Great marketing quote...

"Authentic marketing is not the art of selling what you make but knowing what to make. It is the art of identifying and understanding customer needs and creating solutions that deliver satisfaction to the customers, profits to the producers and benefits for the stakeholders."

- Philip Kotler

Meaningful Marketing lesson

I'm working my way through a new book (to me), "Meaningful Marketing". This book is already looking like one of the best pragmatic marketing books I've read in recent years even though I'm only on page 50. I already uncovered a gem that I must share with you that goes to the heart of branding.

"To get customers to listen, you must give them a dramatic reason. A study of over 901 marketing messages for new products found that when the sales messages specifically stated the product's point of difference, those brands were 52% more likely to survive for 5 years or more than those that were less overt."

Great lesson. Create a point of singular distinction and communicate it clearly.

Amen.

The awareness question revisited

Well, I recently got "the question" again. Yet another reader of my e-book, "How to Build and Manage Your Brand (in sickness and in health)" emailed me a question about my stance on brand awareness. I get some iteration of this question every few months.

The question?

Always some variation of,

"I'm very interested to know what's behind your statement, 'Brand awareness is not everything. Brand awareness is vitally important for all brands but high brand awareness without an understanding of what sets you apart from the competition does you virtually no good. Many marketers experience confusion on this point.'"

What do I mean?

Brand awareness is vitally important for all brands but high brand awareness without an understanding of what sets you apart from the competition does you no good in-and-of itself.

Just because somebody is aware of your brand does not mean they understand why it is unique or why they should believe it represents superior value. Heck, there are a lot of brands with high awareness but also high notoriety. This is not desirable.

It is only once people understand what is different and unique about your brand that they can start to consider it as the superior choice in its category and start to develop brand preference toward it. Awareness means they are simply aware. Strategically aware means they are aware and understand what makes your brand different from every other one in the category...and just because they understand the differences doesn't necessarily mean those differences are favorable in their eyes.

Positive strategic awareness occurs when not only does the person recognize your brand, but they also understand the distinctive qualities that make it better in their eyes than the competition. This leads to brand preference.

Simply creating awareness for your brand is not even half the battle. Give me enough money for advertising and I can raise awareness for just about any brand...but that doesn't mean I'll drive any sales for it.

So remember, powerhouse, sales-driving branding is all about creating a point of singular distinction, creating positive strategic awareness and building brand preference in the mind of the target market.

SEE ALSO:
http://www.dolakblog.com/2006/08/brand-awareness-whats-deal.html

CRM: Can't Really Manage

An interesting article at Brandweek reports the results from a recent study involving CRM (customer relationship marketing). It appears that while much resource has been put into CRM systems and efforts to capture and aggregate customer information over recent years, few organizations are fully capitalizing on the efforts.

Only 16% of reporting companies report themselves effective or extremely good when it comes to CRM and a full 31% say they do not do any data mining at all.

It is much easier and much more cost-effective to keep loyal customers than it is to find and get new customers so why do marketers fail at focusing on the customer part of CRM?

Do marketers not realize that their responsibility does not end once a sale is made?

Pantene ad almost hits the mark

Quick! Which of the two ads above makes the greater impact?

Pantene's (P&G) agency of record, Grey New York, apparently created an almost great ad.

Their original ad is on the left and my slightly edited version is on the right. The text is identical in the two ads except I added the URL to the one on the right to at least add some semblance of a call to action.

Why did Grey New York not use a large, bold headline that's easy to read? Heck, it's only three words. The reader would almost not be able to not read the headline if it were big and bold. Why rely on the photo to stop the page flipper and make them work to find any sort of message? Knock 'em over the head with it. Just three words.

..and the logo? Make it bigger. Don't be ashamed of your client's brand. You've got an ad with 6 words here, folks. Why in the world did you try to hide those 6 words?

I just don't understand art directors who try to hide the message in tiny, gray print. Do they believe the gap is so wide between creatives and copy writers that they simply don't think words have any impact?

