7 Factors That Affect Customer Loyalty
"I LOVE THESE GUYS!"
When your customers first buy your product, they likely were previously loyal to another product. Something happened that sent them shopping. Maybe it was the price, or maybe they just couldn’t find it anymore. So they tried yours. For whatever reason, you now have an opportunity...
Company Logos Require Careful Strategy to Change
EVOLUTION, NOT REVOLUTION
The Datsun automobile spent five years to rebrand itself into the Nissan. First it was the Datsun, then the Datsun by Nissan, then the Datsun Nissan, then simply the Nissan. Although Nissan wants to bring back the Datsun name for economy cars in emerging markets, the...
Branding Consultants can be Generalists or Specialists
WHEN ALL YOU HAVE IS A HAMMER, EVERYTHING LOOKS LIKE A NAIL
When it comes to finding a Branding Consultant, choose the right tool for the job. Since the term “branding” became so popular, many folks are now calling themselves Branding Consultants. Branding has always been a big part of marketing, but branding without marketing to back it...
Worthy Cause Marketing is more than a Check for a Sponsorship
"GOOD LUCK WITH THAT!" VS. "HOW CAN WE HELP?"
With big companies and big non-profits, we often see checks being written for sponsorship rights. This often buys the right to use the non-profits logo on the companies’ products and collateral marketing materials. While many non-profits are reliant on these sponsorships annually, their members need more...
When it Comes to Brand Development, Reputation Trumps all Else
FAMOUS TO INFAMOUS IS JUST ONE NEWS STORY AWAY
When the Exxon Valdez spilled crude oil into the pristine Prince William Sound in 1989, years of building their name recognition instantly worked against them. Their high profile brand was a household word and the incident became a daily topic of conversation. Even though Exxon took...
Logo Development is the Discovery of a Solution, not Permission to Get Creative
5 POTHOLES TO AVOID ON THE ROAD TO A LOGO THAT WORKS
Do you ever notice that some logos are easy to understand but others are confusing? You wonder what they are selling or why you should buy it. You can’t quite read the words for the curlicues, or the image just doesn’t make sense. Somebody tried to...
Cause Marketing is Not Just for Big Business
GIVE YOUR CUSTOMERS A SOCIAL REASON TO BUY YOUR PRODUCT
In 1986, when we started the Barefoot Cellars brand, we were faced with the same problem that vexes most consumer product companies: How to get the word out with limited funds. A commercial advertising campaign was simply out of the question. As a new company, we...
Top 3 Must Reads
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...
Building Customer Loyalty is Critical to Brand Survival
THAT’S MY BRAND, AND I’M STICKIN’ TO IT
Over the life of your business, either you will build an ever-increasing loyal following, or your business will end. There’s no treading water when it comes to building customer loyalty. If you are not constantly growing your customer base, you are losing it. Satisfied customers, singing...
Retail Packaging Must Serve Many Masters
STAND UP, STAND OUT and STAND FOR SOMETHING
Your retail packaging must play by the established rules for labeling, dimensions, weight, units-per-pack, packs-per-box and so on. Your product must make it through the entire distribution system without getting crushed, marred, broken, misplaced, or misidentified. If your package can actually make it to the retail...
Measuring Customer Loyalty is Critical to Brand Survival
I’LL BE BAAACK! – OR – HASTA LA VISTA, BABY!
We’ve all heard about the contractor who says “It looks fine from my house,” but the homeowner who has to live with it will never hire that contractor again. Sometimes bridges burn so quietly, you may not realize you are losing customers, especially when you are...
Brand Marketing Strategies Have the Same Goal
ALL ROADS LEAD TO ROME - FROM DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS
Every Brand Market Strategy is aimed at selling more product, plus gaining and maintaining customer loyalty, but they go about it in different ways. Is it the best or the least expensive? Does it provide superior service, or is it the only one of its kind?...
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...
Branding Yourself Requires Consistent Messaging
YOU ARE WHAT YOU TWEET – OVER AND OVER AGAIN
Today, branding yourself, “self branding,” or “personal branding” can be achieved by business professional and the average person through skillful and repeated use of social media. Ten years ago, to brand yourself, you needed to write a book, be a politician, appear on TV, or be...
Sales Jobs Require Social Skills and Product Knowledge
15 QUALITIES TO LAND THE PERFECT SALES JOB
Every business really has only two divisions: Sales and Sales Support. Without Sales, no one in Sales Support gets paid. Why are salespeople so essential to any brand? Generally, the buyer “buys” the salesperson and not the product. A buyer’s relationship with a particular salesperson can...
Branding Your Business is a Multi-faceted Challenge
THE BRANDING MESSAGE IS MUCH MORE THAN OWNERSHIP
The cowboys used branding in the old west to identify their cattle and horses. When particularly excellent beef was identified with a brand, the brand itself gained value. After a while, it was expected that beef under that brand was going to be excellent. The repetition...