorial for the accomplishments of Steve Jobs, I read something today about him that really resonates with my core beliefs. Being different is profoundly significant.

In a short article published on bnet.com, Margaret Heffernan outlined six lessons that she identified in Steve Job’s approach to business that heavily contributed to his success. It’s a good read.

In a point entitled “Style IS Content”, she begins the article by introducing what could be Jobs’ greatest success and certainly his biggest challenge – to lead a tech company to be just as focused on creating enriching user experiences as on extending the borders of electronic discovery.

Everything about Apple products and their interaction with customers from their visual appeal, physical design, usability, stylish promotion and support was cultivated to add a level of unique value technology alone can’t even approach. Instead of simply being used as a tool to accomplish a task, they have become an enabling expression of the lifestyle their owners aspire to lead.

That’s what makes Apple so different. Their brand so powerful. And Steve Jobs so visionary. Style, brand and uniqueness IS content. It’s not just extra, it actually is what customers want. It’s what they’ll buy. A lot.

Read the article “6 Lessons We Could Learn From Steve Jobs” for yourself.

When you’re ready to bring that type of value to your brand communications, contact me by e-mail or by phone at 903-534-5220.

Winning Strategies for a Sluggish Economy

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 13:49:00 +0000

I’ve personally experienced the results of a company going into “survival mode” during an economic downturn. It begins with the “everyone’s got to tighten their belt” speech. Expense reports are put under the microscope and a moratorium is placed on purchasing sticky notes.

What comes next is always predictable. All of the brand developing activities that generate new business, and many that keep current customers happy, are deemed to be too costly when all you want to do is survive. So the company cuts back. Revenue dwindles. Margins shrink. Black ink turns to red, and heads begin to roll.

Winners can see the downturn coming, and they don’t panic. They view slow economic periods as a chance to gain focus and return to their roots. By defining and magnifying their difference, they see a chance to take market share from their competitors.

If you understand the principle of faith, then this is the time to use it. You will have to resist the urge to reduce your branding budget and step out on that proverbial limb. It is critical, however, that you maximize how your brand development money is used.

When examining how your branding dollars are spent, ask yourself these three questions:

· How does this help me gain and keep customers?

· What happens if I stop doing this?

· How can this be improved upon?

Every function and every person in your organization should be focused on gaining and keeping customers. Your quality control inspector becomes your first line of customer service by preventing warranty claims and returns. Your accountant who sends out invoices can’t afford to make a mistake and miss-bill a client. Your maintenance personnel keep the plant running efficiently so you can keep your pricing attractive to the customers. Branding must be a company-wide mindset.

Of course these three questions apply to your web site, advertising, sales promotion, and all of the areas that you normally associate with marketing and communicating your brand. You can read the full article, Winning Strategies for a Sluggish Economy, here.

Or, if you’d like to talk to us about maximizing your branding dollar, contact us today by e-mail or by phone at 903-534-5220.

Why It's Bad To Be Normal

noreply@blogger.com (J. Spell) — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 16:28:00 +0000

When we were all in high school who didn’t try to fit in? Wear the right clothes? Listen to the right music? Even use the right vocabulary? No one wanted to be the oddball. But recently I’m beginning to recognize more and more advantages in uniqueness.

Take for instance the packed new restaurant featuring an exotic flavor pallet not previously available locally. Better yet, consider hugely popular TV shows like Monk, Dirty Jobs or CSI-Miami created around interestingly unique characters, situations and environments. In every case, it’s the differences that establish the appeal.

Similarly, business seems to be designed to reward uniqueness too. What company wants to be known for following “normal” instead of “best” practices? Delivering “average” instead of “outstanding” customer service? Hiring “ordinary” versus “exceptional” employees?

An article recently authored by Steve Tobak and published on BNET.com cites 10 reasons it’s bad to be normal.

Here are his categories:
Best practices, customer satisfaction, recruiting, product specs and features, R&D, market share, leaders, vendors, growth rate and sales people.

It’s a quick read and I think everyone will clearly recognize that in many areas of business, average is just not acceptable.

So what about marketing communications? Why are so many companies satisfied to use the same short-term product and feature promotions, all-inclusive, vague copy generalities or purely literal visual imagery employed by many others to try to set themselves apart.

