Archive for September, 2007
APPLE VERSUS MICROSOFT: 3 CRITICAL QUALITIES OF A SUCCESSFUL BRAND
Tags: Apple, Army, Branding, Coca-Cola, Harry Beckwith, McDonalds, Microsoft
Every successful brand exhibits 3 critial qualities… direction, breadth and depth.
DIRECTION
Consumers tend to jump on bandwagons of successful brands heading up, and tend to leap off of failing brands heading down. What direction is your brand headed?
BREADTH
Coke Cola is the world’s “broadest” product brand, and McDonald’s and the United States Army are the two broadest service brands. Branding expert; Harry Beckwith, submits that the breadth of a brand is an enormous asset. It implies the service’s wide-spread acceptance and continuous satisfactory performance over the test of time.
DEPTH | APPLE & MICROSOFT
Harry shares the following illustration in his book, The Invisible Touch. On an airplane in route to Microsoft headquarters… a researcher surveyed the fellow passengers by asking the following question… “What do you think of when you think of Microsoft?” Almost everyone answered with the same associated response…
“1. Big, 2. Rich fellow (Bill Gates), and 3. Techies.”
These consistent definitions illustrated the weaknesses in Microsoft’s marketing arsenal. Their brand has no more than a neutral meaning. It has no depth.
On the other hand… the same passengers were asked the same question about Apple. Their answers were…
“1. Creative, 2. Fun, 3. User-friendly and 4. Pretty cool.”
Apple’s brand has exceptional depth, and a meaning that others aspire to. Apple might lack the “breadth” of Microsoft, but clearly has more “depth.”
IN DEVELOPING YOUR BRAND, ASK THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS
1. What do you want your brand to represent?
2. What attractive and desirable qualities should your brand embody?
Once you’ve determined what your brand is to to represent to your clients and prospects… embed that meaning into everything your company or organization does… from the sign over the door, to your website, to your email and print marketing, to the person answering the phones, to the service and support your company offers.
SELL BETTER BY SELLING FASTER
When selling your company’s products or services to your prospects, tell them quickly in a way that stops them, engages them with the necessary information, and nothing more. Skip the fluff, filler and balderdash, and tell them succinctly what they need to hear.
Learn from crime novelist, Elmore Leonard, author of Get Shorty. Asked why his novels are so popular and easy to read… his answer was… “Simple, I just leave out the parts that readers skip anyway.”
Business’s often wonder how long their key sales brochures and marketing collateral should be. The best answer is… use as many words as you need to say exactly what the readers want to know, and not one word more.
Communicate like Elmore Leonard, catch my eye, catch my attention and quickly tell me what I want to know. Tell me quickly and clearly.
I LOVE INEFFICIENCY!
I recognize that the term “inefficient” typically holds a negative connotation. For example, the “inefficiency” of an architectural structure is measured by the sqare footage in which the structure’s style and thruways reduce or prevent day-to-day usage and/or functionality. The inefficiency of a factory or assembly line is quantified by the total hours of downtime due to repairs, equipment malfunctions or personnel failures.
Certainly we want our homes to be energy efficient and our vehicles to be fuel efficient… but is an extremely efficient business model a strength or a weakness?
Most business models I’ve encountered require extreme efficiency of their staff and labor force. Businesses live in a perpetual cycle of having more work to be done, than there are people or hours in the week to facilitate that work. This; of course, is due to a highly competitive marketplace that requires business owners to lower their fees in the bloody war of price erosion, which ultimately demands the need to closely manage, or even micro-manage costs.
In a slavery effort to manage costs, business owners are forced to hire fewer people than the actual workload requires… which leads to pressure-cooker work environments in which nobody is happy or fulfilled. The business owner is always frustrated because the staff could be working harder. The employees aren’t happy because their work is never done, they feel under-appreciated, and they’re constantly under the gun to get more work done than is humanly possible. Both the business owner and the employee are ultimately setup for failure. The employee faces the impossible task of ever pleasing their boss, and the business owner is never able to develop a true sense of employee loyalty and longevity, resulting in low morale, which inevitably and ironically results to lower productivity and greater human resource costs.
