8 Brand Building Seasonal Selling Opportunities – Part 2
ANTICIPATION IS HALF THE FUN
Seasonal selling can give your marketing and merchandising programs a “bandwagon” effect that can significantly boost sales if executed correctly. Pull out a calendar and use it as a guide to plan your marketing activities. Take advantage of the various selling seasons that are coming our...
8 Brand Building Seasonal Selling Opportunities – Part 1
SALE WITH THE RISING TIDE
Seasonal selling is like sailing with the tides. It gives your salesman-ship the flow and clearance it needs to most effectively get underway. As any seasoned sailor will tell you, if you try to fight the tide you’ll just get hung up on the sandbar. When...
5 Elements of House Brands
SANTA’S NORTH POLE FROZEN PEAS - NAUGHTY OR NICE?
Whether they are called own brands, control brands, custom brands, or house brands, retailers are increasing the shelf space devoted to their own labels. These control brands, or private labels, have both advantages and disadvantages for retailers, suppliers, producers, and consumers. They are born out of...
Logo Design – Perception Trumps Purpose
CUSTOMERS OWN LOGOS
Limited to the design table, it is easy for logo designers and administrators to become isolated and insulated from the perceptions of their constituency, clientele and customer base. Recently, the University of California realized something. Not only did the public reject the design of their new...
The 7 Essentials of Branding with Authenticity
THE REAL McCOY
Certain brands have woven authenticity into their products, delivery and message. These brands have a distinctive look and feel about them that says, “This is the original,” or “This is the genuine article.” Over time, they have carved out a place at the apex of their...
4th Quarter Consumer Spending Predicts the New Year’s Economy
DON’T SPOOK THE CUSTOMER!
Whether we call it the fourth quarter, OND (October, November, December) or the holiday shopping season, current consumer spending actually trumps all other indicators for the future of the economy. When holiday sales are down, we repeatedly see a year with slower growth. When holiday sales...
Increase Your Brand Awareness with Goodwill toward Your Community
PUTTING THE “WORTHY” INTO “CAUSE MARKETING”
The Ubiquity of Cause Marketing Today the term “cause marketing” has become an overused buzzword. Like “green washing,” much of the substance seems to be lost in the term. Some companies deliver “cause marketing” with a check and a “good luck with that.” Then they are...
How to Build Customer Loyalty with Gratitude
THANKS FOR YOUR BUSINESS!
Thanksgiving week is a perfect time to thank those you rely on in your business. Improving your business relationships increases your brand value and customer loyalty at the same time. Sales are based on relationships. In this increasing impersonal world we all crave personalized attention. Your...
Build your Brand with Charity and Thoughtfulness
DOGS ARE DISASTER VICTIMS, TOO!
Rachel Ray, the CBS TV personality and Emmy-winning chef, has donated 4 tons of her Nutrish brand of wet and dry dog food to the canine victims of Hurricane Sandy. She believes she should give back in the same way as she makes a living. Everybody...
4 Pillars of Brand Promise
IT’S NOT WHAT YOU SAY; IT’S WHAT YOU DO – AND DON’T DO
A friend who is a Fortune 500 exec asked us recently, “What really makes a brand?” We knew he was an experienced and knowledgeable guy, and we owed him a thoughtful reply. What initially came to mind were all the elements that affect a brand: its...
New Brands Must Survive Repeated Murder Attempts
THE BRAND THAT WOULD NOT DIE
Since it's Halloween, we thought we’d share a scary brand story. For the first five years of our brand’s existence, we had to survive various attempts to kill it. Even after that, we had to be constantly vigilant to protect it from threats to its very...
When It Comes to Brand Names and Catchphrases, Less is More!
WHAT’S IN A NAME? MAYBE TOO MANY GRUNTS
Short Grunts for Brand Names We had a mentor who admonished us to name our brand whatever we want, but to “put it in short grunts.” It’s only human nature to reduce names to the smallest number of syllables, or as he used to say, “grunts.”...
Brand Story: Barefoot Wine
HOW HARDSHIP, HUSTLE, AND HEART BUILT A BEST SELLER
Be 2 Steps Ahead of the Others On Tuesday, October 16, 2012, we will do something entirely out-of-the-box for the book industry, as far as we know. We will offer a limited number of advance eBooks 90 days before the official release of the paperback, The...
7 Brand Killers and How to Stop Them – Part 2
LOCKED AND LOADED
Some brand killers are coming from your competition or the marketplace. Others may be coming from your own office staff. Yes, they are well-meaning, but do they have the knowledge and experience required to make suggestions affecting sales? Administrative and production people have a tendency to...
7 Brand Killers and How to Stop Them – Part 1
LET’S TAKE A RIDE (WITH YOUR SALESPEOPLE)
Your administrative and production folks can be well-meaning when they offer their suggestions, but they can unintentionally kill your brand. Because they don’t have street experience in the marketplace, they can make decisions that can undo years of brand building. In their desire to understand the...
Brand Proliferation Can Hurt Sales
BRAND WIDTH = BANDWIDTH
Having spent decades in the sales profession and as successful brand builders, we can tell you that there is a limit to the number of product offerings your company can sell. There is a tendency by production divisions to measure their success by how many different...
Maximize Your Impressions with Strategically Chosen Logo Wear
WORN OFTEN OR WORN OUT - LOGO WEAR IS MORE THAN LAUNDRY
When we had Barefoot Wines, like many companies, we used logo products to get our name and image out there. These included T-shirts, tank tops, polo shirts, corkscrews and visors. We always chose the best quality, most long-lasting items we could find to put our logo...
Joining Forces with Cause Marketing Forum
