They use the box to build a fort, a car, a treasure chest or whatever else comes to their minds. Kids have wild imaginations and they like to express themselves through designing. Fast forward fifteen years and as they transition into adults, they scale back their imaginations based on hearing what “can’t” be done, what doesn’t make sense or because they fear ridicule.

However, in a business landscape where so many competing companies say the same things, offer the same products and services and don’t know how to get people excited about their brands, wild imaginations are in high demand.

Here’s an idea to get things in gear: Consider organizing a “Wouldn’t it Be Great If” effort among your people and your top customers where they are encouraged to offer creative ideas to improve your products and services.

You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Jimmy Johns Gourmet Sandwiches promises freaky fast delivery. Specialty’s Cafe & Bakery sends alerts to customers letting them know when fresh cookies are about to roll out of the oven. Volvo sells safety and Wii introduced gestural control.

In lieu of trying to be all things to all people, leaders choose one attribute they know will be prized by their customers, they do whatever it takes to do it better than anyone else and they promote it relentlessly.

It’s as simple as it is brilliant – know what your customers want and give it to them!

I’m not talking about on the highway or in the aisles of the grocery store. I’m talking about getting passed when you’re competing in a marathon, or when you’re on a racetrack or when you’re playing a game and the person with the lowest score suddenly doubles your score.

It’s really not fun when a competitor passes you because they had the better idea and won the piece of business you’ve been chasing for months.

We’re living in an idea economy and if we are to stay competitive, exciting and relevant, we need fresh ideas. Ideas for why people should do business with us. Ideas for how we can opposition our competition. Ideas for how we can leverage trends that appear as if they could place us on an endangered species list. Ideas for how we can win new business.

Great ideas solve problems, enrich our lives, provide hope, boost confidence and most importantly, great ideas pay off in spades.

Here’s an idea on how to generate them:

Analyze every piece of your business including your sales process, accounting procedures, production process, marketing, social media, hiring, management, internal and external communications, unique selling and value propositions, policies and procedures, etc. and think in terms of how you could improve them. Be sure to get others involved in the process – front line employees, vendors and even your ten best customers can bring ideas and insight to the table you may never think of on your own.

If you challenge yourself to think of two or three strong ideas every week, you will find it to be the most valuable investment of your time.

As entrepreneurs and marketers, we understand that we can’t please 100% of our customers 100% of the time. We understand that there may be an occasional service flaw, human error or a product failure that will light someone’s pilot light. Unfortunately, if the wrong person gets really upset at the wrong time, a malicious blog post or review is only a few dozen keystrokes away.

We may not have any control over what people say about us online, but we do have control over how to tactfully handle harmful or damaging comments if they surface. We need to get involved and control the conversation to preserve the integrity of our brand and to avert a viral nightmare. For those who choose not to participate in social media and online conversations, type your name and the name of your company into google and you’ll see if anyone is talking about you. For all you know, there’s an angry customer out there who never contacted you, but has sat down and vented about you on a blog or forum; starting an unpleasant conversation.

Some of us may be able to boast 99.9% customer satisfaction, display twenty testimonials on our site and brag about our A+ standing with the BBB. However, enter one rant, one single star rating or one lengthy story about an unresolved issue blown out of proportion, and it will stick out like a pimple on the prom queen’s nose.

Your best defense is to monitor what is being said about you and learn how to diffuse a bad situation before it gets out of control. Remember: at the end of the day, all you have is your brand. Protect it.

I do, and for entertainment purposes I attended a local gun show over the weekend.

It was pretty much what I expected – a lot of gun-loving, Second Amendment enthusiasts walking through the aisles looking at firearms, knives, ammunition, ammo boxes, cleaning supplies, t-shirts and bumper stickers that made many chuckle, but for reasons you can imagine, not ones many would paste to their car.

As my eyes were floating around, I came across Mike, an exhibitor who was promoting his Strike Hold dry lubricant product. He was set up with everything he needed to convince skeptical gun owners that Strike Hold was the ultimate cleaner, lubricant and protectant. He had guns and knives buried in sand and some under water demonstrating that a gun or knife treated with Strike Hold would repel moisture and sand and anything that may cause one’s beloved weapons of choice to rust. He even went so far as to have a plugged-in light and drill submerged in a bucket of water to PROVE that Strike Hold lived up to everything it claimed to be.