COMPARE MACY’S AND WALMART
Inefficiency can be a GREAT thing! Compare retail giants, Macy’s and Walmart. Walmart’s “efficient” floor plan has smaller aisles and more shelves and rack space per zone to fit more products in less space. Macy’s intentionally widened their aisles and reduced the number of shelves and racks per zone to create additional customer space and reduce the perception of a claustrophobic shopping experience. Which store would the average consumer cast their vote for the best, most relaxing and enjoyable shopping experience?
Imagine reading a book in which the text was printed from the very top of the page to the very bottom of the page… from the very left side of the page to the very right side of the page, leaving no margins. We all want the margins. We need the margins! Margins are healthy, even though they cost more.
Maybe a healthy balance of business inefficiency is a good thing… or a GREAT thing! Imagine the following…
1. A work environment in which there’s plenty of employee work force to consistently get the job done.
2. A business model in which the cashflow and profitability actually allows its leadership and employees to “enjoy” their lives instead of resenting them.
3. A business or organization that has little to no turnover, and where high caliber college graduates and experienced industry professionals would walk through fire for the opportunity of working for you.
4. A business that attracts and cultivates an environment of dreamers and thought-leaders rather than hostility and defeat.
While this post is too limited to address the “how-to’s” for creating this ambitious business model and environment… I can tell you with great certainty that you’ll never just stumble into it. This only happens with deliberate thought, intentional planning, a recognition that it’s possible, and the desire and motivation to see it through fruition.
I hope I’ve challenged your thought-process and heightened your awareness to this blissful possibility.
EMPLOYEE HIRING AND SELECTION
Every executive and HR leader understands how difficult it is to discover new talent for their organizations. It’s even more difficult to accurately measure the compatibility; of that newly found talent, to the existing team and positional requirements. I’ve recently heard of a study that the cost for an employee’s turnover is anywhere from 50% to well over 100% of an employee’s annual wages. You can even
CLICK HERE to run your own calculation.
I’d like to recommend the Caliper organization. Caliper can help your business to determine whether an applicant really has what it takes. Their Caliper Profile is a personality assessment instrument that objectively quantifies an individual’s competencies, and identifies candidates with the strongest potential.
I was initially introduced to Caliper several years ago when I was personally being recruited for an executive role in a Florida based organization. I’ve also utilized Caliper’s team and resources to screen potential candidates for LOUD! Creative Group. Their profile assessments aren’t just computer based. For each evaluation, I had the opportunity of discussing a candidate’s results with a professional to accurately interpret the results.
I’d personally recommend Caliper to your organization. It’s one of the better investments you could make in your own organization. I’ve included a permanent link to Caliper in the links section of this blog.
ARE YOU REALLY THE BEST?
Tags: David Ogilvy, Marketing, Ogilvy and Mather
David Ogilvy; who turned his genius for advertising into the famous Ogilvy and Mather Agency, once stated that marketers were wrong to emphasize superiority. Ogilvy argued that you could accomplish just as much by convincing a prospect that your service was… “positively good.”
I experienced this truth on a personal level. I was recently meeting with a LOUD! Creative prospect that owns a very successful engineering firm in Houston, Texas. He shared with me; in a relaxed and comfortable tone, that he really wasn’t launching an exhaustive search to find the “best” web marketing firm… he just wanted one that was compatible as his new marketing partner, and capable of sufficiently meeting his needs.
Think about it…
1. How often are you really looking the very best babysitter, or the best lawn care service, the best dry cleaning service, auto mechanic, seafood restaurant… or accounting service? Not often.
2. How often do you even know the best when you find it? Not often.
3. How long are you ready to look for the very best, when someone very good is readily available? Not long.
4. How much are you willing to pay for the very best, especially if very good is good enough? Not much.
5. How good does anything have to be to satisfy you? Only very good. Anything extra is a bonus.
Additionally, how do you respond when a service tells you that it’s the very best? Skeptically. It sounds like bragging and puffing.
Let your prospects know that you are simply… positively good.
