Treacherous Sales Channels Can Sink Your Entrepreneur Ship!
EVERYBODY WANTS SOMETHING DIFFERENT!
What are sales channels? They are more important than your product! Why? Because, simply, “If it ain’t there, they can’t buy it!” Where is there? It’s the point of sale. It’s the only place where your product, your consumer, their money and their decision all come...
What Is Inside Sales vs. Outside Sales in the CPG Space?
ONE THROAT TO CHOKE!
Depending on what you’re selling, how much you are selling at a time, and how you’re selling it, you will have different approaches to how the sale is made. You may also have different approaches to how the initial sale is made vs. how the subsequent...
7 Sales Strategy Tips to Increase Your CPG Sales Territory
WORKING BACKWARD
Effective CPG sales strategy planning requires a knowledge of, and respect for, the harsh realities of the retail marketplace. It’s a multifaceted landscape into which your product must fit, survive, and thrive. Due to the physical nature of the distribution system, there is a ridged process...
HR Can Be A Blessing and a Curse for a CPG Startup
USE ONLY AS DIRECTED!
A wise old entrepreneur once told us, “The second person you hire will be your HR Director!” When we said, “Why is that?” he said, “By that time, the first one will have personnel problems!” Although he was being facetious, his point was well taken. The...
Consumer Packaged Goods Brand Building – You Found It!
EXPERIENCE IS THE GREATEST TEACHER
If you are looking for actionable information on building a Consumer Packaged Goods brand, also known as a CPG brand, you have come to the right place. We don’t just talk about it, we actually did it. We took a CPG brand all the way from...
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...
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...
Corporate Structure Itself Can Hurt the Customer Experience
“IT’S ALL THE SALESPEOPLE’S FAULT!”
When sales drop off, it’s easy to simply blame the sales division. We often hear, “They’re just not doing their job!” But is it really the sales division, or is it something we generally take as an unchangeable constant, like the very structure of the company...
Granting Every Sales Request Can Hurt Your Brand
IF ONLY…
We’ve often said that Marketing and Production should pay attention to Sales and Customer Service because they are the only people in your company who talk to your customers every day. They know why customers buy – and why they don’t. They know what the competition...
At the Customer Experience Level Your Sales and Consumer Care People Know More than Your Marketing and Production People
STAY INFORMED AND STAY RELEVENT
Your marketing people have done a fine job of creating a marketing plan, strategy, and package. They’ve considered the market, the competition and the delivery systems. They have honed the message, dialed in the positioning, and developed the compelling logo, catchphrase, and merchandising materials. But like...
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...
3 Things You Can’t Outsource
FOCUS ON SALES, NOT PRODUCTION
When contemplating a new business, many inexperienced entrepreneurs think they need bricks and mortar investments like offices, factories and farms. Focusing on production instead of sales is the biggest mistake many new start-ups make. Typically, when members of the general public first meet us, they automatically...
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....
5 Threats That Can Kill Your Brand in the New Year! – Part 4
Legal and Compliance
In most companies the legal department is referred to as “compliance.” However they do far more than make sure your company complies with the laws and regulations governing your industry. They protect you from liability exposures and potential lawsuits. They protect your intellectual property including trademarks,...
5 Threats That Can Kill Your Brand in the New Year! – Part 3
ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL
In this series, we have been discussing how to recognize the various ways your own people can inadvertently hurt your brand. Your company is ultimately only as valuable as your brand equity. Your brand equity is based on the likelihood that your branded products and services...
5 Threats That Can Kill Your Brand in the New Year! – Part 2
PRODUCTION
It’s hard to believe that your own team can damage your brand, but most brands are killed from self-inflicted wounds, not murdered by the competition. As you start out the New Year, be vigilant that your own people don’t take action that inadvertently hurts your brand....
Renew Your Brand Promise for the New Year
Renew Your Brand Promise for the New Year
This is a great time of year to renew your brand promise. Just like renewing vows in marriage, you recommit yourself to your brand promise. But unlike marriage vows, the promises are not yours. They’re the sum of your customers’ perceptions, expectations and beliefs about your...
The Brand Name That Says It All! Barefoot Bubbly Sells One Million Cases!
WHAT’S IN A NAME?
It was storming that night in 1996 when Michael slowly drove up the long dirt road that lead to his humble farmhouse in the rural hills of western Sonoma County. He was careful not to spin out in the mud nor get grabbed by the treacherous...