Category: a slice of STRATEGY

Pure, unadulterated strategy: marketing, brand positioning, & entrepreneurial wisdom. New trends with staying power. Old standbys with inarguable value.
What to embrace, what to avoid, and what to attempt — with steady discernment.

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

A high-end dive? Uneeda Burger

Posted on by Red Slice

I’m constantly amazed at how successful restaurants use brand experience to tell a story with everything they have: decor, menu, design, staff. Many of them really get it.  I mean, you can get a hamburger nearly anywhere these days, but Uneeda Burger in Seattle’s Fremont neighborhood creates a welcome experience of a “premium roadside burger shack” that I’ve been craving.

The brainchild of Chef Scott Staples, whose other local favorites include a high-end bistro (Restaurant Zoe) and a fine gastropub (Quinn’s), Uneeda is playful, authentic and super fresh.  How does one open up yet another burger joint amidst options ranging from McDonald’s to the classic 50’s-styled greasy drive-in, Dick’s to the experimental and futuristic build your own burger vibe Lunchbox Laboratory.

Some ways Uneeda differentiates:

  • Decor: With an old gasoline station-type sign out front, and an outside patio framed by wooden beams, you might not give this place a second glance driving by. It’s got a very “last rest stop for 100 miles” feel to it. When you step in, wooden tables, floor and counters greet you in a very Western-evocative setting. You can alsmost hear the cowboy boots kicking up dist as they clomp, clomp, clomp over to the counter to order.
  • Design: The Uneeda logo mimics lettering from an old fashioned Western hot-iron brand, combining think block letters and scrip. It instantly conveys casual, farm-fresh and even a bit of rebellion, in my opinion. They also use detailed illustrations like you’d find in a old school book or almanac.
  • Menu: But anything but a dive bar menu awaits on the chalk board above the cashier. Burgers are made with all-natural beef or you can sub-out 100% Wagyu (Kobe) grass-fed beef for additional coin. They tout locally sourced beef, chicken and veggie options as well. Premium toppings run the gamut from Gruyere to portobello mushrooms to manchego cheese to carmelized onions to roasted chili relish to watercress. You an also order salads, sandwiches and soups. And hand-dipped shakes and “artisinal sodas” stand alongside standard beverage staples. They also offer craft beers and wine.
  • Staff: You order at the counter and your food is then brought out to you. But the behind-the-counter staff is as friendly as the table servers you’d find at Staples’ sit-down dining establishments. They know all about the food, can make recommendations – and our gal even let us know that another Uneeda Burger would be opening up in Seattle soon.  They cross-sell and interact with customers just as a table server would, which differentiates them from your basic fast-food joint.

Just goes to show that you don’t necessarily have to be selling something no one’s ever sold before. You just have to put your unique brand spin on it and communicate that differentiation through  every customer touchpoint. People will notice.

What customer touchpoints do you focus on to stand out from your competition? What is your unique edge in a crowded market? Post a comments and get some link-love back to your site!

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

How to ruin customer loyalty

Posted on by Red Slice

It’s amazing how just two little words, said sincerely, can make or break your customer’s brand impressions.

Recently, my husband and I went through a horrific experience with a financial planner. This person has always been so good to us over the years and we trusted him implicity. In the last two years, however, he made a ton of moves from one place to another. The explanations were sound so with each move, while we were unsure about moving our retirement money around so much, we stuck with him. He’d built up so much good brand equity with us that we had a lot of  trust in him.

The last move he made was to Valic Financial.  He carefully explained to us all the reasons why this move was going to be beneficial and he even acknowledged all the turmoil we’d been through but wanted us to know “how much our loyalty meant to him” and that he’d love it if we followed him there.  Worried, we asked, “With this new role, we might be very small fish in a big pond. Are you sure we’ll be worth your time and will get the attention we need?”

“Of course,” he said.

Based on his word, we filled out the paperwork and made the moves.

Then we found out two things: one, his Washington state license (he was based out of state) had expired so he was in the process of renewing it. Two, in the meantime, our accounts would be in his district manager’s name but he would be watching them.

That was when phone calls and emails stopped getting returned. 