The result is competitive camouflage. The loss of the ability to set yourself apart from your competitors. And it makes achieving higher than average performance in the areas mentioned in the BNET.com article much harder.

But the camouflage can be removed. There is a better way to develop your marketing communications.

Watch our short video about the issue of competitive camouflage or read our article about communications mistakes that hide companies from potential customers.

Or to talk to someone about helping you create better than average communications, contact us today by e-mail or phone 903-534-5220.

Why "Selling Value" is BAD

noreply@blogger.com (J. Spell) — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 22:51:00 +0000

Don’t you love it when you discover other people who believe some of the same things you do? Especially when they are more widely known and speak on a larger stage. Don’t you just want to say, “See, I told you.”

Well, that’s sorta what happened to me recently. But it didn’t start that way. I was reading a BNET.com article titled “Why Selling Value Is A Bad Idea” by Geoffrey James, and almost immediately I was thinking I should strangle this guy.

He made the claim that “selling value” was just another way to “sell price” and we all know selling price is a failed strategy. He equated selling value with offering more for the same price or basically a discount on a higher level of benefit. More for less. Selling price.

At this point I started arguing that value involves significantly more than just a better set of features for the same price. It also includes the idea of how you do what you do differently than your competitors.

And then it happened…in his next statement James declared that the better alternative to selling value was “selling uniqueness.” He went from idiot to genius in one sentence.

He explained that you do this by answering questions like:

How can my offering uniquely help my prospects improve their revenue?
How can my offering uniquely help my prospects reduce costs?
How can my offering uniquely help my prospects improve quality?
How can my offering uniquely help my prospects improve delivery performance?
How can my offering uniquely help my prospects reduce their exposure to risk and liability?

Finally, he made the point that by developing a way to quantify the negative impact of their problems, presenting how your solution uniquely answers those issues and illustrating the financial return those differences could generate, you put yourself in a very strong position to succeed.

There you have it. I couldn’t have said it better myself. The only change I typically make when talking about this subject is to refer to that uniqueness as your brand.

Read Geoffrey James’ full article. Read what I wrote in my blog post about how a brand separates you from competitors.

To talk to someone about helping you sell your uniqueness or build a brand, contact us today by e-mail or phone 903-534-5220.

Don't Leave Your Brand To Competitors.

noreply@blogger.com (J. Spell) — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 23:10:00 +0000

The whole idea behind building a brand is that you are intentionally creating a positive expectation for your products and services in the minds of customers, prospects, employees and other marketplace participants.

That requires the communication and fulfillment of a clear, focused brand promise for an extended period of time. Introduced with impact. Reinforced consistently. And delivered with reliability.

But this doesn't happen by chance. Why? Because there are a number of factors working against you. We’ll consider four and start with the first and most obvious:

FACTOR 1: your competitors are against it

Your competitors are against you developing any sort of positive reputation or momentum in the marketplace. That impedes their efforts to grow and prosper. So even if they never directly attack you or dispute your claims of specific benefit, they are seldom opposed to generating a little doubt and distraction by always leading the discussion away from your strengths and toward your weaknesses.

Your uniqueness will certainly not be a topic of emphasis. Your core brand promise will not be reinforced. And your case for credibility will be questioned and minimized.

If you leave your brand reputation in the hands of your rivals, the most you can hope for is second best, and that's if you're lucky.

Read about the other three factors working against your brand’s positive development now.

To talk to someone about helping you create an intentional brand development plan, contact us today by e-mail or phone 903-534-5220.

Can Good Social Media Be Bad For Your Brand?

noreply@blogger.com (J. Spell) — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 13:46:00 +0000

The old statement “The more things change, the more they stay the same” still applies at least in some ways to the relatively new issues of social media brand development.

How? Because just like in traditional media, campaign creativity, popularity and even professional recognition don’t always equate to increased revenue or market share gains.

In a recent article published on the Advertising Age website, marketing communications veteran Al Ries reported that two social media campaigns for Burger King had recently been named as among the 10 best in the last decade by the One Club for Art and Copy in New York.

Unfortunately, he also went on to explain that Burger King’s percentage gains in sales in the past decade ranked them behind Wendy’s, Carls Jr, Jack in the Box, McDonald’s and Whataburger. Not only are they falling behind the other national chains, they are losing ground to a number of smaller hamburger chains as well.