COMMUNITIES IN SCHOOLS, HOUSTON
I just can’t say enough about this great organization, and the impact they’re making. The mission of Communities In Schools Houston is simply to help kids stay in school and to prepare them for life. There are countless kids around Houston that are still in school today as a direct or indirect result of CIS Houston.
Melissa Simon is one of the competent, passionate and authentic leaders at CIS Houston. Melissa turned to LOUD! Creative when it was time to re-think their online presence and email marketing efforts. They knew they needed a website that better reflected who they were, and they knew they needed to be empowered to keep their website relevant and up to date. Listed below is Melissa’s response to a few of my recent questions.
1. Please introduce Communities In Schools Houston to our audience.
Communities In School Houston, Inc (CIS) is the only comprehensive, campus-based, dropout-prevention program in Houston. Begun on one campus in 1979, CIS addresses the academic, physical, and emotional needs of at-risk students on a year-round basis by placing project managers on the school campus. CIS reaches students who are at the greatest risk of dropping out of school by offering six core services as well as several special and emergency service programs, including Project MOVE (Mobile Operations Vehicle for Everybody) Dental, Behavioral Health Intervention programs, the CIS Summer Youth and Employment Program, the emergency needs program, and holiday gifts.
Our costs are low ($184/student/year) and our outcomes prove that the program works: last school year, 99 percent of case managed students remained in school, 85 graduated, and 86 percent saw improvements in academics, behavior and attendance.
2. What are some examples of your outreach?
CIS currently operates programs in 90 Houston-area schools in five school districts (Aldine, Alief, Fort Bend, Houston, and Spring Branch). We partner with over 250 area community based agencies, city/county offices, and other entities to provide services to more than 35,000 at-risk youth per year.
3. Please describe how your new website and email marketing; created by LOUD! Creative, added value to CIS Houston.
The new website and monthly email newsletter has helped CIS pull together its efforts at awareness (both about drop-out and about CIS services) through logo/brand recognition and consistent messages.
CIS was awarded the 2007 Silver Excalibur Award for Excellence for our Marketing, PR and Awareness Campaign.
4. How would you describe your experience and relationship with LOUD! Creative?
The staff at Loud! Creative helped us to pull out our ideas and make them a reality. They answer our questions and have been eager to help us as we move forward with our marketing/PR ideas.
IT’S ALWAYS AND ONLY ABOUT THE TEAM
Tags: Business, Jim Collins, Leadership, NFL, Superbowl
It’s February 4th, 2007, Super Bowl Sunday… The Indianapolis Colts deliver an astonishing victory over the Chicago Bears with a 29-7 victory. I still remember it. The Indianapolis Colts; a team built for indoors found its footing on a rain soaked track. But there they stood… victors! Peyton Manning; quarterback for the Colts, was elected MVP, and Coach Dungy became the very first black coach to win the championship, beating his good friend and protege Lovie Smith in the game that featured the first two black coaches in the Super Bowl.
Now imagine this… How far do you think either of those two teams would’ve made it through the season if the main qualifier for being on the starting line was longevity on the team, or politics, rather than talent, contribution and performance? Not very far… wouldn’t you say?
Why do so many businesses and organizations promote people to leadership positions based on tenure or nepotism rather than performance and contribution? The insanity of that philosophy and methodology is palpable to me.
Run your business or organization like a championship football team. Promote those that add value and deliver victories over, and over, and over again to your organization.
In his book; Good To Great, Jim Collins emphatically exclaims that we must always ensure that we have the right people on the bus, and just as importantly, that those people are in the right seat of the bus.
Your team will either make or break your organization. Value them over your customers, but expect much from them. Do you have the wrong people on your bus? Or perhaps you have the right people on your bus, but they’re in the wrong seat?
I assure you that it’s your team; not your customers or clients, that determine whether your organization scores victories over your competitors. It’s always and only about the team.
