Consumer Product Brands Must Provide Customer Service
ALL BUSINESSES ARE SERVICE BUSINESSES
Probably the biggest misconception we see coming from aspiring and launch-phase consumer product producers is that they think they are in the product business. But they are all ultimately in the service business. Why? Their products and their customers will need servicing! The quality of that...
5 “P’s” of the Price of Sales are Often Underestimated
VIEW SALES AS AN EXPENSE
Today we meet with many hopeful startups with fantastic ideas. They are often inventors who believe that the invention itself will bring them success. Somehow they think their idea is so disruptive, so innovative, and so desirable that the world will beat a path to their...
Launching a New Brand Requires Consistent Effort to Overcome Inertia
EVERY SHIP THAT SINKS WAS FIRST LAUNCHED
Launching a new brand is easy. Getting it out of the harbor and onto the open seas of commerce is much more difficult. It seems like every day you hear about a new business launch. But you hear very little about what it takes to gain...
When It Comes to Brand Reputation, Retailers Never Forget
“WE TRIED THAT 10 YEARS AGO - IT DIDN”T SELL!”
Retailers seem to forever remember any brand that didn’t sell in their stores. You can’t really blame them because their very income is at stake. It doesn’t matter whose fault it was, if it didn’t sell, they remember and banish that brand, generally forever. We had...
Keeping Your Brand in Front of a Reluctant Buyer Will Pay Off (Later)
SHE’S NOT SHOPPING
When we began building the Barefoot Wine brand, we hired one of our first chain store managers to call on the big supermarket buyers in California. He was a tall Dutch guy named Jack Voss who kept us entertained with his charming accent and idioms that...
7 Obstacles that Can Slow Your Brand Growth
THE GRIND
Successful brand building requires a good plan, a great product, excellent positioning, and a good value, but the most essential ingredient is time. Sometimes it seems like your growth is gaining steam, then, for apparently no reason, it stymies. Sometimes it’s beyond your control and sometimes...
Volta Builds Brands with Free Electric Car Charging
CHARGE UP WHERE YOU SHOP
Can you build your retail brand by installing a free charging station out front? A San Francisco startup says you can! More drivers are choosing electric cars, increasing the need for convenient charging locations. And more retailers are discovering the benefits of projecting a green image...
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....
Build Your Brand with Floor Displays
IF YOU’RE NOT ON THE FLOOR, YOU’RE NOT IN THE STORE!
New consumer product brands require a billboard effect to get noticed at retail stores. Why would any shopper notice your branded product on a shelf packed with a myriad of other choices vying for attention? Getting shelf space is great, and making it into the official...
Pricing is a Tricky Skill Brand Builders Must Master
WALKING THE TIGHT ROPE
One of the key elements of brand building is proper pricing. It also the hardest to get right. There are so many conflicting requirements that getting it right is like trying to escape the prison of established pricing conventions on a tight rope. Go too far...
In-Store Tastings and Free Samples Require Careful Preparation and Follow-Up
WOULD YOU LIKE A FREE SAMPLE?
A great way to build your new food and beverage brand is to conduct free tastings in retail stores. This gives the consumer an opportunity to try your product and hopefully buy it. It’s also a great way to get your new product placed at all,...
Successful Brand Building Requires Sharp Focus and Concentrated Merchandising Efforts
START SMALL TO END UP BIG
Building a new consumer brand destined for distribution to retailers is ultimately dependent on how well you merchandise the products that brand represents. We often say, “You can’t buy it if it ain’t there!” And if it isn’t there, all your previous branding efforts, including your...
Consider the Source when No-Sayers Discourage You
GET BY WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM YOUR FANS!
Every brand builder faces no-sayers. Some of them may have your best interests at heart, but others may not see the opportunity. How do you know who to listen to? We were honored to be guest speakers last week at the University of North Carolina at...
5 Ways Turnover Hurts the Customer Experience
MARY ALWAYS HANDLED THAT!
An exceptional customer experience may look so simple on its face that it is taken for granted. When everything goes smoothly, from the marketing, packaging, accessibility, value for money, all the way through to the post-purchase customer care, the customer experience is a good one. But...
Rebel Coast Winery’s “Reckless Love” Honors Branding Basics
SPICY HUMOR MEETS CONVENTIONAL MERCHANDISING
Being successful in the limited and controlled wine business makes us a target for aspiring entrepreneurs who want to start their own wine labels. Many new producers think that all it takes to be a success is a compelling label, a cute catch phrase, and a...
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?...
Cost Accounting is Essential to Brand Builders
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?
We recently spoke to several hundred Accounting Students at Lethbridge University at their Calgary campus. As brand builders, how could we resonate with this audience? How were we going to inspire accountants? Cost Accounting, that’s how! Yes, it turns out that without great cost accounting there...
Chewy.com Uses Customer Service to Distinguish Its Brand
FEED THE KITTY!
We love to write about companies that are emulating what we call “The Barefoot Spirit.” These are the principles we convey in our Keynote addresses. These are the principles we used to found and build Barefoot, the world’s largest wine brand. Such a company is Chewy.com....