I watched and listened to his entire demonstration which lasted roughly eight minutes. He asked me several questions about my firearms and the products I used on them. He did everything possible to convince me that Strike Hold was the only product I would ever need for my small arsenal.

And then I had a question…

“Is it O-Ring safe?”

He seemed puzzled.

I continued… “I have an O-Ring chain on my motorcycle and I’m always looking for a better cleaner and lubricant.”

He replied that it was perfect for O-Ring chains and assured me it would be an ideal cleaner and lube, so I decided to buy a small can and give it a shot. He definitely earned the sale.

So here’s my point…

Before I left the show, I passed by his table again and overheard him mention to a small group of people that Strike Hold was also an ideal cleaner and lubricant for O-Ring cycle chains. In other words, he gave people at the show another reason to buy.

This experience reminds me that when we are presenting and promoting our products or services, we never know what may be going through the minds of the people we want to influence. We need to observe and listen all the time.

When you hear about something ingenious a competitor is doing, you may say to yourself, “Why didn’t we think of that?!”

When you notice a company that always seems to figure out another way to deepen relationships with its customers while attracting new customers, you may find yourself asking, “How do they come up with this stuff?”

Maybe you can’t find the time, or maybe you have too many things on your mind. Maybe you’re too close to your business, or maybe you’re under too much stress. If you don’t have the time, energy or resources to think of new ideas, consider retaining someone who will think of new, innovative ideas for you; the kind of ideas that make people drop their glasses and do a double-take. The kind of ideas that get people talking about you. The kind of ideas that reward you with great publicity because you offer something people didn’t even know they wanted, and now crave.

Victor Hugo one said, “There’s nothing more powerful than an idea whose time has come.” Ideas provide hope. Ideas provide energy. Ideas clarify direction. Ideas give people a new purpose. Ideas get everyone excited and invigorated to achieve a lofty goal.

How much time do you currently invest into thinking of new ideas vs. wasting time trying to figure out why what you’ve done is not/no longer working? How often do you think of an idea and then abandon it because it seems like too much trouble to execute, because you’re afraid it won’t work, because you’re too self-critical or because you heard someone else tried to do something similar a long time ago and failed?

You need a steady, consistent flow of new ideas to outsmart your competitors, to WOW your customers, to be an industry leader and to survive.

Challenge: Think of three new ideas to help you achieve a goal by the end of the day today. If you do this, you will wake up in the morning with energy and enthusiasm.

Try this enlightening exercise: Grab a pen and paper (or open a new document on your laptop) and think back as far as you can to those people you remember the most. We’ve met thousands of people in our lives and have had many experiences along the way so this should be pretty easy. Do you remember your first grade teacher? Your neighbor where you grew up? How about the person you bought your first car from? What about the crazy cab driver who took an interest in you during a 12 minute cab ride 25 years ago?

Now, for the first five people on your list, write down just a few sentences of what they said to you. Perhaps you recall one memorable statement or someone’s unique philosophy, but I’ll bet you can’t write down more than ten words of what they actually said. However, I’ll bet you remember exactly how they made you feel. For example, I remember that my 3rd grade swimming coach was the only one out of four who gave me the confidence to jump into the ten-foot pool. I remember my fifth grade teacher who was intimidating and I remember the trust I invested into a car mechanic who, at the age of sixteen, told me to buy my auto parts from the store and bring them back so he could save me money on their markup. He was the only guy I wanted to fix my cars for the next 15 years until he retired.

Switching gears, what impression do you leave with your customers and prospects? They won’t remember much of what you told them, but they will remember if you were authentic, if you took a genuine interest in their needs, if you cared more about them than the sale, if you made them laugh, if you felt trustworthy and if you were generally attuned to them.

Your brand is heavily defined by the way people feel when they interact with you. We must never forget that people buy from people, not from companies (except for those vacuum cleaner bags on special through amazon.com). We can have the best product or the best service in the world, but if people don’t get that sense of confidence, or if they sense the sale is more important than the relationship, or if they detect a lack of authenticity, you’ve probably lost them.