Ries does not deny that Burger King’s social media campaigns deserved the awards they received. In and of themselves, they are quite engaging. As is the case with much of their traditional marketing communications which has also won numerous awards through the years. All this recognized work is very well done.

But the point is, entertainment value does not equate to sales. It doesn’t make potential customers prefer Burger King hamburgers more than other brands or motivate them to actually make a purchase.

Ries also makes another important observation. He describes how social media has dramatically expanded the audience a brand can reach and engage, citing examples of the globalization of music, movies, sports and even ideas. This can be both good and bad.

The value of a larger audience is obvious, but the danger of a more connected world is a globalization of thought. A bigger concentration of generalized or average expectations where every option seems about the same because competing brands all try to satisfy the desires of the masses.

As a result, rivals find themselves trying to win greater attention with more effort focused on entertainment and less on substance. At one point Ries makes the statement that social media can actually make bad marketing strategy fail faster.

Going viral isn’t always good, especially when the message being carried is negative. Or even if it’s just inconsistent with messages being delivered through other communication channels. That builds confusion and makes standing out from the average expectation of customer options more difficult.

The solution Ries recommends is simple. Focus on a simple message that is clear, direct, distinct and consistent. In a world becoming increasingly more monolithic, create a brand that is laser sharp and refreshingly different.

Because different can do more than entertain. It can build preference and motivation. Employed consistently in both traditional and social media, it can build interest, engagement, demand and sales.

Read Al Ries full article on the Advertising Age website.

To talk to someone about helping you convey your brand difference through both traditional and social media, contact us today by e-mail or phone 903-534-5220.

Gorilla Glass: A Brand With Real Strength

noreply@blogger.com (J. Spell) — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 03:41:00 +0000

I’ll admit most everyone knows what WD40 is. But it’s been around for 60 years. And it was invented when fewer products were introduced in any given year. A name like that would be a liability to a new product these days.

With hundreds of new products seemingly introduced every month, brand names like WD40 don’t do anything to help their audience recognize or remember what they have to offer. Or why the solution they deliver is any better than any other option.

In contrast, Corning recently started mass media marketing a product called Gorilla Glass to raise awareness and preference for the brand now found in a wide range of consumer electronics. Even before reading or hearing a single marketing message, I’ll bet you can figure out the value this brand is promising.

Combine the name with strong visual imagery of gorillas using these products in a variety of business and leisure environments where the animals aren’t normally expected and you have a great example of brand marketing at its best.

A recent post on BRANDCHANNEL.com shows several examples of the introductory ads and product demonstrations used to launch this product. Read the full article.

It’s worth a few minutes of your time to review this story. When you can illustrate your brand difference with one simple, memorable symbol that everyone can understand, you start with a marketing advantage of priceless value.

If you want to talk to someone about developing this type of brand strategy for your new product, contact us today by e-mail or phone 903-534-5220.

Chipotle: Spanish For Burrito Brand Success

noreply@blogger.com (J. Spell) — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 14:31:00 +0000

When you look at everything stacked against it, the growth and profitability of the "fast-casual", ethnic eatery Chipotle Mexican Grill is another great lesson in brand marketing success.

Facing an environment characterized by rising unemployment, fewer dining-out customers, high concentrations of competitive restaurants and aggressive meal discounting by lower-end chains, the fact that Chipotle sales grew at all in 2010 is surprising. That their net income grew by close to 40% is remarkable.

In an article recently published on BNET.com, author David Phillips notes that rather than follow the markdown pricing and constant menu rotation of promotion-driven restaurants, Chipotle made a conscious decision to focus on sustaining its distinct food quality and customer experience. Their plan was to deliver maximum value for the customer's dollar.

It's a brand promise they put into words and actions every day. Employees are taught to honor the company mission statement "Food With Integrity" which involves serving food with an eye toward sustainability, great taste and high nutrition. And customers have responded by increasing both visits and dollars spent per visit.

Outbound and in-store marketing communications are designed to entertain and educate, featuring information about natural ingredients, support for local growers, healthy diets and fresh, zesty flavor to give potential customers substantial reasons to expect a uniquely enjoyable experience every time they visit Chipotle.