We chalked this up to transition and to his move to more “institutional” accounts. It didn’t get really bad until we needed some info and to move some money around for our tax returns. And we just couldn’t get anyone on the phone. First we couldn’t get info on where to send the check and then we sent a check for my IRA and kept calling to get confirmation it was received, and all we got were messages that he’d “let us know when it came in.” He kept saying, “I’ll talk to the manager tomorrow to confirm” or “You’ll get an email from me…” Not once did we ever hear back when he’d promised we would.  Panic set in. I finally called the district manager’s office myself and found out from the Assistant that they never received the check. So I had to stop payment and issue a new one.  All of this without two little words from our planner or the district manager:

“I’m sorry.”

Achnowledgement of inconvenience and mistakes can go a long way, if your heart is in the right place. While we still wouldn’t have been happy with everything we’ve been through, we at least would have felt like they were trying to fix things.

Long story short, we finally decided the stress wasn’t worth it and we went with a new firm. And the transfer process hiccups have just confirmed we don’t want anything to do with Valic ever again 0 ur new firm can’t believe how we’re being treated and all the snafus that have occured. We still love everything our old planner did for us, and we’re not sure why his usually impeccable follow-up and responsiveness disappeared when he joined Valic, but given the behavior of the district manager, I’d say he’s entering a culture of unresponsiveness.

Two lessons here: one, if a client is not going to be right for you, don’t tell them that they will be and then disappoint them. Better to cut the ties and let them find what they need elsewhere. That is why understanding your ideal customer is so important. Two, when a client is constantly complaining and upset, don’t make them feel like they are in the wrong, or worse, ignore them. We were fully justified in this case, but even if we were not, saying “I’m sorry” and trying to fix the situation is a better brand strategy in the long run than completely ignoring the problem.

When has your customer loyalty been betrayed? What did you do about it? How have you turned around a dissatisfied customer for your own business?

Photo credit: Flickr blue_quartz

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

Tell me why I should care

Posted on by Red Slice

Dell recently announced they are “taking a cue from the Apple playbook” and launching a new branding campaign that does not talk about technology. From the NASDAQ article:

The campaign, dubbed "More You," is aimed at personalizing technology and marks a break in tradition for a company that got its start by commoditizing computers. Rather than focus on the specifications of products, Dell is hoping the campaign will encourage consumers to think about features and how they can be used.

So many of us who have been in tech marketing have been beating this drum for years. Yes, when you talk to the IT guys, they care about widgets, features, scalability, disaster recovery, processing speed and the like. But when you start talking to line of business executive (or in this case, end consumers), they don’t care about the whiz-bang technology jargon. They want to know how it makes their lives better.

The best analogy I ever heard about this was from a highly-skilled technical analyst who said, “When I get in the shower in the morning, I don’t care about what the pipes are made of, how they move behind the walls, where the valves are in the house, the speed of water flow by the second….I care that when I turn the knob, water comes out and I get clean.”

Love it.

Too often we get enamored with our own story and communicating every single solitary bit of it in the hopes that SOMETHING will stick.  But what sticks the most for people is not the technical info – you will investigate that as you get closer to making your decision or when you are comparing apples and apples – but the vision of what the product or service will do for them.  Once they are hooked, you can dazzle them with your gigabytes per second and whatnot.

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

You love PR: Do your employees know how important it is?

Posted on by Red Slice

Had to share this gem with full credit to Steve Harrison at Reporter Connection. If you don’t subscribe to it, sign up today – it’s free press queries delivered right to your inbox so you can pitch the media and get your story heard. Here was his juicy advice:

Here’s another PR don’t from a journalist friend of mine. Researching a story for a major magazine, she called a store and asked to speak to the owner. The person who answered told the journalist that the owner was out of the store. The journalist asked to leave a message. After a big sigh, the employee said, "Can you just call back tomorrow?" Not surprisingly, the journalist never called that store again. Think about that. Who answers your phone? Have you told them that if a journalist calls, they should not only take a message, but make sure that they get that message to you immediately? If you haven’t told your employees how to handle media calls, do so today.

YOU may care about your brand and your marketing goals – but do your employees or partners know what most matters to you? Don’t assume they do….communicate with them often so everything is going in the right direction.

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

The real scoop on “authenticity” and what it means to your customers

Posted on by Red Slice

Type “authentic branding” into Bing and you’ll pull up 581,000 results. The advice to “be authentic” hits business owners and entrepreneurs more than gray skies hit Seattle from October to May. And, yes, I give this advice to my clients.

But what does being “authentic” really mean?

This term has been bastardized a bit in the intersection between entrepreneurship and personal development. Many coaches and consultants are advising people to “live their passion” and “live an authentic life” and to find careers and businesses that “authentically” play to their strengths. This is all great advice.

