Your Acquirer’s Due Diligence Checklist Should Guide Your File Organization
BE READY FROM DAY ONE!
There’s much talk these days about the business plan, yet the sale-of-the-business plan seems to get little attention. Right now is the time to discuss the eventual transition and the due diligence checklist. Planning ahead for your potential acquirer’s required list of documents is an effective...
4 ways to Future Proof Your Brand
NOW WHAT?
When it comes to the longevity of your brand, the challenge is simply to remain relevant, no matter what happens in the market. Being future proof means standing the test of time. It’s the difference between retro and classic. It’s the difference between the flash in...
5 Steps to Becoming an Acquisition Target
PAYDAY!
Sooner or later every startup wants to get acquired. They may not realize it at first. When it becomes clear that the next level of growth requires more time, money, and effort than they bargained for, they look to an acquirer to take their company to...
5 Attributes of Authenticity that Give Your Brand an Edge
THE REAL McCOY
When your brand is perceived to be authentic, your sales increase, your brand loyalty soars, and your competition pales. Authenticity is “truthfulness of origins, attributes, commitments, sincerity, devotion, and intention,” according to Wikipedia. In other words, the real thing! Authentic brands have the attributes of dependability...
Brands Can Suffer During the Delegation Process
DON’T FUMBLE THE HAND OFF!
At some point in the life of a brand, its management gets delegated to a new brand manager. This may be through an external acquisition, internal reassignment, or turnover. Whatever the reason, this puts the health of your brand at stake, and in many cases, challenges...
Successful Brand Building Must Get Through Long Periods of Little Progress
THE GRIND
We had a friend who was a very talented singer and songwriter. He was convinced that if he could just get discovered (like in the movies), he’d have it made. He used to tell us, “It’s like one, two three! I play, Mr. Big sees me,...
5 Ways to Make Your Brand Fun – So You Can Attract and Build Customer Loyalty
“IF IT ISN’T FUN, I’M NOT DOING IT!” Randy Arnold, The Barefoot Guy
It’s amazing how many times we get asked by corporate types, “What is ‘fun’?” They want fun defined so they can bring it in to their own marketing the way we did with Barefoot Wines. Of course the thought that crosses our minds is that if...
Increase Sales with Positive Customer Experience
WORD OF MOUTH TRUMPS ADVERTISING
When a new company is just getting started or sales are down, the pressure is on for more advertising. But is that the best solution? Advertising is based on your long-term commitment to running expensive ads repeatedly before you can get any “traction.” But there is...
Vermont’s Darn Tough Socks Deliver on their Brand Promise
KNOCK YOUR SOCKS OFF!
Just when you thought everything was made in China, just when you thought there was no alternative to products that didn’t hold up, just when you thought that American manufacturing was dead, here comes Darn Tough! This plucky little Vermont sock company, founded in 2004, is...
4 Steps to Take Before You Grow Your Brand
TAKE A SHAKEDOWN CRUISE!
When it comes to launching a new branded product, we caution, “Every ship that sinks was first launched!” The launch is not the magic. Surviving the first few months is not the magic. Even achieving positive cash flow is not the magic. The real magic is...
7 Characteristics that Set True Entrepreneurs Apart
TRUE ENTREPRENEURS ARE BRAND BUILDERS
These days the word “entrepreneur” has been expanded to mean just about anyone who is self- employed. But we would like to see a new definition that distinguishes between solopreneurs, sole proprietors and single service providers on the one hand, and brand equity builders on the...
Grow Your Brand by Getting Your Non Salespeople into the Field
MEET THE REAL BOSS!
Because salespeople are on the “outside” in most companies, and everybody else is on the “inside,” there is a tendency to view the sales team as somehow separate from the office folks. This can be very counterproductive when it comes to brand building. The inside vs...
Seizing Opportunity Requires Fast Action and On-the-fly Corrections
THE PROBLEM WITH PERFECT
Street smart brand builders are light on their feet, constantly looking for current events, market changes, and consumer mood shifts they can take advantage of. When you are building your brand, pop-up opportunities abound. But can you take advantage of them before that window of opportunity...
They’re Not Strangers, They’re Customers
DON’T TURN MONEY AWAY!
We live in a world where entire groups of people are suddenly classified, by some, as the enemy, or personas non grata, but if we can get over political classifications we realize that everyone is our customer at some level. The real question is, will they...
The Lifetime Value of Your Brand’s Customers
NOT JUST A ONE-TIMER
When you acquire a customer, you get something else - you get the opportunity to make them a lifetime customer. What is the value of that? What do you have to do to keep them buying your brand? It's an opportunity, not a given. In fact...
Does Your Brand Contribute to Global Warming?
THE REAL PRICE OF “CHEAP”
The Climate Conference in Paris will not produce a solution for global warming or carbon emissions because there are simply no teeth in the deal. It’s all voluntary and “self-enforced.” One important game changer has come out of the conference however - public awareness. Not just...
Thanksgiving, a Day of Thanks or Just another Shopping Day?
BLACK FRIDAY ATTACKS GRATEFUL THURSDAY
America is one of the few nations in the world that sets a day aside just to give thanks, appreciate what we have, and celebrate friends and families. The banks are closed, the post offices are closed, and most businesses are closed. Until now! Within the...
Selling Your Brand Over the Web is a Price Race to the Bottom
HOW LOW CAN YOU GO?
When speaking to the Executive MBA class at Tulane University last week we were asked, “Why bother with bricks and mortar distribution challenges if you can sell your brand on the web?” We often get this question, especially from millennials who grew up with online commerce...