THE DREAM MANAGER
Tags: Eleanor Roosevelt, Inspiration, Mark Twain, Matthew Kelly, Patrick Henry, Ralph Waldo Emerson, T.E. Lawrence, William Shakespear
Mark Twain once said… “He who hasn’t read great books has no advantage over those that can’t read” I am going through a great book at the moment that’s really caught me off guard. I am only half way through this book, so this post isn’t meant to be a highlight summary of the book per se.
The Dream Manager is a book I picked up because the preface; and title of course, caught my attention. It spoke to the escalating epidemic and corporate confusion over how to discover; and even more critically, retain talented, quality driven staff leadership.
Well, while this book certainly speaks to this exigent need… it shouted to me something far greater.
It stealthily directed me to recognize that I had stopped dreaming. I mean… it’s not that I have no dreams… it’s rather that I had unwittingly allowed my dreams to take the infamous back seat to my day-to-day urgencies. I had lost sight of my dreams.
Many of you can relate to this all too well. I would encourage you to passionately reengage your dreams and shift them to the forefront of your focus and intention. Don’t let the urgent rob you of the important! Aggressively and intentionally place in front of you people, images, systems, books, accountibilities, space, time… anything… anything at all that perpetuates the relentless pursuit of your dreams.
I’ll leave you with some inspiring wisdom.
“I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past.”
Patrick Henry
“A skillful man reads his dreams for self-knowledge, yet not the details but the quality.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
“All men dream but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity; but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes to make it possible.”
T.E. Lawrence
“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”
Eleanor Roosevelt
“To unpathed waters, undreamed shores.”
William Shakepeare
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.”
- Andre Gide
THE ENTREPRENEUR, THE MANGER & THE TECHNICIAN
It’s not secret that I am an enormous fan of Michael Gerber and his literary resources on how to successfully build a business. While Michael Gerber has written numerous best-selling books on building a world-class business, it’s my belief that E-Myth Revisited, and E-Myth Mastery should both be legally mandated prerequisites for anybody applying for a DBA, S-Corp or LLC. I believe the resources in these 2 books are just that crucial to the success of any business.
Listed below, Michael Gerber summarizes the differences between the entrepreneur, the manager and the technician. He highlights the strengths and weaknesses of each, while pointing out the danger that erupts anytime the wrong person is at the helm of a business.
You can read this “CEO Report” article in its entirety by simply clicking here. I hope you enjoy, and share this with your colleagues.
THE ENTREPRENEUR
The entrepreneurial personality turns the most trivial condition into an exceptional opportunity. The Entrepreneur is the visionary in us. The dreamer. He lives in the future, never in the past, rarely in the present. He’s happiest when left free to construct images of “what if” and “if when“. He is our own creative personality; always at its best dealing with the unknown, prodding the future, creating probabilities out of possibilities. Every strong entrepreneurial personality has an extraordinary need for control. Living as he does in the world to concentrate on his dreams. Given his need for change, he creates a great deal of havoc around himself, which is predictably unsettling for those he enlists in his many projects. This then becomes his world-view: a world made up of both an over-abundance of opportunities and dragging feet.
THE MANAGER
The managerial personality is pragmatic. Without The Manager there would be no planning, no order, no predictability. He lives in the past. He craves order. He compulsively clings to the status quo. He sees problems. He creates neat, orderly rows. Without The Manager, there would be no business.
THE TECHNICIAN
The Technician is the doer. “If you want it done right, do it yourself” is the Technician’s credo. He loves to tinker. Things aren’t supposed to be dreamed about, they’re supposed to be done. He lives in the present. He loves the feel of things and the fact that things can get done. He’s happy when he’s working. To him thinking is unproductive unless it’s thinking about work that needs to be done. He’s not interested in ideas; he’s interested in how-to-doit. All ideas need to be reduced to the methodology if they are to be of any value.
PUT ANOTHER WAY
The Entrepreneur dreams, The Manager frets, and The Technician ruminates. To The Manager, then, The Technician becomes a problem to be managed. To The Technician, The Manager becomes a meddler to be avoided. To both of them, The Entrepreneur is the one who got them into trouble in the first place.