As always, your thoughts are always welcome…

You can’t predict if, or when one of your employees will make a really bad decision, act inappropriately toward another employee, a customer, or in public. You may have no idea there is an ongoing, serious issue with a belligerent customer service person or with an unethical salesperson until you read about it on the blogosphere or receive a letter from an attorney. You have no control over your delivery driver who may run a red light tomorrow and seriously injure a family of four because s/he was texting instead of watching the road. You can never predict the nefarious intentions of a terminated employee, and the negative things s/he will publicize about you and your company.

Negative news spreads in an instant because many people love to hear about other people getting “busted” for notorious acts. Case in point: If David Letterman donated $10,000,000 to the American Diabetes Association, do you think there would be as much media attention over such a noble action as there currently is over his “inappropriate” actions?

Many incidents are unpredictable and beyond your control, and it’s crucial that you have a plan in place for when a crises strikes. You’ve worked much too long and much too hard building your character and reputation for one singular incident to seriously damage, or even destroy the integrity of your brand.

A crisis communications plan serves as the best form of brand insurance available, placing you in control of the message to minimize the negative impact on your brand. The fundamental components of your crisis communications plan should include: 1) identification of your crisis team, 2) a notification tree detailing who to contact, and in what order, 3) a thorough media list of those you will need to contact to control your message, 4) key messages and strategies for handling a variety of potential crises, 5) identification of a trained spokesperson who demonstrates stability under pressure, and one who will be the most comfortable in front of a camera under heavy questioning, 6) protocol on how to respond on the blogosphere, and 7) other appropriate components based on your business and industry. It also helps to have strong relationships with public officials, local law enforcement, a reputable attorney, and of course, your PR firm. You’ll need their support, advice and guidance to navigate through the turbulence.

Creating an effective crisis communication plan requires significant thought, time and effort. If you wait until a crisis attacks you from behind, you’ll be much too late. Now is always a good time to put a plan together.

We arrived at about 11:30, right before the “lunch rush.” We were greeted and seated right away and noticed there was a staff meeting wrapping up a few tables away from us. Two minutes later, we look up from our menus and Brian, a very attentive waiter, was at our table asking us what we wanted to drink. When asked if he was going to be our waiter, Brian replied, “No, but I saw that you were waiting a little too long and I wanted to make sure you were taken care of.” Actually, we weren’t waiting long at all.

Gets better.

When we finished our fantastic lunch, Brian came to our table and said he deducted the cost of the soup from our bill as a gesture for making us wait too long for service when we arrived. I thought it was completely unnecessary and needless to say, Brian received a generous gratuity.

This experience reminds me that as marketers, we have infinite opportunities to create “memorable moments” for our customers, and for anyone else who interacts with us and our brand. Consider that one of the secrets to successful branding is to interrupt and break routines or patterns that people unconsciously expect, absent of thought or feeling. This is exactly what happened at Bob Chinn’s. Think about it – How often do we patronize restaurants where the service is just “okay?” How often do we need to wait five or more minutes before someone approaches our table? How many times does the waiter or waitress forget the ketchup and we need to wait and wait while our fries get cold? Too often, and many of us accept this as the norm at most restaurants.

When we create memorable moments, we pleasantly catch people off-guard and that unique moment becomes embedded in their memory. Now here’s the magic: Not only will they tell others of their experience (free word of mouth marketing), they will almost feel a sense of obligation to come back to give you more business because they want to return the favor.

Looking back, we weren’t a table of ten ordering martinis and lobster. We weren’t friends of the owner and we weren’t regulars by a long shot. We were just a couple of guys stopping by to grab lunch en route back to Wisconsin. The memorable moment occurred when a waiter, who had no idea who we were, made us feel important. Will I go out of my way to eat at Bob Chinn’s again? Two words: Of course!

In 1996, Google was nothing more than a research project started by a couple of guys who had a mission…to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful. With this mission they established speed, engaged the cruise control and blew by many of their search competitors such as Lycos, Infoseek, AltaVista, Magellan, Excite, Dogpile, HotBot and AskJeeves. Over the past few years, Google has expanded their online offerings measurably and is about to overtake Microsoft to assume the lead position. Did anyone ever think Microsoft would be in this predicament?