A true example of positive brand development and profit margin protection, the article details the company's continuing efforts to communicate its unique value and give customers and potential customers a way to further engage the brand.

Read more about Chipotle's exceptional approach and the results in the full article.

To talk to someone about helping you build a stronger brand, contact us today by e-mail or phone 903-534-5220.

Competitive Mistake #1: Following The Crowd

noreply@blogger.com (J. Spell) — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 16:44:00 +0000

You would think that as business gets more and more competitive, business managers would realize they need to create a bigger distinction than ever between themselves and their rivals.

Unfortunately, we observe far too many brands and companies unknowingly engaged in marketing practices that camouflage the defining difference between themselves and others.

The fact is there are many challenges to good marketing. And if you’re not careful, the very tools you could be using to set yourself apart may actually be applying the camouflage that’s hiding your greatest value.

Over the next few months we'll look at 10 common brand communication mistakes that can prevent potential business from recognizing you as a unique and credible solution provider. Here's the first:

Mistake 1: Following the crowd

Do you talk about the same set of features, use the same type of photography, give the same kind of examples and make the same exact media choices as your competitors? If so, you can't expect your audience to perceive your brand or company as significantly different or better than anyone else.

You look the same. Sound the same. Are the same for all practical purposes. And without a recognizable difference to motivate a change of behavior, your audience will continue to purchase the same brand they always have.

But there is a way to change the conversation from a comparison of indiscernible details and low prices to one of recognizable differences and lasting value? It’s by leaving the crowd behind and establishing your own brand clearly and distinctly.

To talk to someone about helping you remove the competitive camouflage and developing a difference-making brand for your business, contact us today by e-mail or phone 903-534-5220.

To read about the other 9 brand communication mistakes that can camouflage you from customers, click here.

Social Media: More Than Fans, It’s Feedback

noreply@blogger.com (J. Spell) — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 20:03:00 +0000

In the early days of Facebook, getting fans was the name of the game, but sheer numbers alone is no longer the measure of social media effectiveness – it's engagement.

Similar to the old comparison between “awareness” and “preference”, the value of having someone “like” you or becoming a “fan" once and never giving you another thought is far less important than developing an ongoing two-way dialog with them even if only occasionally.

In a recent article published online by Advertising Age, Irina Slutsky makes the point that what generates the most positive influence for marketers is not the total number of fans they have collected but what percentage of them they can encourage to become actively connected.

The article lists three ways to make Facebook participation more valuable.

1. Seeding Content - introduce ideas on subjects where you have a significant body of expertise so readers have the opportunity to recognize an issue they want to address and begin to view you as a resource to a solution. Such as healthy recipes from a food manufacturer, answers to common financial questions from a bank or even photos of interior design ideas from an architect.

2. Starting Conversations - connect one user to another so that the experience of visiting your page is beneficial and the expectation generated for future visits is positive as well. For example, posting user-submitted hairstyle questions for other users and staff hairstylists to address. Or it might be requesting and allowing comments on the best user pet stories on a veterinarian's page.

3. Get Creative - use this low-risk tool of user-interest exploration to build simple interactions that encourage more interest and trust over time. This could be a bridal boutique requesting their customers submit wedding photos featuring dresses purchased from the shop. Or a restaurant encouraging fans to help name a new entree being added to the menu.

Obviously there has to be an effort made in the beginning to build the user base to some reasonable size before starting to develop interactions, but the point here is that the value of Facebook and other similar social media tools is social interaction more than audience size.

And the best strategy of all is to use these social interactions to introduce, connect and continuously remind users of the core promise and value your brand offers. To reinforce what you are doing elsewhere and not to compete with it.

Read the entire article for yourself.

And if you're ready to begin building greater user engagement with your brand, contact us today by e-mail or phone 903-534-5220.

Merry Christmas Links

noreply@blogger.com (J. Spell) — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 23:28:00 +0000

From all of us at Cornerstone Brand Communications, may your Christmas be filled with the joy of our Savior and Lord as you spend time with family and friends during the holidays.

If you have not already seen our holiday e-card you may click here or on the image below to view it.

Then we invite you to visit the links below to some favorite, fun and weird Christmas videos.