SUMMARY
The fact of the matter is that we all have an Entrepreneur, Manager, and Technician inside us. And if they were equally balanced, we’d be describing an incredibly competent individual. The Entrepreneur would be free to forge ahead into new areas of interest; The Manager would be solidifying the base of the operations; The Technician would be doing the technical work. Unfortunately, the typical small business owner is only 10% Entrepreneur, 20% Manager and 70% Technician.
The Entrepreneur wakes up with a vision. The Manager screams “Oh, no!” And while the two are battling it out, The Technician seizes the opportunity to go into business for himself! To The technician it’s a dream come true. But to the business it’s a disaster, because the wrong person is at the helm.
LEARN FROM PICASSO
In many services, the product of the service has become the measurement of it’s value. “What will the market bear?” is the question so commonly uttered by venture capitalists and business analysts.
What is talent and thought-leadership worth? And why is some worth more than others?
A woman was strolling along a street in Paris, when she saw Pablo Picasso sketching near a cafe. She asked Picasso to sketch her, and to charge her accordingly. Picasso, in just minutes… sketched the woman beautifully. There she was. An original Picasso.
“So what do I owe you?” the woman asked. “5000 francs” replied Picasso. “But it only took you 3 minutes” she politely reminded him. “No” Picasso replied… “it took me all my life.”
Don’t charge by the hour, charge by the years.
THE PLATFORM GROUP GALLERY
Tags: LOUD! Creative
LOUD! Creative Group has the opportunity of working with some of the finest world-class businesses and organizations in Houston and around the globe. Well, The Platform Group Gallery is certainly no exception. I encourage you to checkout their products and services. You won’t be disappointed. Enjoy the brief interview.
1. Please introduce The Platform Group Gallery to our audience.
“The Platform Group Gallery designs and manufactures promotional-style packaging that is specifically designed for advertising and marketing programs. Our line is made from GalleryBoard, an ecologically friendly, proprietary material that features 100% recycled content and textured, bright colors. The GalleryBoard line includes Portfolios, Press Kits, Binders, Mailers, Gift Boxes and Disc Storage, and features unique European-style accessories like pen-holders, business card corners and latches. We also design and fulfill custom die-cut foam-inserts and provide fulfillment services. We offer spot, CMYK printing as well as deboss/emboss and feature a proprietary printing method called VIGNETTES which allow CMYK and personalization with very low or no minimums.
An example of a popular type or program is a printed 1″ ring binder with a snap closure and pocket, accessorized with b-card corners, and used for a sales leave-behind by, for example, Real-Estate Agents. Another example is a printed gift box customized with a die-cut foam insert to hold gift items, and then presented to customers as a thank-you or product-launch program.”
2. What are some of your key clients?
“We form partnerships with agencies who specialize in promotional programs and support the marketing departments of the Fortune 500 corporations. Through those relationships we consistently create promotional packaging programs for companies like Microsoft, Dell, XM Satellite Radio, St. Jude Medical, Tishman Speyer, Ernst & Young, HBO, AIG and more.”
3. How has your new website; created by LOUD! Creative, added value to TPGG?
“We differentiate ourselves in three main ways, 1). offering an extensive range of in-stock items that can be printed and shipped quickly, 2). offering full-service package design services when a project requires a custom approach, and 3). providing spectacular support services to our promotional agencies and to their respective clients.
Our web-site was designed to be the primary way of supporting the above 1-2-3 approach. The catalog and search functions allow our customers and their customers to search by size, style, functionality and price. Very importantly, the site design also offers a ‘branded’ web program for our key agencies which allows them to have our site skinned with their graphics and displaying their specific contact information — this is an invaluable tool for our customers as they present to their clients.
And right from the web our customers (or their customers) can order free random samples, virtual sample services, rush quotes and 24 Hour program proposal generation. The site essentially allows us to provide excellent 24/7 customer service.”
4. How would you describe your experience and relationship with LOUD! Creative?
“We have received countless compliments on the site that LOUD! created for us last Fall, and since its launch, we’ve seen a rise in sales of more than 20%. Throughout the creation process LOUD! was a superb resource and business partner and we have recommended them to many who have inquired “who did your site?” We look forward to working with LOUD! to keep the site robust and effective.”