But some business owners confuse “authenticity” with “only the stuff I care about.” And that’s not really what we’re talking about from a branding perspective.

Having an authentic brand means that you deliver what you promise. Period. You do what you say, You walk your talk. When I go to Walmart, I don’t expect great service or quality fashion. I expect what they promise: low prices. That is authenticity. It has more to do with company values, service quality, product line and image. It means that if you advertise your brand as hip, sexy and cool, then your products, your company – heck, maybe even your people – need to walk that talk. It means if you are going to tout “Customer Service is our #1 Priority” that you authentically take care of your customers, go above and beyond, and empower your call center employees to do whatever it takes to solve their problems quickly and painlessly. It means that if you claim to be cheap and disposable, that you ARE cheap and disposable, because that what people want from you if you are promising that.

It means don’t write brand checks your business can’t cash, to use a phrase I love.

Too often I hear the battle cry of “authenticity” used to defend an unprofitable business. “But I’m following my passion, I’m doing what I want to do.” Great. But if customers don’t care about that – or are not willing to pay for it – you don’t have a business: you have a hobby.

Having an authentic brand means starting with the values and practices you believe in and delivering on that promise to customers – but it only matters if your target customers care and respond.  Personal preference is great and should be your foundation. After all, it’s your business – you should do what you like. But if you’re not making any money, you need to evolve or adapt to still play to your strengths but in a way that offers value for which customers are willing to pay.

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

Better get your “content on”: you must read this book!

Posted on by Red Slice

The rules of marketing have changed.

I am seeing more and more evidence that bigger companies do not get what small, strappy entrepreneurs have figured out. The way we need to reach, connect and attract customers has fundamentally changed.

Recently, I got to speak to two good friends who are both marketing execs at Silicon Valley tech companies. Their stories sounded identical. They have crafted plans that include a lot of awareness activity via social media, content creation, blogs, video, etc. And while some people get it, others still want them to do the “old” lead generation stuff”: events, email offers, etc.  And we’re talking about some of the most forward-thinking companies in the tech industry.

Marketing and branding is much more complex than it was even 5 years ago. The old ways of “generating leads for sales” do not cut it anymore. Now, you absolutely need to build a thought leadership and expert brand (especially if you are B2B). You need to have a viewpoint, a philosophy, a personality. You need to connect with the real human beings making the buying decision on a personal and conversational level. People are out there, doing research and searching the Web. You need more than just your home page to come up if you want to make your sales numbers.

A must-read for any business owner, entrepreneur, c-level exec or marketing professional is Content Rules How to Create Killer Blogs, Podcasts, Videos, eBooks and Webinars (& More) That Engage Customers and Ignite your Business (Ann Handley and CC Chapman): It’s a how-to book on how to create effective content through various media, such as podcasts, video, blogs, etc. But the reason I think execs and CEO’s need to read it is that they need to understand the new paradigm, which the book explains very well. They may not need the nuts and bolts of how to do do it (leave that to their marketing teams) but the book provides ample case studies (including a whole section on B2B) about how this strategy impacts long-term success and sales.

It used to be that a differentiated brand strategy was to promote yourself as an advocate, expert and though leader. Now, it is a brand imperative. If you want to create a relationship with customers long before they are ready to buy so that you are top of mind, you absolutely have to start marketing your business in this way.

Practically speaking, what does that mean? If you are a hair salon, it means you need to provide content on the latest styles, proper hair care, how to protect your hair from sand and sun in the summer, and which products are best for which hair type. You could create content around trends, celebs, do’s and don’ts and hairstyles for any occasion. If you are a business ;lawyer, you need to do what my lawyer (and client) Equinox Business Law is doing: Michelle provides a monthly business seminar on all sorts of topics: branding, succession planning, real estate – and then tags on the legal perspective in dealing with those issues. She also reuses such content in her monthly newsletter.

The book has tons of case studies and I highly recommend it. If you are not ready for this paradigm shift in the market, I don’t care what size company you are or what industry you’re in: you will get left behind.

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

Battle of the college re-brands: ASU vs WSU and who did better

Posted on by Red Slice

It’s not often you get to see two similar brand rollouts side by side and see clearly why one way is better.

As you know, sports fans tend to get closely attached to their team’s brand… and nowhere is that more true than when it comes to college sports.