Links With A More Traditional Appeal:

Christmas Food Court Flash Mob, Hallelujah Chorus: click here
A Social Network Christmas: click here
Straight No Chaser - 12 Days of Christmas: click here
A Strange Way To Save The World: click here
Charlie Brown Meaning of Christmas: click here

Links For The Unusual:

Can't Wrap This: click here
Fred Finklehorn - Christmas is Creepy: click here
Merry Christmas Mr. Bean: click here

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from all of us.

A Good Brand Is Better Than A Bailout

noreply@blogger.com (J. Spell) — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 22:10:00 +0000

When your product’s quality and your organization’s action convey a perception of credibility and value, customers will prefer to do business with you because it is in their own best interest.

That’s what Ford proved when they turned down a taxpayer bailout General Motors and Chrysler urgently requested in 2009. Not only did consumers respond favorably to Ford’s decision to avoid adding more burden to the national debt, but so did the very government that had already funded the financial relief of their competitors.

In two separate articles published recently on Brandchannel.com, the highlights of Ford Motor Company’s financial performance during the last two years was reported.

One article states that year-to-year consumer market share shifts between major manufacturers is typically measured in tenths of a point. Ford’s share ended 2008 at 14.2 percent. It grew to 15.3 percent by the end of 2009. And it is expected to end 2010 at 16.5 percent. It has been a long time since such large back-to-back increases have been experienced by any U.S. auto manufacturer. Read the full article.

The second article recounts Ford’s sales success to US-government fleets. Although Ford’s total sales count was just higher than General Motors, the government bought 3 hybrid vehicles from Ford for every one they purchased from GM. It seems Ford’s quality and broad array of product options is a favorite of this administration’s green initiatives.
So to come back to the point I made when this article began, customers desire, prefer and will enthusiastically purchase brands that they perceive offer them a significantly better value than other competitors. Read the full article.

That turns the tangible improvements Ford has made in their vehicles combined with the emotional goodwill from turning down the bailout money into a very strong brand value boost. Which has translated into their significant revenue and market share increase. Plus an even healthier bottom line.

And a strong brand and bottom line beats a bailout any day of the week.

When you’re ready to turn a stronger brand into a healthier bottom line, contact us by e-mail or phone 903-534-5220.

4D: When 3D's Not Good Enough

noreply@blogger.com (J. Spell) — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 15:44:00 +0000

I realize change happens faster today than ever before, but while most of us are still awed by the explosion of 3D movies and have yet to make the switch to 3D television, along comes some intrepid souls exploring the added dimension of 4D.

Hey, don't get me wrong, this is cool stuff. Also called architectural projection mapping, it turns virtually any surface into a canvas for something more than just a sound, video, light and animation presentation - it can be used to create an engaging interactive experience with the audience.

If you want to create something that will get everyone around the world talking and gather a large crowd in the process, this could be your next great media choice.

And because it's something that's much better seen than just described, check out several examples in the story published on Brandchannel.com.

For most of us, though, a real consideration to make anytime you are evaluating a highly-entertaining or involving media choice is whether or not the presentation enhances or detracts from the message you want the audience to remember. Or more bluntly, will your audience love the show without it showing any results? How many great commercials have you quoted over and over for months afterward without having any idea who had produced it or developing any motivation to do anything about it?

To achieve valuable results that use dynamic media presentations to make your most important brand promises clearer and more memorable, be sure the imagery, information and interactivity included strongly parallel expectations you are already creating with other media. Magnify it to be sure - but maintain a consistent and obvious content relationship. Otherwise, you're just creating another unrelated stream of communication that fights with the brand perceptions you have worked hard to establish elsewhere.

To talk to someone about helping you develop more effective marketing communications in a wide variety of engaging media, contact us today by e-mail or phone 903-534-5220.

What's Your Brand Rating?

noreply@blogger.com (J. Spell) — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 12:44:00 +0000

Have you rated your brand lately? No, I mean seriously tried to evaluate what you should be doing or not doing to improve the value and influence of your most important marketing asset? Well, friend, that's too long.

Why not use our handy Brand Report Card and give yourself a few minutes of reflective self-evaluation. Not only will this remind you of some of the vital brand maintenance strategies every marketer should be practicing, it will also give you some ideas for actions to emphasize in 2011 to strengthen your brand value even more.