Allison Gower, President
The Platform Group Gallery
THE MYTH OF PERFECTION
It’s so easy for your business or organization to end up in a stall because you’re helplessly paralyzed by your desire for perfection. In his national best selling book; “The Five Temptations Of A CEO,” Patrick Lencioni warns about the temptation to always choose certainty over clarity. Many times the best tactical move… is simply to move. Do something. Avoid the detrimental trap of constantly waiting for more and more and more information before making decisions to move forward. I call this trap the “Ready-Aim-Aim Syndrome.”
So where does this temptation come from? Fear. Fear that executing the plan or moving forward, without volumes of documentation guaranteeing imminent success, will somehow show your superiors, colleagues, direct reports and the world that your plan was not perfect. So rather than risk judgment, a bruised ego, or being labeled a fraud… you do nothing. You wait, and your business or organization suffers.
Many outstanding big picture thinkers are always looking for… and burdened by the search for perfection. But too often, the path to perfection leads to procrastination, which leads to stagnancy… and ultimately, failure.
Ask yourself these 5 identifier questions…
1. Do you pride yourself on being intellectually precise?
2. Do you prefer to wait for more information rather than making a decision without all of the facts?
3. Do your direct reports seem chronically irritable because you schedule too many meetings and demand too many case studies?
4. Do you enjoy debating details with your direct reports during staff meetings?
5. Do you find yourself repelling action-oriented people?
Don’t let the perfect ruin the good. Ready, Aim, FIRE!
STUDIO563 PHOTOGRAPHY
Studio 563 is an elite photography studio specializing in engagement, bridal and wedding portrait photography. The artists at Studio 563 deliver premium photography services that appeal to high-end clients, that value quality and creativity in the intimate capture of their timeless life-moments.
Studio 563 recruited LOUD! Creative to provide an email marketing solution that was contemporary and warm, and that would reflect the color palette of their current brand. Dark chocolates and oatmeal-beige combined with a subtle sea-foam blue laced this design perpetuating a modern elegance. CLICK HERE to see the final product.
There are dynamic links to both studio blogs, and the ability for the recipient to forward the email to multiple friends and family. There’s an area to feature a recent project or upcoming event. Additionally there are 3 zones at the bottom dedicated to new products, services or whatever Studio 563 chooses.
“In the first two months that we used this new email marketing tool, developed by LOUD! Creative, we saw our print sales literally triple”
Craig Davis, Principal - Studio563
5 STEPS TO SUCCESSFUL MARKETING
One of my more recent reads includes a book by Seth Godin, titled “All Marketers Are Liars.” Seth is a best selling author and another leading expert in branding, marketing and advertising. Seth shares 5 important steps for you to consider as you approach your marketing efforts. They are as follows…
Step 1: A consumers world view got there before you did… A consumers world view affects how they notice things, and understand them.
Brian’s Comments: You can try to change their world view, but understand that this is a long and dangerous proposition.
Step 2: Consumers only notice something new, and then make a guess.
Brian’s Comments: In other words, make sure you’re constantly, constantly, constantly freshening up your website, your advertising, your print marketing collateral. Don’t be stagnant! You’ll inevitably regret it.
Step 3: First imressions start the story. A first impression causes the consumer to make very quick and permanent judgment.
Brian’s Comments: I think we all recognize the gravity of this one. Regrettably, I can remember more than one occasion in which LOUD! lost a new client opportunity because of something that adversely affected the prospect’s first impression of our team or organization. Your first impression might be your last. Make it a good one.
Step 4: Great marketers tell stories we believe… about what consumers notice.
Step 5: Marketers with authenticity thrive.
Brian’s Comments: Be real. Businesses and marketers that use cheap gimmicks and tricks communicate something to their prospects. They are unwittingly telling their prospects that they’re willing to lie to them. This only reduces their credibility. Be real. Always.
You and your business must effectively convince your prospects that your premium is worth it, and why they should abandon their current product or service in order to embrace yours.