At one time, Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer of Microsoft viewed Google as nothing more than a mere annoyance. Gates and Ballmer knew that anyone who owned a computer was pretty much required to run Microsoft Office if they wanted to interact with the outside world to share documents, spreadsheets and PowerPoint presentations. The email of choice was Microsoft Outlook. The aisles of many big box retailers were, and still are populated with numerous variations of Microsoft Office. (Starting price is $239 for the “standard” edition.)

However, Microsoft heard their first “bump” in the night in late 2006 when they witnessed the launch of Google Docs. Why? Google Docs was, and still is free (the price is right), it’s web-based (it doesn’t require the user to purchase a CD to download files) and it has many of the same functions as Microsoft Office (it’s very intuitive). Did I mention it’s free?

Fast forward to today and you’ll see that Google has most recently been recognized by the Millward Brown Group as the most powerful brand in the world, and it has also been recognized by Fortune Magazine multiple times as the #1 place to work. If we peel back Google’s veneer, we’ll see that they adhere to some very simple and logical business fundamentals which I believe attribute to their incredible success:

1. They give people what they want

2. They think of what people don’t even know they want yet, and then they give it to them

3. They saw what Microsoft (their largest competitor) was up to and they took it up quite a few notches

4. They hire top talent

5. They intertwine all their services to make it a “no-brainer” to become a “Googlist”

6. They are innovating ALL THE TIME

7. They make people’s lives more efficient, quite a bit easier and more enjoyable

8. They have a HUGE cool factor

9. They live their mission

Now, one question remains, Who will pass by Google?

Question: How often do we play the role of the customer?

How often do we call our own company to hear what our customers hear? How often do we go to our own website, and then visit our competitors’ websites? How often have we experienced our sales process from the customer’s perspective? How often have we experienced our own sales “pitch?” Have we ever experienced a customer problem from the beginning and followed it through to resolution?

Thought: Maybe we’re not the right people to do it.

Consider asking fellow business owners, friends, or other trusted and respected professionals to play the role of a customer. Ask them to experience the interaction from the initial point of contact all the way through to signing a contract. Ask them to give you honest and candid feedback along the way in respect to what they were thinking and feeling during the process.

I can’t think of an easier or more expeditious way to learn why someone would, or wouldn’t buy.

I’ve always believed that a company can have the greatest product or service in the world, but if its internal brand is suffering as a result of poor leadership, it will never reach its full potential.

What do you think happens when you put a strong performer to work for a poor leader? What happens when management is moody and unapproachable? What happens when the only time your employees hear from management is when they make a mistake? What happens when managers micromanage and make decisions for all the employees because their way is the only way? Answers include: high turnover, resentment, poor performance, feelings of insignificance and/or fear, little or no motivation and the formation of an “Us vs. Them” culture. In other words, a miserable place to work which resonates deep into your brand.

Think of it this way…employees join companies but they leave people. Poor leadership makes unhappy employees. Unhappy employees complain about their job, they criticize the brands they represent, they don’t answer the phone with enthusiasm, they don’t care about customers and offer little help in times of customer need, they don’t take pride in their appearance or that of the company they work for and there is no such thing as working 1 minute beyond the 8-5, 40-hour workweek.

I think it’s quite unfortunate that many companies don’t have a budget set aside for training. I believe that your brand is your biggest asset and at the end of the day, your employees are the largest influencers of your brand. Effective leadership leads to happy and top-performing employees who will champion your brand and become heroes for your customers.

People don’t buy cars, they buy freedom.

People don’t buy a mortgage, they buy “I BOUGHT A HOUSE!!!!!”

People don’t buy training, they buy new ideas and inspiration to make their lives easier, more efficient and more enjoyable.

People don’t buy cell phones, they buy the satisfaction and/or comfort of being able to connect with someone instantly.

People don’t buy meals at restaurants, they buy mini-getaways from their home or office.

People don’t buy massages, they buy instant relief, relaxation and an entitlement to feel good.

People don’t buy gym memberships, they buy confidence.

People don’t buy specialty products, they buy accuracy, speed, reliability, ease, confidence, and that “little extra something cool” included with the order.

People don’t hire consultants, they buy solutions to fill a need, solve a problem, end frustration and resolve confusion.

People don’t buy books, they buy escapes from reality through imagination.

People don’t buy movies, they buy two hours of living vicariously through characters they most admire.