This simple survey lists and provides brief explanations of 10 attributes you can use to judge your own brand as well as your competitors.

The report card prompts you to consider:
1. Is the brand properly positioned?
2. Does it offer an appealing benefit customers truly desire?
3. Is the brand’s value promise understood and supported within the organization?
4. Is the brand’s unique value clearly communicated to customers and prospects?
5. Do the brand’s managers attempt to measure how the brand is perceived by its audience?
6. Does the brand stay relevant?
7. Does the customer experience match the expectation created by the brand promise?
8. Is the brand marketed consistently?
9. Is the brand given proper support and is that support sustained over the long run?
10. Does the brand use a coordinated program of marketing activities to build influence?

So, download the survey now.

Then, armed with a more focused sense of reality, you will have already taken the first step in a more positive direction.

If you have a question about the survey or want help taking action based on your evaluation, contact us today by e-mail or phone 903-534-5220.

Success = Making It Easier For Customers To Buy

noreply@blogger.com (J. Spell) — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 17:11:00 +0000

While most marketers try to motivate potential customers to want what they have to sell, really successful marketers help customers do a better job of buying what they already want.

In a recently published article posted on BNET.com, William Taylor describes how Netflix has dramatically improved the way their customers identify and evaluate movies they might want to view.

Most of us think the breakthrough that has driven Netflix’s explosive growth is their pioneering of first a mail and now an online distribution solution - but their greatest achievement of all may be something even more appealing.

Realizing that the main issue customers struggle with when picking a movie isn’t so much about how it’s delivered but about how to make a good choice from thousands of options, Netflix has developed a truly better way to reduce the risk of a bad selection.

Netflix has created a smooth process that helps customers find new movies they are likely to enjoy through an automated suggestion system. Based on shared characteristics with movies the customer has previously liked as well as recommendations by other members with similar tastes, the system presents options that maximize the customer’s likelihood of satisfaction.

And by making the customer experience better and more consistently positive, Netflix is soaring while competitor Blockbuster is hoping to come out of bankruptcy sometime in the near future. Netflix has 16 million fee-paying members, annual revenues of over $2 billion and a usage rate where customers rent 98% of all the titles every quarter.

So what’s the point? It’s just one more example of the power of a total brand solution. Not simply a better sales job, but a solid brand value delivered on a consistent basis.

Read more details about this brand’s strategy and thinking.

And when you’re ready to talk to someone about building or sustaining your own brand solution, contact us by e-mail or phone 903-534-5220.

Putting Your Brand In The Hands Of Prospects

noreply@blogger.com (J. Spell) — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 14:17:00 +0000

Whether it takes the form of a pdf document, a piece of printed literature or an online digital brochure, the need for some form of content-rich sales presentation is a primary communication tool for almost every brand.

That means the more capably you can present the value of your brand and build its credibility using this form of communication, the greater your competitive advantage.

So what does it take to create a strong brand message that prospects will read both for its clear promise of benefit as well as its thorough coverage of supporting detail?

Our Sadler’s TenderSplit brisket new packaging brochure is a good example. Here are three things it does well:

It Clearly Establishes The Brand’s Unique Value – from the front cover all the way through it announces, enhances and sustains the brand’s promise to provide “generations of pit-smoked flavor ready to serve in minutes.”
It Powerfully Builds A Persuasive Presentation – with exceptional photography, expressive copy and a convincing call to action, it doesn’t just present the facts for the reader to evaluate themselves, it leads them to the desired response with confident expectancy.
It Inspires The Reader To Realize Their Own Success – connecting on both a rational and emotional level, the brochure encourages buyers to see this brand as a solution their own customers will buy willingly and often.

View the entire brochure for yourself.

To talk to someone about turning your sales literature into a more powerful brand presentation, contact us today by e-mail or phone 903-534-5220.

How To Avoid Becoming A Commodity

noreply@blogger.com (J. Spell) — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 21:17:00 +0000

"All things being equal" has to be the worst phrase any marketer will ever hear from a potential customer. It means your only hope of a sure sale is a cheaper price.

