Against the Grain: Branding

Ah, it’s a beautiful morning and you’re jonesing for a caffeine fix. You need a cup of coffee STAT. You have two options: brew a pot at home or head down to Starbucks for a cup of joe. Before you know it, you’re half way out the door and eagerly anticipating a venti café latte.

A few decades ago, a cup of coffee cost about 50 cents and research indicated that sales were rapidly declining. Today, Starbucks beverages average $3.00 each and their annual report says they have more than 16,000 stores in more than 50 countries. So, how did the Seattle-based coffee retailer successfully launch a premium product in a declining industry? They identified a vacant niche in the coffee market, then branded and positioned their product to satisfy it.

Branding is more than a name, it's an experience. It's the emotional response, ambiance and point-of-sale interaction that influences brand perception and earns customer loyalty. Successful branding is what keeps coffee drinkers flocking to Starbucks day after day — well that, and the pesky caffeine addiction. Is it more economical to brew a pot at home? Yes. But Starbucks mouth-watering aroma, soothing ambiance and social interactions generate brand loyalty that makes the premium price seem worthwhile.

Branding and market positioning go hand-in-hand and are essential elements of your integrated marketing campaign. A strong brand name allows companies to charge a premium, while bad branding leads to commoditization. This is generally thought of in terms of B2C industries, but the same principles apply to B2B. To successfully position your product in the market, you must understand how consumers perceive your brand so you can shape their attitudes and distinguish your product from your competitors'.

The best way to evaluate your branding and positioning is to conduct market research. Qualitative and quantitative data gives you vital statistics about the consumers you want to buy your products and use your services. Market research will help you identify your niche, classify your target audience and position your brand.

Researchers use multi-phase, qualitative and quantitative survey methods to ensure statistical reliability. The first stage uses a face-to-face delivery method, (e.g. an in-store intercept or focus group) to collect qualitative data about your brand. Personal interactions and first-hand conversations help researchers interpret consumers' emotional responses to your brand.

The second phase polls a larger audience using direct mail, online or phone surveys to collect quantitative data. This is statistically reliable, verifiable data that reveals the median age, gender, income level, marital status and geographical location of the people buying your product or using your services.

The qualitative survey results will help you understand a consumer's emotional response to your brand. Are consumers responding favorably? If not, how can you re-brand your product to improve public perception? The quantitative results will help you determine how to package, price and promote the product in the marketplace. Are you selling your product in the right stores? Is it priced competitively?

This information enables your marketing team to strategically plan an integrated campaign to reach your target audience within your advertising budget. Translation: getting your product in front of the “right people” will raise awareness about your brand, boost sales and increase your profitability.  

The next time you make a purchase, ask yourself why you chose that product instead of its competitor. Did the packaging influence your decision? Was it a “good deal?” How are consumers answering those same questions about your product?

Brand positioning influences thousands of subconscious decisions we make every day. If you correctly position your brand, you can build a loyal customer base that rivals Starbucks' – without that pesky caffeine addiction.  

Your dealers and distributors are one of the most valuable sales and marketing resources you have. They are on the front line of customer interaction and can absolutely make or break a new initiative or product line. Having a dealer/distributor network that is jazzed about your products and enthusiastically recommends them to customers is a huge competitive advantage.

But if left unchecked, it can get out of hand.

A dealer’s main motivation is closing the deal and moving product. And if that means sacrificing your brand and positioning to do it, it will happen. And that’s a recipe for long-term disaster. Keep your dealers on message and operating within appropriate boundaries not only by providing them with marketing and sales tools, but by incentivizing them to use them (and punishing them when they don’t.) Because if left to their own devices, they’re bound to come up with something that misses the mark.

Trilix is a full-service advertising agency headquartered in the Midwest with expertise in helping manufacturers market effectively and drive sales success. Learn more at www.trilixgroup.com or email Todd Senne at tsenne@trilixgroup.com.

When your sales team has a marketing challenge or opportunity, who are they calling? If you’re like many of today’s companies, there’s likely no one to call on, so your sales people end up doing the work themselves. Unfortunately, this is all too commonplace in today’s environment.

Left with no clear marketing leader, it’s every (sales)man for himself.

When marketing responsibilities are distributed across your entire sales force — with dozens of individuals creating their own ads, presentations, literature and more — your brand, message, best practices and value proposition can become frayed and inconsistent. And without a consistent message and position, you may be better off doing no marketing at all.

A brand is more than a name, logo or tagline. It’s a promise. A promise to customers and prospects of exactly what they can expect when they do business with an organization.

Keeping that promise in every aspect of how a business is run is vital. Not just with marketing, but in sales, service, manufacturing, management, and even how the receptionist answers the phone.

If the brand promise is, “Tough Stuff Made By Tough Guys,” don’t paint the trucks pale yellow. If customers are promised, “The Industry’s Best Service. Always.” don’t let customers sit on hold for 10 minutes waiting to speak to a technician. It sounds so simple, but it’s amazing how often this sort of silliness takes place. Don’t let it happen. Live the brand promise.

“Wait.... hold on... I think I have a... yep, yep, I have an idea”*

Trilix is founded on the three fundamental elements of insight, strategy and creativity. Within those fundamentals is the development of ideas which are a key component in all marketing strategies, campaigns and tactics. But how many ideas need to be developed in order to deliver one? So many hours are spent developing ideas that don’t get executed. How can you use your brainstorming sessions to your maximum benefit and deliver an idea that actually works?

1. Know your audience. Knowing your target audience will save you time and allow you to build relationships – and that kind of insight is priceless. Developing strong relationships with your clients, clients’ customers and your own employees can directly benefit client relations as you discover the goals and objectives of their business. If you do your research before the brainstorming session, you’ll find you can save a lot more time, energy and resources. Before each brainstorming session you should research your audience. Know their demographic, interests and dislikes and you’ll find these sessions to be more focused and productive.

2. Be prepared. Bring paper for everyone and set a time limit on the session. Setting a time limit will force you to focus on the task at hand. Take a brief break and brainstorm again for a few more minutes – some of the most valued ideas surface at the end of the session.

3. Look for variety. Don’t brainstorm only within your department – branch out! Include people from a variety of backgrounds with various years of experience. Your entry-level employee will look at things differently than your 20-year veteran. This variety will give you an opportunity to gain the most creative, versatile and unique ideas possible.

4. Get out of the cubicle. Leaving your usual think space allows your thought process to be clear of clutter, e-mails, to-do lists and visiting co-workers which can allow you to think productively. Use open-ended questions to start the session in order to trigger the flow of ideas. It’s beneficial to the thought process if brainstorming is done in a neutral setting. This prevents distracting interruptions and allows for all members of the group to contribute.

5. Stock pile your ideas. Write all of your ideas down! Even ideas that seem far-fetched or unrealistic should be recorded – you never know when one of those may just lead you to a solution. What’s important is that you focus on the quantity of ideas and not necessarily the quality. You obviously won’t be able to use all the ideas you develop, but keep them on file as they may work for another project later on down the road.

Brainstorming can be very beneficial to your company or organization. You can profit and grow through improving the products and services you provide to your clients. It can also expand your personal creativity and help you grow within your career. While the process may take some time, in the end, the outcome may just surprise you. And it’ll be worth every minute you spent.  

** Recognize the subtitle of the article? If you guessed it as a quote from the movie Dumb and Dumber, you guessed right! **