Guy Richards / Ordinary Life with a Brand Strategist

#10 / What I learned at Convene...outsourcing or leadership?

This clip is about what I learned from a man who buys declining manufacturing businesses and turns them around.

#10 / What I learned at Convene...outsourcing or leadership? from Guy Richards

Trendsetters cause market reactions

Every market has a group of trendsetters.

Trendsetters cause market reactions. Good and bad.

Good market reactions cause market share growth.

Market share growth creates opportunities.

 

…as a brand leader you can use opportunities to influence those around you. Employees, vendors, competitors and those who pay for what you do.

Respect your Brand!

If you respect your brand, invest in it, police it from inconsistencies and hold to its values…it will draw people. Like two magnets stuck together.

If you disrespect your brand, starve it, care less about presentation and expand offerings from its sweet spot for quick money…it will push people away. Like two magnets facing the wrong way.

What’s Needed / Relevant Brand Positioning

An insightful strategist will create a plan to stay relevant with the generations coming up the ranks (the youth) without losing the loyalty with the brand’s aging market.

It’s a fine balancing act to keep a support base while drawling younger generations into the sales funnel.

What’s needed is:

1. An external strategist who can see the whole picture. Inside perspective, outside perspective, breakdowns, the sweet spot, possible value propositions and how this brand compares to the competitive landscape.
2. A leadership team that can make quick decisions when asked.
3. A great design team that can translate the strategy to tangible pieces.
4. A management team that encourage excitement through the business shift.
5. Most importantly, an offering and experience that is “Positively Talkable.”

Biggest, best brand on the boards

It never works when a brand calls itself the “biggest” and “best.” It only works when others say it.

Notice all the empty seats. About a block down, Mack & Manco pizza had a line of people waiting.

Don’t state it unless you can back it!

I have been with my current bank for over 10 years. Their positioning (“VALUE”) statement is, “America’s Most Convenient Bank.” And has been for some time, even before they started charging monthly fees to my (and all their customers) accounts.

I’m not only disappointed about this; I’m aggravated that they still have the tagline.

This is also the same bank that lost $35,000 of my friend’s money.

Value statements will “double crush” a brand if they over commit a promise that is not delivered. This bank is already engaged to becoming average… it’s almost unstoppable at this point.

The brand comes from the heart

Just like a person’s actions first start with the decisions they make in their mind, a brand is an expression of the values the leader or the leadership holds.

You show me a brands reputation and I can tell you what the leaders values are… or are not.

Defining Your Markets Thought Process

Every market has decision drivers. Here is a simple test to determine if your market is made of short-term thinkers (minimal or no vision), long-term thinkers (have vision) or a blend of both.

If a segment of your market buys the cheapest (add your product or service here), they are probably short-term thinkers.

If a segment of your market buys the more expensive (add your product or service here) that lasts longer, they are probably long-term thinkers.

If a segment of your market buys the super, super, hey look at me (add your product or service here), there is good chance they are short-term thinkers.

Hope this helps Kevin.

Thought Process / Your Market

Most people make balanced decisions based on their past experiences, current situations and what they hope to happen in the future.

The challenge as an organization leader is trying to understand which one of the three your market bases the majority of their decision on.

Advertising agencies, PR firms and internal marketing directors commonly make the mistake of misjudging the clients/donors thinking process when positioning their brand and offering. Which sends the message to the market… “We are out of touch!” And leads to a high price tag per conversion (divide marketing budget, by number of sales = cost per conversion).

Here is a simple way to define the two primary ways people make decisions to help you reposition your brand and offering:

1. Lack of Vision
If a person or organization lacks vision (a long-term goal) they are more likely to make decisions based on helping their current situation even if their decisions cause long-term problems.

2. Clear Vision
If a person or organization has a clear vision (a long-term goal) they are more likely to make decisions based on their future hope of reaching their vision even if the decisions cause a short-term problem.

The Point
You can be more profitable (which equals effective) if you understand your markets decision drivers and use that knowledge to position your brand and offerings.

Be clear about your brand promise

Most leaders understand what a brand promise is, but for a recap. A brand promise is the claim of distinction made to the market. The more value the promise has, the harder it is to deliver, but the more market favor your organization will given in comparison to your competitors.

Example:
Fedex - The world on Time
Toms - One for One
BMW - The ultimate driving machine
Target - Expect more. Pay less.
Compassion - Helping release children from poverty in Jesus' name

These brands have stuck their neck out with their claims. They have connected with the market and have been able to deliver on their promise, accelerating them as market leaders.

Ministry, business or government… small, medium or large; here are 4 brand promise principles to accelerate you.

1. A brand promise creates a plan
The primary purpose of a brand promise is to tip customers/donors in your favor. The secondary purpose is to inspire your team to push industry boundaries, which creates engagement and inspiration.

2. No promise, no standard
Not having a brand promise is comparable to having a bad one. Without a brand promise there is not an organizational standard to live up to. Which places you in the ordinary category from the customers/donors perspective and creates internal disengagement.

3. Aligning unspoken market needs
The claim you make should be something your market is craving (and sometimes, not necessarily asking for) and competitors are not or having trouble delivering on.

4. Deliver, deliver, and deliver
The hardest part of any promise is keeping it. Over promise and under delivery is one of the main reasons organizations fail. There is a saying, “great marketing will put an average business under.”

Know what your cause is, know what your competing for, know your competitive rank and build a plan to offer and deliver the best.