Letting your brand become a commodity is a disaster for your whole organization. In effect, it raises all the costs of production, sales and service because it lowers your opportunity and ability to offset those expenses with a favorable return on investment.

So what can be done to avoid this tragedy? Raise the value of what you're selling in the mind of your customers to a higher level as revealed in a BNET.com interview with Paul Boitmann, president of global sales at Newell Rubbermaid.

Faced by a market full of cheap knock-offs, Boitmann describes how Newell Rubbermaid employs a competitive strategy that helps channel partners realize greater total value than just the revenue they make from the merchandise on their shelves.

Their approach is to provide a level of knowledge and expertise that goes beyond just knowing their own product line in order to help retailers improve the success of the entire product category in the store.

Boitmann states "While we want to own the category as a whole, if this means giving a prominent display to a competitor's product in order to maximize the performance of that department, that's the recommendation that we would make."

Newell Rubbermaid's goal is to help retailers lower their risk of buying inventory that isn't going to sell and avoid the resentment generated by channel stuffing. "We're essentially offering a solution to the problem of 'how do I make this category profitable' rather than just supplying them something to resell," explains Boitmann.

So to avoid allowing the buying decision to come down to price, raise it above basic product facts and features. Beyond a delivery date or size availability. Turn your entire organization and your brand into a success solution.

Read the entire interview for yourself.

And when you're ready to present your brand as a more complete solution, contact us today by e-mail or phone 903-534-5220.

Lead Follow-Up Objective #3 - Demonstrate Solutions

noreply@blogger.com (J. Spell) — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 16:58:00 +0000

The objective of your marketing communications strategy is to generate leads that will become new business. Sometimes that happens quickly, but not often. How do you get the most out of the leads that don’t buy immediately?

In our first post on this subject, we suggested initiating a follow-up communications program to share your knowledge with potential customers. This gives them a no-obligation way to evaluate your thinking and approach. Then in our second post we recommended a methodical plan to highlight your advantages over time.

This time we’ll consider a third objective.

Demonstrating solutions

The fact is, the only reason a prospect considers their vendor options and ultimately makes a change in their product of service choices is because they are trying to find a better solution to an issue they want to solve. So give them some examples of solutions you've developed. Define a problem you were asked to solve. Explain the main development decisions and the resulting strategy. And highlight some of the results. The whole idea here is to eventually demonstrate a range of successful applications of your ideas and skills. Demonstrating solutions gives the prospect more ways to see you as the answer to the challenge they have an urgency to solve today.

Finally, while we don't have a lot of detail about the time-to-conversion or percentage of secondary leads who become hot leads in a particular program, we do have solid evidence to show that a lead that has responded once is much more likely to continue to accept communication and therefore influence than a first-time prospect. And respond at a higher rate as well.

In a program we developed to maintain communications with architects who classified themselves as having "a future interest" in our client's product, we documented initial electronic communications click-through rates ranging from half of one percent to just over one percent. Follow-up communications to those same responses, however, generated click-through rates from 22-39% depending on the content.

That's the whole point right there. To keep a once-responsive secondary prospect interested until something in their situation or your communication raises their urgency of action to a higher level.

Read more about the other two lead follow-up program objectives now.

If you want to talk to someone about a brand follow-up program for your leads, contact us today by e-mail or phone 903-534-5220.

Panera Bread Keeps Rising Despite Recession

noreply@blogger.com (J. Spell) — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 14:39:00 +0000

If you've found yourself waiting longer to be seated, served and possibly even to pay for a meal at your favorite mid-level restaurant these days, it could be a side effect of the same cost squeeze affecting so many industries.

But while some eateries suffering from a loss of business have chosen to cut costs on food quality, menu options or service staff, Panera Bread is taking the opposite approach. In an article published online at Bloomberg.com, executive chairman Ronald Shaich describes how the 1600 unit chain has intentionally kept its growth intact and how it tries to differentiate itself from other restaurant operators.

"Almost every single one of our competitors said 'We need to pull costs out.' As a consumer, if you walk into their restaurants, the lines are longer, the waits are longer. You have a table next to you with dirty dishes. That is the effect of increasing labor productivity. It has to come out of somewhere.

"We've continued to invest in labor in our cafés and the quality of our people. We've invested in the quality of the food. When everybody pulled back and we did more, the difference between us and our competitors went up."

