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...
The Best Brand Building Advice for the New Year
SAY HELLO TO THE REAL BRAND OWNERS!
“With your experience in the real world of brand building, can you just give me the one thing I need to know to build my brand in the New Year?” A member of the audience asked us this question after a recent keynote address. These days...
Brand Builders Must Respect Shipping Size, Weight, and Configuration Requirements.
BIGGER ISN”T ALWAYS BETTER
Too many compelling package designs fail simply because they aren’t practical. During the design phase it is essential that you realize that you don't have the world of all possibilities in which to design your package. Find out what the distribution system demands before you even...
Successful Brand Builders have to be Prepared to do the Middlemen’s Work
THAT’S NOT WHAT I SIGNED UP FOR
When your brand is new, you may be disappointed by the performance of brokers, distributers, jobbers and retailers in the handling and merchandising of your branded products. We were! In fact we were in denial for months. You know that river in Egypt? We were drowning...
“The Rule of 99” – Consumers Perceive a Penny More as a Dollar More!
DON’T LEAVE MONEY ON THE TABLE!
Crazy as it seems, consumers perceive a price that ends in .99 as a dollar less than one cent more. But it’s only one cent less. The same is true with $9.99 which is read as $9. Folks will see $99.99 as $90, rather than $100....
Brands Can Self-Destruct by Growing Too Fast
EASY DOES IT
Sometimes brand builders can kid themselves into believing that their brand is growing when it is actually dying. In a misguided effort to rack up as many sales as possible, new brand builders can get the idea that any sale from anywhere is a good sale....
The 3 Critical Relationships that Determine the Customer Experience
DOES MY BRAND LOVE ME BACK?
Today there is a lot of focus on the customer experience. How do your customers feel about their experience with your product? Are they satisfied, confident, and pleasantly surprised? Or are they frustrated, confused, and disenchanted? What are the main elements that determine your customers’ experience?...
Our 10 Biggest Mistakes – Don’t Let Them Be Yours
HINDSIGHT IS 20-20
As we travel and speak internationally on the subject of entrepreneurship, we are complemented not so much on the successes we achieved, but on the mistakes we share. In order to engage our audiences of start-ups looking to survive, small businesses looking to grow, or established...
Consumer Brands are only as Good as Their Availability
OUT-OF -STOCKS CAN KILL GOOD BRANDS
With so much emphasis put on the logo, catchphrase, brand promise, brand story, and even matching corporate business cards, letterhead and envelopes, brand builders can forget the most important factor in any retail consumer brand’s success: staying in stock! Being out of stock is a killer...
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...
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...
Brand Building Requires Constant Vigilance
COUNT THE REORDERS, NOT THE ORDERS!
Many producers, especially of consumer goods, get excited when their brand is for sale in some far away city across the country. They act like it’s some kind of an achievement to have placed their product there. They may even brag about all the places their...
Early Support for Marginalized Groups Results in Customer Loyalty
A PITCH OR A MOVEMENT?
Today, if you are in business, you have to stand for something beyond your product or service. This relatively new concept is being hastened by the wave of transparency possible through the Internet. In the past, producers were so worried about losing customers that they avoided...
Company Branding Should Convey your Message
WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT, ALFIE? - Burt Bacharach
Michael Caine played a Cockney womanizer in the popular 1966 movie, Alfie. Burt Bacharach’s theme, by the same name, asked the rhetorical question that conveyed the message of the movie. Your company branding starts with a succinct message that communicates what it’s all about and how...
Sales Tips That Work!
THE BEST SALES PERSON IS “THE ASSISTANT BUYER”
Probably the best sales advice we ever got was to act like an “assistant buyer”. You can’t act like an assistant buyer unless you know your buyer's needs, history, budget, problems, and successes. You have to know what she is going to do with your product...
Product Branding – 5 Keys to Success
KNOW THE PLAYING FIELD – THEN SWING FOR THE FENCES
The results of successful product branding are all around us every day. Certain icon brands became synonymous with their products, like Kleenex with facial tissue, and Xerox with copying machines. Other brands imply high quality, such as Tiffany and Mercedes. Still, others bring to mind speed...