Personalized Attention Makes a Comeback
CRAVING REAL TIME INTERACTION
Whether it’s a phone call from someone you know or a video chat with a familiar person, the cloistering of society has opened the door for real time communication. We all now need live acknowledgement that we are important enough to spend exclusive time with. There...
The Novel Coronavirus Spotlights Opportunities for New CPGs
BACK TO BASICS
It’s clear that the direct-to-consumer business just got a big shot in the arm from the shelter-in-place orders that many of us are now living under. Even though these restrictions are temporary, they have trained many new consumers to use online services to order their CPGs...
The Corona Virus Reminds Us Again Why There Is No REAL B2B
IT’S B2B2B2C!
You’d think that the Great Recession, only 10 years ago, would have made it clear that the businesses that thought they were somehow insulated because they were B2B …weren’t! They took a big hit with everybody else because the business they were selling to was selling...
The Best Form of Brand Building is Community Service
NOW IS THE TIME FOR ALL GOOD BRANDS TO COME TO THE AID OF THEIR COUNTRY!
All the time, money, and effort you have put into building your brand pales in comparison to the good will and brand recognition you garner by stepping up to the plate right now during this time of need. We clearly don’t have enough protective gear. We...
VinoPRO‘s Relationship-Selling Solution Provides Help to Wineries During COVID-19 Shutdowns
SELLING WINE BY PHONE
“We are hiring!” says Jeff Stevenson, who runs a wine marketing business called VinoPRO, Inc. that focuses on remote sales. “We literally had our single largest sales day of the year last Wednesday!” As reported in The Wall Street Journal by Jon Hilsenrath, contrary to most...
10 Tips for Video Conferencing Etiquette
Retail Will Have to Adjust to Survive Pandemics
Social Distancing Favors Home Delivery
Although the implications to business from the COVID-19 are many and still unfolding, one already established growing trend will get a big boost: home delivery. Several retailers are already offering this service. But now this business is about ready to explode. Convenience Many customer who prefer...
What is a Brand if not the Founder’s Legacy, Concept, and Intention?
STAYING ON TRACK
So often we see great brands derailed. They seem to have lost track of their purpose and style, their principles and commitments. They often get watered down and diluted by corporate governance, standardization, and complacency. What happened? They lost their spirit, that’s what happened! They degenerated...
A Quick Lesson in Supply Chain Management
BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE CORONA VIRUS
The American consumer is the backbone of the economy. It is their insatiable appetite for products that spins off into income for thousands of other businesses including such far-fetched markets as real estate. When they go to the store or shop online, they see finished goods...
What’s the Difference Between a Brand, a Label, and a Product?
KEEP THE SPIRIT ALIVE!
Over the years, brands risk becoming just another label. When a brand loses its spirit, it winds up as no more than a distinctive symbol (or logo). And as the logo becomes more standardized, it begins to lose even that distinction. The once proud brand has...
How You Work with Your New Retail Sales Representative Makes All the Difference!
Box Power’s New Mini Box Cuts a Big Problem Down to Size!
NOT JUST TALKING ABOUT THE WEATHER
They used to say, “Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it.” With the world’s dependence on fossil fuel plus climate crisis deniers in the halls of government, it might be more appropriate to say, “Everybody does something about the weather, but nobody...
World’s Largest Money Manager Exits Climate Risk Investments
WALL STREET FLINCHES
The mega trend is undeniable! There is a real need for products that address the new realities now unfolding with the increasing Climate Crisis. And the implications are enormous for the financial industry. According to a small article in last week’s Washington Post, “BlackRock, the world’s...
CPG Territorial Representative Applicant Interview Question Template
“YA GOTTA KNOW THE TERRITORY!” – The Music Man
When selling any CPG in traditional retail, your success is based on 3 key elements: customer building, vigilance, and timely remedial action. You must start with the understanding and respect for the retailers’ predicament: Will the expensive space they gave you, at the exclusion of others,...
2020 – A Brand New Year! A Brand New Decade!
WHAT DID WE LEARN?
As CPG brand builders, when we enter a new year, it should be with the application of the lessons we learned in the past year. By applying those lessons, we can have the advantage in the marketplace and be the leaders in our categories. Underdog Advantage...
Listen to Hollywood Actors Perform the True Barefoot Brand Story for Fun and Insight!
FREE CHAPTER!
“Don’t tell me. Show me!” pretty much sums up why we spent the last year putting together our latest initiative to get our story out to the largest number of consumer brand builders. We took our New York Times bestseller, The Barefoot Spirit, and turned it...
New CPG Brand Builders Should Stay Focused!
MORE IS NOT BETTER
When we started Barefoot Wines, we had just two SKUs. They were Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc in 1.5L magnums. The buyers told us this larger size had the least competition, so they were the ones we entered the market with. Within a few years and...
How to Make the Perfect Retail Sales Call
BE PART OF THE TEAM!
So, you’ve got a CPG product. You are selling at retail. You have a distributor and you are getting into retail stores. Congratulations! However, your sales could be better and you are worried that you may be discontinued for poor sales. You decide to go to...