Yes, cool picture but your client is paying you to deliver a message. Deliver it effectively without making the reader work. As soon as you make the reader work...

Flip. Next page.

Make a promise and keep it

An effective brand represents a promise of value to the consumer. A solid brand message communicates what that value is in a way that resonates with the target consumer. If done properly, the promise offers unique value that is not found in competing brands.

As such, branding helps the consumer make the decision once they decide to purchase within the category. At the moment of truth when the consumer is ready to make their choice, a good brand promise will help the consumer make the purchase decision. If the branding holds true, then the consumer also feels the benefits of those kept promises and unique value after they have purchased the brand and those kept promises shape how they feel about the experience long after they’ve made the purchase.

Create a powerful brand and they will not only come back for more, but they’ll tell their friends.

Old-time marketing of the future

...meanwhile, back in the "words mean things" category, here's a sign I passed earlier in the week while traveling through Virginia:



When I pop over to Merriam Webster.com I find:

Antique:
1: a relic or object of ancient times
2: a work of art, piece of furniture, or decorative object made at an earlier period and according to various customs laws at least 100 years ago

Now, does anything currently "made daily" fit this definition or is this marketing communications created without really thinking about what is being said?

"Old fashioned" or "old style" would have been more accurate, but this marketer chose words that simply aren't and cannot be true.

No wonder marketers have a reputation for stretching the truth.

Brand Destruction

Earlier today in the American Marketing Association's Brand Strategy and Brand Management SIG, a member posted an intriguing observation.

This SIG member opined that U.S. companies work more to destroy and devalue brands rather than to build and nourish them. This person then went on to challenge the group to think of any brand that is as highly valued today as it was 5 years ago. He then asked a question, "Why do companies destroy brands?"

Firstly, I don't believe that companies consciously devalue their own brands. I believe the market takes care of much of that for them in a fierce, hyper-competitive marketplace where differentiation between a myriad of offerings in any single category is extremely challenging. Further, price pressures and readily-available information via the Internet helps drive just about everything toward commoditization. (For those new to the concept of commoditization, think "unbranded" and consumer choice driven almost exclusively by price.)

I also believe that the way most companies manage brands is unhealthy to long-term brand value.

I have reached the conclusion in my independent research that brands are, by nature, long-term entities and brand managers (and other corporate managers) are critters who are more interested in short-term -- especially quarterly -- results in order to satisfy their bosses and shareholders. One is focused on the short-term and the other is, by definition, a long-term concept. The two are not always in synch with one another.

Brand managers are primarily measured and assessed on their short-term results and when given a choice between making a decision that's in the best interest of the brand vs. making a decision that's in the best interest of their immediate career and income, they'll choose what's in their own best interest first. This may or may not always be in the best, long-term interest of the brand.

Let's face it. Price promotions and other marketing activities geared toward boosting short-term sales may make the brand look good by providing short-term bumps in sales, but these practices actually hurt brands in the long-run because they train consumers to wait for sales, stock-up when items go on sale or they simply reduce the likelihood that anyone will pay full price for a product or service.

When this happens you have a recipe for brand destruction.

A brand means that a product or service delivers superior and unique value that is worth a premium price.

Self-interest, laziness and simple lack of any unique product attributes cause the brand manager to fail to build, communicate and deliver that unique, superior value.

In the absence of unique value, pressure is placed upon low price and the destruction of the brand begins.

What's missing?

Of all of the information out there, of all the blogs and websites dedicated to marketing and branding, what information is missing?

What marketing topics do you wish were being covered but aren't? What aspects of marketing are not adequately addressed here or elsewhere?

Leave a comment or drop me an email and let me know.

This blog can go anywhere you want it to go, so tell me what's on your mind.

5 Truths About Branding

From guest speakers at the Rochester,NY chapter of The American Marketing Association's January luncheon.

http://www.ama-rochester.org/blogorama/2008/01/5-truths-about.html

Actually by my count, they've listed 13 but we won't hold that against them.