And the results have been dramatic. Since the end of 2007 when the recession began, Panera Bread has boosted revenue 24%, added 191 stores and increased their workforce by 20%. In comparison, the U.S. Restaurant industry saw same-store sales drop 2% in 2009 while the casual restaurant segment suffered an even worse decline of 4.7%.

The article is a great read and I highly recommend it. It shows how really sound thinking and marketing strategy can deliver exceptional results even facing severe competitive challenges. And while they had some significant financial advantages from previous successes to bolster them when conditions worsened, they've made the most of their opportunities to create even more competitive distinction because others retreated.

This story is just one more illustration of the fact that when presented with a host of dining options that are all relatively equal, consumers will select the brand that communicates and delivers a distinctly higher level of value. That's what good brands do for a business. Any business. Consumer or Commercial.

Read the full article on Bloomberg.com.

To talk to someone about developing more competitive distinction through your brand, contact us today by e-mail or phone 903-534-5220.

What Good Sales Sounds Like

noreply@blogger.com (J. Spell) — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 23:00:00 +0000

We’ve all heard a zillion radio spots that we would love to forget. Bland, boring announcer- or owner-read lists of various features and offers that drone on until we tune them out.

But every so often we get a little audio treat. A spot or campaign that seems to have a real point to make and a presentation that’s fun to hear. It makes the unique promise of the brand easy to relate to. The benefit it offers more attractive and desirable.

So how does it work? What are the keys to a good spot?

First, it connects with its audience. The situation, issues and values match the interests and needs of those it’s designed to motivate. It’s believable if illustrating reality or obviously exaggerated if over the top. The voice, music and vocabulary also help draw the right listeners in and hold their attention until the pitch is complete.

Second, it delivers the brand promise loud and clear, making the sales message the hero and not the actors or the spot itself. It adds just enough detail to make the story credible. And it presents an easy-to-follow path to an attainable result.

Lastly, it generates excitement and anticipation for the recommended brand solution. Its voices and sound quality are distinctly different from other commercials. Its professionalism raises its appeal. And its creativity maximizes its memorability.

Hear what good selling sounds like for yourself. Listen to several spots Cornerstone created for the re-positioning campaign for FirstBank, an 80-year-old savings and loan that wanted to become a bank.

To talk to someone about making your brand presentation sound this good, contact us today by e-mail or phone 903-534-5220.

With Bags Flying Free, SW Brand Soars

noreply@blogger.com (J. Spell) — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 21:59:00 +0000

Have you ever noticed how added fees really add up? Even on something simple like a fast food order. Tack on a few cents for this and another dollar for that and before long you're losing your appetite for a brand you once valued.

That's the power and the genius behind the Southwest Airlines "Bags Fly Free" promotion. Taking another departure from the industry norm that has marked the unique airline brand for years, Southwest again shows how well it connects to the issues and motivations of their customers.

In an article published on the bnet.com blog, Brett Snyder describes how Southwest has made the choice to win new business and encourage more business from existing customers rather than maximize their profit today in the process of pushing passengers away. It is a long-term strategy intent on building a more powerful brand connection by maximizing the customer experience – and it's working.

The article reports very positive feedback regarding the "Bags Fly Free" advertising that any marketer would love, but the real success is the continued positive gains Southwest has made over time in terms of customer satisfaction and value. In looking at survey results from 2006 to 2008 to 2010, these numbers illustrate the trends:

1. Answers like "It’s my favorite airline and I’d go out of my way to fly with them/one of the first I’d consider flying” went from 42 percent to 58 percent among the all-important business travelers.

2. Answers such as “It’s the best airline out there/one of the better ones” went from 56 percent to 70 percent.

3. Responses like “Really like and have a lot/something in common with” went from 54 percent to 64 percent.

This is big. It shows how the Southwest brand is continuing to build value in the minds of flyers. And not surprisingly, they continue to make money on a regular basis. It also shows once again that a brand is not a single promotion or feature change, but an integrated strategy to establish and leverage a distinct competitive difference.

Read the full article How Southwest Measures the Success of "Bags Fly Free."

To talk to someone about helping you establish and leverage your brand difference, contact us today by e-mail or phone 903-534-5220.