Got a blog email today from a consultant we've used in the past. "Mr. X" as I'll call him is killing me with basic, regurgitated material.
Now I know I'm going against my old training/consulting brethren, but the more I see, the more I think we should not take any advise that is not backed up by real-time, boots-to-the-floor types that are living the challenges day to day. You can get sucked into a cocoon being a "consultant." "Mr. X" talks about insuring you retailers create a "memorable experience?" No shit.
Customer confidence at an all-time low?
That’s what the Denver Post said. I really don’t believe it but it brings up the question; if consumer confidence is at an all-time low, we must provide persuasive credibility that we will do as we promised. Every time. The Brand Promise is already out there. It’s bubbling in the consciousness of our consumers- from the print campaigns to the point-of-sale moment of truth, it’s out there. Are we doing as promised? If not, what are we doing to address the gaps in what we're promising vs. what we're delivering?
Consumers need the spotlight
This altered quote (sorry Lisa) is from author Lisa Johnson;
Consumers are looking for the spotlight; they enjoy being big fish in small ponds. They are ready to have their dreams and needs acknowledged and legitimized. Hand over the microphone and start the cameras rolling. Give them the backstage pass and the insider treatment. These people are itching to stand out, stand up, and be celebrated with their names in lights.
It’s their brand too!
Consumers are looking for the spotlight; they enjoy being big fish in small ponds. They are ready to have their dreams and needs acknowledged and legitimized. Hand over the microphone and start the cameras rolling. Give them the backstage pass and the insider treatment. These people are itching to stand out, stand up, and be celebrated with their names in lights.
It’s their brand too!
Brand as a container?
Check this quote out from Sergio Zyman (brand guru, former CMO);
“The Brand is simply a container for a customers complete experience with the product and the company.”
Well then. Can I assume the product is the brand as I’ve been railing on over the past months? What’s our container look like? Feel like? Smell like?
“The Brand is simply a container for a customers complete experience with the product and the company.”
Well then. Can I assume the product is the brand as I’ve been railing on over the past months? What’s our container look like? Feel like? Smell like?
Diamond's and Data
I watched "Blood Diamond" this weekend and it made me think of change and what it takes. While thousands of Africans are killed and kidnapped each year to support an illegal diamond trade and rebel groups, it's one story that triumphs over many. Lot's of numbers causes us to be desensitized to the whole of the problem. In our world, I can show you ever increasing consumer issues, or quality problems or distributors who are becoming less loyal to our brand each day. But those numbers are not acted on in our world. No reaction- no change. Too many reports for too few eyes.
What does get reacted to is a consumer letter to a CEO- it's gets people moving. Considering that, we should embrace the small numbers- the letters and calls into our CEO's office. It puts a face on an issue. Like the one man in Blood Diamond- it took a real-life story to get peoples attention. How's it work in your world? Does all that data help change anything?
What does get reacted to is a consumer letter to a CEO- it's gets people moving. Considering that, we should embrace the small numbers- the letters and calls into our CEO's office. It puts a face on an issue. Like the one man in Blood Diamond- it took a real-life story to get peoples attention. How's it work in your world? Does all that data help change anything?
Service Rules (preserve my budget, please)
Found this somewhere...
The Boomerang Effect: Market Dynamics Are Driving Customers Back to the Manufacturer.
The Internet and big box retailers have changed the way products from MP3 players to garden tillers reach the market. Whether or not multi-channel manufacturers have adopted a direct sales model, market dynamics are forcing them to adopt a direct service model.
OK then. We need to service, we need to be the safety net, we need to control what we really don't want to. I'm convinced more and more that a B to B environment is no shelter from having to invest in a direct service model.
The Boomerang Effect: Market Dynamics Are Driving Customers Back to the Manufacturer.
The Internet and big box retailers have changed the way products from MP3 players to garden tillers reach the market. Whether or not multi-channel manufacturers have adopted a direct sales model, market dynamics are forcing them to adopt a direct service model.
OK then. We need to service, we need to be the safety net, we need to control what we really don't want to. I'm convinced more and more that a B to B environment is no shelter from having to invest in a direct service model.
Weve been "branded"
"Nothing can help your brand more than taking a leap to let your customers brand your products."
- 2007 ANA Conference
Let's take a step back here...our consumers have already "branded" our brand. They may have branded it as "the best quality," the "most innovative" or the "best service." Our charge is to live up to this every single day. To be the brand they helped to create. Our most powerful marketing tool is the product itself! What we do rules! Branding starts in our plants. Branding starts in our distribution. Branding starts at point of consumer contact.
Branding is what the thousands of our employees are doing right this minute-
the responsibility is immense...
- 2007 ANA Conference
Let's take a step back here...our consumers have already "branded" our brand. They may have branded it as "the best quality," the "most innovative" or the "best service." Our charge is to live up to this every single day. To be the brand they helped to create. Our most powerful marketing tool is the product itself! What we do rules! Branding starts in our plants. Branding starts in our distribution. Branding starts at point of consumer contact.
Branding is what the thousands of our employees are doing right this minute-
the responsibility is immense...
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