What’s the common theme here? People buy feelings they desire at a given moment – not the actual product or service. Never forget that people buy based largely on emotions – not because something makes good sense.

Okay, it’s your turn. What do people literally buy from you, and what do they really buy from you. When you look at it from this perspective, it will surely open new doors of opportunities for you to become a greater value to your customers and give them more reasons to buy.

Seems so simple, yet it will separate companies that thrive from those that just survive.

“We are the leading…” (In whose opinion?)

“The GSX 5500 is the premier…” (Compared to what?)

“Our employees embrace…”

“America’s favorite…” (Can that be backed up with survey data?)

“Your number one…” (What about the 12 other similar companies that say they are ‘number one’?)

“Cutting edge” (What does this mean?)

“Industry standard” (Standard also means average.)

“We harness to power of…”

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, Michael Phelps, 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 and with what they stand for – 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 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, integrity and character; not hype.  If you do this, your brand will speak for itself and people will listen and surely follow.

Buying an American made vehicle was simply the right thing to do. It was a sign that you were supporting the United States of America and telling the foreign automakers that they weren’t welcome here. The Cadillac, in particular, was what you drove to tell everyone that you’ve finally “made it.” The Corvette was the quintessential raw muscle/sports car that came with complimentary drool buckets to hand to people who could only dream of buying one of their own someday. A Chevy truck was the working man’s choice and he who owned felt invincible.

And then came the 90′s. Enter Toyota, Honda, BMW, Mercedes, Volvo, Volkswagen and Audi. They started building better quality cars and SUV’s. They found our 12 month/12,000 mile warranties weak and responded with aggressively promoting 36 month/36,000 mile warranties (sometimes better). Their cars cost less to produce and some were even built on U.S. soil, employing American workers. Price difference? Negligible.

The American people spoke. We began to see our roads populated with more and more foreign cars, SUV’s and light-duty trucks. Foreign auto manufacturers were introducing cool and new technologies and conveniences. Unfortunately, it took a little while for GM, Ford and Chrysler to say, “Me too.” Toyota was even so bold as to invite U.S. auto manufacturers into their production facilities, inviting them to take notes, pictures, videos, etc., because they knew their competition (U.S. automakers) could not match what they are able to produce. Different work ethic, different financial structure, leaner production, lower cost of production, and a better quality end product.

Unfortunately, GM wasn’t paying attention, and maybe they thought they were much too big to be toppled. They’re toppled, even after soaking up more than $30,000,000,000 faster than a ShamWow. They still toppled.

It’s obvious what we can learn from this catastrophic failure: we must continually innovate, keep a close eye on our competitors, pay attention to consumer trends and demands, and never take the good times for granted. It’s so simple, and it’s too bad that one of the largest companies in the world didn’t get it, and now everyone is paying for it – literally.

I personally have nothing against GM or any American manufacturer. What I am against is any company that stops caring about, and stops paying attention to the people who are loyal to their brand. A company that brags of quality while cutting corners back at the plant. When you look at it that way, it comes down to character and brand ethics, and those are two things you don’t ever want to mess with.

Companies that do not advertise in an economic downturn may be inadvertently sending a message to consumers that either they are failing, or that they are no longer in business. What other conclusion could consumers possibly come to?

Unfortunately, there are too many company leaders who view advertising as an expense vs. an investment. My belief is that your company should be viewed as your primary investment and should be the focus of your investment portfolio. After all, your business is your primary source of revenue and the one investment you may have the most control of.

Think back to the day when you became the President or CEO of your company. What was near the top of your priority list? To tell everyone about your business so that you could win business. You most likely scraped together whatever you could financially to promote your brand. Today, you need sales, and you are dealing with consumers who are tighter with their money than they’ve ever been. This is one of those times when as a business owner, tough decisions need to be made, and you need to have faith in yourself and in your company AND it will require an investment on your part.

The good news is that marketing is not as costly as it was 12 months ago. All forms of media are in a pinch, hence, they are offering great deals to place your advertising. Direct marketing will be more economical to produce because printers are offering deals as well. AND, there is less mail in mailboxes that may distract from your message, so your marketing will be even more effective.

