Before You Start Packaging Design – PART 1
STOP, LOOK and LISTEN! FIRST, DISCOVER THE DISTRIBUTION, HANDLING, AND RETAILING REQUIREMENTS
You may design a beautiful package – but what if it doesn’t fit on the shelf? Or it’s hard to get on a pallet? Or the people at the warehouses or stores or shipping companies are confused about the contents? What if you design a beautiful...
The Positioning Statement is All about Messaging
PERCEPTION, PRICE, AND PERFORMANCE
A positioning statement is the message you send to all levels of the market by how you position your product. Ideally, the statement compels the buyer to make the purchase. “If you buy a dozen of these cupcakes, we’ll give you 13 for the same price”...
A Good Positioning Strategy Achieves Superior Market Position
YOU MAY HAVE TO DO SOME THINGS THAT SEEM UNLIKELY AT FIRST
A positioning strategy is the action plan that a business or product undergoes to achieve market position. With positioning strategy, first consider your goal. How do you want to position your company, brand, or product? Do you want to give a perception of quality? Do you...
Marketing Channels Do Two Things Well
MARKETING CHANNELS GET YOUR PRODUCT TO MARKET AND YOUR MESSAGE TO YOUR CUSTOMER
Marketing channels are the means of getting your product to market while also effectively communicating good reasons to buy it at every level of distribution. Marketing channels are often confused with advertising channels. Although advertising is required in one form or another, marketing channels deliver your...
Channel Distribution Management Trumps the Product
EVEN A GREAT PRODUCT WILL FAIL – IF YOU DON’T MAKE THE 7 SALES
Companies – especially new companies--underestimate channel distribution management. Channel distribution management includes everything from merchandising and delivery, to policies and procedures, oversight and field reports. It’s a huge area of concern. The bottom line is: Your customer can’t buy it if it isn’t there. The channels...
The Distribution Channel is All-Important
THERE ARE THREE BASIC TYPES
The distribution channel is, perhaps, the least glamorous and the least respected sales process, but it is the most essential. Without it, you can’t get your product to your customer. With that in mind, it’s good to know the basics. The distribution channel represents the various...
Customer Loyalty is More than just Repeat Buying
CUSTOMERS AREN’T LOYAL UNTIL THEY BUY THE THIRD TIME
Customer loyalty is a demonstration of trust in your brand. It is the comfort and convenience of access to a dependable product that’s always in stock, and delivers up to or beyond expectations. Most consumers are loyal to products they can depend on. Their loyalty is...
Your Brand is an Icon If …
3 WAYS TO KNOW IF YOUR BRAND IS AN ICON, AND HOW TO MAKE IT ONE
There are lots of icons in our world today. We find them on our desktops, in our favorite YouTube videos, and in the marketplace. Icons are usually something, be it a person, object, or character. Icons represent defining characteristics of our culture and our world. The...
Customer Satisfaction Starts with Complaints
THE UNHAPPY CUSTOMER WHO COMPLAINS IS PURE GOLD
Any discussion about customer satisfaction needs to start by training a microscope on dissatisfied customers. Only a fraction of the dissatisfied customers will ever mention it to your company. The vast majority will just buy something else. It’s too much trouble for most customers to call...
The Chief Branding Principles are Simplicity, Relevance, and Message
USE THEM TO CREATE BRANDING THAT TELLS AND SELLS
Good branding is the beginning and foundation of any marketing effort. Branding principles guide the way you identify your product and assurances. Respect for the basic branding principles can help you identify the condensed but critical symbolic message you want to send. Areas to Apply Basic...
Product Positioning Definition
HOW IS YOUR PRODUCT PERCEIVED?
An official product positioning definition is: a consumer’s view of a product or service compared to its competition. Here are some critical considerations to achieve product positioning beyond pricing, appearance, quality and endorsements: 1. Product perception Even though you have a great logo, name, and slogan,...
Good Logos are Simple and Relevant
HOW DO LOGOS MAKE YOU FEEL ABOUT THE PRODUCT?
There are thousands of companies that will take your money to provide a logo for your goods or services. But before you pay them, you had better understand exactly who your market is and how your product or service will be delivered. Many logos are clever...