Arizona State University (ASU) has been trying to differentiate itself over the past few years… in some ways successfully, and in others… well, not so successfully.  ASU Athletics, working with Nike,  created a unique launch campaign leading up to the April launch of its new and improved brand.  To help fans, alumni, and the media prepare for the upcoming changes… and to generate some buzz… they produced a series of dramatic and emotional videos teasing the new branding to come.  The first video of the “It’s Time” campaign was released on March 1, followed by this one on March 9, this one on March 16, this one on March 24, this one March 29 and this one on April 1.  Ya gotta check them out – they are really top-notch quality and focus on the emotion and pride behind college sports.

At no point in the early part of the campaign did they mention it was specific to changing the brand.  They just continued to leak bits and pieces about the fact that the new branding was coming.  They apparently handed out cards with an invitation to an event for ASU boosters before the launch (with no details beyond the “It’s Time” messaging) and then launched a video that generated lots of buzz (even on ESPN) about what they planned to announce on the full launch date of April 12.

Rumors and speculation abounded that there would be a new logo for ASU athletics (potentially something that plays up the trident/pitchfork), new uniforms (including some alternate designs/colors similar to, but not as extreme as Oregon’s multitude of uniform combinations) and that the image of Sparky the Devil would be removed from the ASU football helmets.  That last part had lots of Sun Devils choosing sides on whether this is good or bad for ASU.  ASU hew this would be controversial to make these changes and that is why they address it in one of the last videos, saying “don’t fear change” and showing other changes from the past.  Fans and alumni always have strong opinions on any changes, just as customers and employees have strong opinions when a company changes it branding (especially a logo).

ASU embraced many usual social media channels as well… YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, etc.

Here is the final brand launch press release from April 12 and the online press room.

What did they do right:

  • They didn’t just create a new logo in vacuum, but based it on a clear brand strategy and message
  • They stayed authentic to who ASU is and what it stands for
  • They planned. Yes, planned. They created a multi-stage, timed campaign to speak to various audiences (the public, alums, the press) and built buzz and excitement, which can lead to better adoption and acceptance. This teaser campaign gave them a chance to tell the story behind the new brand before anyone got caught up in colors and typography. It also gave people a chance to get used to the idea of change.
  • They leveraged social media for maximum impact

Contrast that with Washington State University (WSU), who approached their brand change with a simple press release and unveiling event. They also collaborated with Nike on this rebrand for almost a year.

Why the changes? For both schools, it was lack of consistency in brand image and colors, a need to update and refresh a dated brand look and a general need to move forward into the future. “Throughout the project, equal attention was devoted to maintaining an appreciation for the traditions of the past, while positioning ASU for the future.”

Thanks to my good buddy and ASU alum Peter Olson for contributing most of this post.

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

Southwest shows us how to handle a PR crisis

Posted on by Red Slice

Southwest Airlines turned a safety nightmare into a PR coup that proves the brand really does care about its customers.

We’ve all seen the amazingly campy Southwest Airlines ads that tell us they love our bags so much, they get to fly free. Southwest is trying to prove they are the airline that cares about true service, and it’s an incredibly powerful differentiator in an industry that feels like it will eventually charge us for cups of water. And instead of unrealistic visions of clouds and comfortable passengers with miles of legroom  that other airlines show in their ads, Southwest uses humor and personality to say, “Look, we know flying sucks these days. We’re going to try to make it as fun an experience for you as we can.”

This is carried through down to the employee level. I recently flew Southwest and the flight attendant, upon landing, joked, “How many of you checked bags today?” Many of us raised our hands. Then she asked, “And how much did you pay for those bags?” The answer was a resounding shout of “Nothing!” “That’s right!” she said, “Here at Southwest, we love you and we love your bags, too!”

Recently, Southwest was in the news for a large gash that expectantly tore through a 737 fuselage mid-flight. The plane made an emergency landing and everyone was unharmed. This could have caused a brand fiasco, a PR nightmare. But Southwest stepped up and showed why they are a power brand.

How?  According to this WSJ article, by doing the right thing: being proactive and transparent and putting their passengers before profits. The article reads like a 24 episode, a blow by blow of what happened as the PR crisis unfolded. Every action Southwest took makes you love this brand even more.

They transparently kept press and passengers in the loop on the situation. They also stepped out in front of it by  cancelling hundreds of flights and grounding their entire fleet of 737’s until the cause of the tear could be determined. They walked their talk and showed they really do care about their customers.

Turns out Boeing, the manufacturer, said their models were flawed in terms of wear and tear and are working through tests and investigations with the NTSB. The article states they may have created a  new standard for the industry by being so proactive. “The move allayed passenger concerns and helped the carrier adhere to its aggressive inspection timeline with more control over its own destiny..”