Also, if there was ever a time to re-tool your brand to become more relevant in the eyes of consumers in light of the economic downturn, it is now.

Pick up your pieces, put a plan together and take advantage of an economy that’s under construction. People still need and want to hear about you!

Following is a list of my personal favorites…

How do I define the focus of my business?

What is my mission statement?

What is my market share?

What is the approximate market share of my competitors?

What is the profile of my primary prospects?

Secondary prospects?

How do I differentiate my product/service from my competitors? How relevant is it to them?

What are my 3 main competitive advantages?

What are my 3 main competitive disadvantages? What am I doing about it?

What is my weakest link right now from acquiring a new relationship to project completion? What am I doing about it?

How do I win my business?

Why have people stopped doing business with me? What am I doing about it?

What are some trends that are impacting my business/industry? What am I doing about it?

How do purchasers perceive my company?

How do prospects perceive my company?

What one phrase comes to mind when people hear the name of my company?

What are the 3 most important criteria my prospects consider when making a purchase decision? How does my marketing address this?

What were the 3 best marketing campaigns/successes that I have utilized to market to my prospects?

What some of the marketing tactics my competitors are using to steal my customers? What’s my plan?

What would my realistic/ideal situation be in 1 year / 3 years? What am I doing to ensure I succeed?

What do I worry about the most in my position? What am I doing about it?

If I was on the other side of the business, which of my competitors would I do business with? Why?

Why wouldn’t I do business with my company?

How am I taking advantage of business opportunities?

What is threatening my business? What am I doing about it?

Am I having fun? (Sometimes we forget to do this – what are you doing about it?)

the amount of time customers wait before connecting with a human being

the appearance and hygiene of the employee on your front line

how well your marketing materials speak in terms of the customers interest

the way you, or someone from your company responds to a crisis

how clean those windows are

how you make a candidate feel during an interview

the firmness of your handshake

whether or not you look someone in the eye when you talk to them

how available you are

the appearance and condition of your delivery vehicles

how well you understand the needs of your customers, vendors, distributors and employees

whatever anyone says about your company

the demeanor of the person who answers your phone

how far you go to help a customer in need

how well your employees understand and communicate the value of your products and services

the cleanliness of your restroom

the car you drive

the quality and creativity of your solutions and answers to awkward situations

how consultative your salespeople are

your packaging

the quality of your marketing materials, website, tradeshow booth, collateral, etc.

the special, unexpected things you do for your customers

the way that one disgruntled customer was treated

how long your custmomer waits before he gets the ketchup for his burger and fries

whatever is communicated by phone, email or blog

what people say about you when your back is turned

the amount of mistakes or mishaps that occur

how punctual you are

the magazines in your lobby - recent vs. 6 months old

the condition of the property returned to the customer that you were left and entrusted with

the quality of the contractors and vendors you hire to work on customer jobs

how often you remind everone in the store to bring their final purchases to the counter because you are about to close

the amount of empathy expressed in unfortunate situations beyond your control

your turnover

whatever your competitors say or imply about you

the one part or component that accidentally wasn’t shipped or included

what the sales associate “forgot to mention”

your word, character and integrity

whatever may have been said to make the quick and easy sale vs. building a meaningful, long-term relationship

how many times a call is picked up vs. going to voicemail

how long it takes to reply to an email

whether or not you eat the cost of a mistake or stick it to the customer

how accomodating you are

how authentic you are

how truthful you are (will something really take 2 days, or will it really take 4?)

whatever people listen to when they are “on hold”

how many times you tell people your “policy” is

timeliness and condition of delivery

what the customer receives vs. what the customer expects

how the customer feels before, during and after each, and every interaction with you

most importantly, your brand is 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.

Is there an ROI involved with these activities? Of course there is. Can it be measured with any degree of accuracy? Well, other than the occasional compliment you might receive, not really.

Let’s switch to your marketing and PR efforts. Many marketing professionals are enthralled with web-based marketing because they have the ability to measure and track the activities and behaviors of potential buyers right down to each individual click. However, measurement is not so easy with offline marketing efforts and, consequently, they receive a much smaller percentage of a marketing budget, or they may be dismissed altogether. Why? Because more and more marketing professionals are sitting in a pressure cooker every day where they need to prove their worth and produce measurable ROI for every marketing dollar spent. Unfortunately, since offline marketing techniques are not as easy to measure as online, they’re bringing a knife to a gunfight when attempting to get any offline marketing budgets approved.

Now it’s obviously no surprise that just about everyone around the world is spending much more time online, which makes it a very appealing medium to promote your brand. However, let’s not forget that people still watch hours upon hours of television, and they still listen to radio in the car and at the office to keep on top of news and local events. People still page through their favorite magazines at home or in the lobby of their doctor’s office. They still enjoy receiving mail with special offers and they still attend trade shows to see what’s new and to connect with peers in their industry. So let me ask you, do you believe radio, print, trade shows, public relations and TV spots aren’t as effective as online marketing? Is it fair or wise to dismiss these marketing techniques because they can’t be measured to the degree of a pay-per-click campaign?

Well, that radio advertisement immediately told me that there was probably a competing sporting goods store that was going out of business AND they were probably having a huge liquidation sale. I made a few phone calls to some friends of mine and learned what store it was. Instead of going to the store that ran and paid quite a bit of money for the radio ad, I immediately drove to the one that was having a liquidation sale. Some things were 20% off and some were 40% off or more. I stocked up an entire shopping cart with some great products and saved a LOT of money.

What a win-win. I helped ease the pain of a once great business that is a victim of the troubled economy by purchasing their merchandise, AND I saved $$$.

So, who did the radio ad help?

]]> http://brandivate.wordpress.com/2009/03/24/a-real-life-brand-autopsy/ Tue, 24 Mar 2009 19:05:59 +0000 Scott Seroka http://brandivate.wordpress.com/2009/03/24/a-real-life-brand-autopsy/ It seems as if Saab has three wheels in the grave and the fourth on an oil slick.

http://tinyurl.com/d4z9ec

This is a perfect example of an acqusition/merger of two brands that may have looked great on paper, yet no thought or appreciation was given to what the two individual brands stood for.  General Motors is an American corporation and Saab, Swedish. Two different cultures and two unique brand identities. It doesn’t seem as if anyone gave a moments thought to why people buy GM and why people buy Saab before the deal was made. GM succeeded at “Americanizing” the Saab brand in the spirit of moving volume and now we all see how well that worked out.

Some analysts believe that GM was more concerned with volume than individuality, and one specialist concluded that “…GM denuded the intellectual content behind the brand.” I couldn’t agree more.

Question – What do you think would happen to the Harley Davidson brand if it merged with Yamaha Motor Corporation? They may be two very good brands, but something just doesn’t feel right about it.

I’ve always believed that a brand has three components – a deliver on a promise, an emotion and a relationship. When one brand acquires or merges with another, we must not forget who is in charge of the brand – the customer. When a brand breaks a promise, alters an emotion or compromises a relationship in the name of greed, the customer will take his ball and go play somewhere else.

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.

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!

1) Facebook is an efficient and online forum of networking. It requires no annual membership fees, it doesn’t require valuable people to be out of their office while networking in a conference room or restaurant. It is a place where like-minded professionals are connecting with each other.

1) FB can be used to fill positions and find talent. Employment sites charge a handsome fee ($300 and up), where facebook is free. Is it the best source? Well, that all depends on how many friends you have and how helpful they are. Keep in mind that whoever comes your way through FB will be a referral from trusted sources (your friends) and they probably wouldn’t send you dweebs or unqualified applicants. Hence, you may likely fill the position quicker than by traditional means.

2) FB is a great place to connect with professionals. Don’t think that FB is just for 20-somethings. There are plenty of people in their 30′s, 40′s and even 50′s who are jumping in because they are beginning to see the value of having an online social networking presence.

3) Qualified business leads can be found on FB. Do a search for a particular title such as Marketing Director or Purchasing Agent or President and see what comes up. Send them a message or request them to be your friend or invite them to join one of your groups. Better than a blast email? You bet.

4) Use FB to do a quick online survey among the people you trust and respect. Want to know what someone thinks of your new product idea or service offering? Throw it out there and watch people respond. People by their nature love to offer their opinions (yes, I know – some A LOT more than others) and they will offer insight you may not have thought of. Have an HR question? Send it to your group of trusted FB advisors to keep it kinda confidential. There really is no limit.