The NTSB praised them for taking action before the government forced them to. That is how you control your brand, even thought it ultimately lives in the minds of your customers. You control all the aspects within your power to ensure people will form the right brand impression.

That’s the thing about brand. It’s all well and good to say you stand for something. But its what you do when the going gets tough that either increases your brand loyalty or completely destroys it. This is one of the marks of a Power Brand: to be able to elegantly recover from a crisis, not just intact, but as a way to prove yourself even more.

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

What is your weakest brand link?

Posted on by Red Slice

We’ve all heard the saying, “You’re only as strong as your weakest link.” And that is never more true when it comes to branding.

You know what I mean. You have a  bad experience with one clueless customer service rep and you talk trash about the company as a whole. You get bad service from one waiter at a restaurant and you never again go back. You get snubbed by one clerk at a local independent bookstore (as I recounted in my book) and you judge the whole business as  unfriendly and rude.

Seth Godin just wrote a great post about the worst voice of the brand representing the entire brand. And it’s true. It may take years to build up brand value and loyalty and just moments for it all to be wiped away.

Granted, if you have a strong, consistent brand, people will be a little more forgiving of a faux pas. The mark of a power brand is that it has enough “brand capital” built up to withstand some PR gaffes and mistakes, as we’ve seen with JetBlue and Apple.

But too many businesses do not hire the right people who will embrace their brand. More accurately, they don’t “train” them on the brand at all. They assign them a desk, show them how to use the cash register, or review their benefits but do not offer a “Brand Education.” Mostly, this stems from many businesses not documenting their brand strategy and values somewhere. But it also stems from devaluing this important aspect of your business.

If you want to be a friendly, playful or approachable brand, you’d better hire people that embody that. If you charge premium prices and hide behind the name of a famous chef you’d better have the best waitstaff around, not clumsy and inconsistent customer service (this happened to me last weekend: The waiter didn’t come to out table for 10 minutes after seating,  I had to ask for a coffee 3 times and they also brought the wrong meals to our table). If you value making he customer happy at all costs, then you’d better ensure your store staff are empowered to make decisions on the spot and not have to get 9 approvals for a return.

What is your weakest link? How can you strengthen it? PS: You may want to attend one of my upcoming Brand Strategy Retreats in Seattle or San Francisco to get some guidance on clarifying and documenting your brand for your employees or partners.

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

When it’s appropriate to lock yourself into a room: Come join me…

Posted on by Red Slice

That calendar meeting stares at you like an accusing parent. You said you would make the time, Maria. You said you were going to clear your schedule and focus on me. And here I am again, being shoved to the following week.

Admit it. You’ve had this conversation with yourself. It’s the time you carved out of your week/month/quarter/year to focus on your brand and marketing strategy. The time you were going to devote to better articulate your benefits for stronger communications; to laser-target on your ideal customer so you could stop trying to be all things to all people and spinning your wheels; to hone that succinct and delicious elevator pitch; to focus your marketing activities on a few efforts done RIGHT rather than throwing your money away on things that don’t work.

But you get so busy in your business, the first thing to go is the time you devote to work ON your business.

Well, I’m done. Are you?

This April and May I am offering 3 Brand Strategy Retreats: San Francisco, CA: April 28; Kirkland, WA: May 18; Downtown Seattle, WA: May 25

Our motto: Make the Time. Focus on the Strategy. Execute Flawlessly. No. excuses, no distractions. For 4 hours, I will lock 12 lucky entrepreneurs into a comfy, funky conference room to get schooled in branding, positioning and marketing, doing exercises IN CLASS that I do with my full-time clients. You will have 4 delicious hours working on your brand strategy, focusing on your ideal customer, honing your elevator pitch and clarifying what makes your business unique  – all with my advice, resources and objective feedback from the group. Bring any question you have. Pick my brain.

My goal is that you leave with a brand strategy that will attract rabid fans, differentiate your company, and save you time and money on marketing activities that work.

Heck, I may even join you as I work on my own planning….

Three dates. Twelve people per location only so you gotta reserve your spot pronto. This is to keep it custom and interactive. Don’t delay….or you know you will never make the time if you don’t commit!

Check out details, dates, benefits and my video invitation to you. And you can register here as well.

Stop making excuses. Start reinventing.. If you’re serious about creating a successful business, then see you there.