by Al Ries & Jack Trout
Some of the 22 laws are surprising and counter-intuitive. Number 12 in particular: the Law of Line Extension. Almost every company that achieves success with a brand begins extending that brand with multiple products. Case study: 7-Up, the uncola. 7-Up was the most popular alternative to regular cola, and had 5.7% of the soft-drink market in 1978. It then introduced a half-dozen variations, and by 1993 its share was down to 2.5%. Today, who even knows where to get 7-Up? The company's focus changed from a small, focused, profitable segment to a diffuse mix of flavors that keeps losing market share. On the other hand, Pepsi was a distant second behind Coke in the sixties when the company decided to narrow its focus. Remember the Pepsi generation? That campaign targeted teens exclusively, and within 20 years had closed the gap to 10 points.
The authors' best advice is to not enter a mature market where one leader already dominates. Instead, create a new category where you can be the leader. They maintain that the human mind can only hold one idea at a time, and people stick with what they've been introduced to first. Federal Express owned "overnight." Volvo owns "safe." Crest owns "cavity fighting." But other toothpastes can claim other qualities such as "whitens teeth" or "freshens breath." Don't play on someone else's turf.
Another counter-intuitive law is that categories tend to split. (We tend to think that businesses consolidate.) For example, computers split into mainframes and minis. Then minis split into work stations and personals. Personals have split into laptops and tablets. Splitting a category is a ripe opportunity for a new company to establish itself as the leader in the new category.
Many of the marketing laws have to do with perception. They use a lot of examples from big corporations. However, these lessons can also apply to small business. Some important takeaways are to think long-term, narrow your focus, make sacrifices now for gains later. Also, use candor. People know when you are hiding something. Avis's "we try harder" campaign was successful because they acknowledged being number 2.
This book is a quick read, but gave me a lot to think about.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Rebranding
Rebranding an established company can be both exciting and scary. The fear is that a new image will alienate loyal customers. The exciting part is reconnecting with the core mission and setting new goals. The cost is high, without any guarantee of payoff. But what is the cost of standing still?
Every business goes through cycles of growth. An upward trajectory will eventually plateau, and then decline, if the business does not reinvent itself. Rebranding is a design process that requires the business owner to assess the marketplace now, serve the needs of customers now, and expand services into new areas that are in demand now. A lot changes in 5 to 10 years.
Rebranding is more than a "fresh coat of paint." It may involve a new name, a redesigned logo, redecorated office space, new signs, new website, and many other components. It may end up with the decision to drop customers or services that are no longer profitable. It will certainly involve thinking about more effectively reaching the people that are the best fit for the business. In other words, rebranding requires a business strategy as well as design strategy.
In the Wall Street Journal article "Extreme Makeover," Aja Carmichael talks to entrepreneurs who have gone through the rebranding process. Katie Adams of Katie Adams Neuro Muscular Therapy went to a professional rebranding firm when she opened a second location. They recommended she take her name out of the business name, drop the whimsical calligraphy and illustration, and use a crisp typeface and fresh rosette emblem. The new business name—360 Neuro Muscular Therapy—and promotional material has resulted in a doubling of gross receipts, on track to triple by next year.
Jack and Jason Dennis hired a local design firm to help rebrand their retail music store when they opened a downtown store in addition to their suburban location. "The rebrand was great for what the theme of the store was," says Jack. "Our business needed that level of professionalism to get it right the first time."
"Rebranding my company was totally worth it," says Katie Adams. "The process gave our company more of an identity, and it's become something of substance."
Read the full article.
Every business goes through cycles of growth. An upward trajectory will eventually plateau, and then decline, if the business does not reinvent itself. Rebranding is a design process that requires the business owner to assess the marketplace now, serve the needs of customers now, and expand services into new areas that are in demand now. A lot changes in 5 to 10 years.
Rebranding is more than a "fresh coat of paint." It may involve a new name, a redesigned logo, redecorated office space, new signs, new website, and many other components. It may end up with the decision to drop customers or services that are no longer profitable. It will certainly involve thinking about more effectively reaching the people that are the best fit for the business. In other words, rebranding requires a business strategy as well as design strategy.
In the Wall Street Journal article "Extreme Makeover," Aja Carmichael talks to entrepreneurs who have gone through the rebranding process. Katie Adams of Katie Adams Neuro Muscular Therapy went to a professional rebranding firm when she opened a second location. They recommended she take her name out of the business name, drop the whimsical calligraphy and illustration, and use a crisp typeface and fresh rosette emblem. The new business name—360 Neuro Muscular Therapy—and promotional material has resulted in a doubling of gross receipts, on track to triple by next year.
Jack and Jason Dennis hired a local design firm to help rebrand their retail music store when they opened a downtown store in addition to their suburban location. "The rebrand was great for what the theme of the store was," says Jack. "Our business needed that level of professionalism to get it right the first time."
"Rebranding my company was totally worth it," says Katie Adams. "The process gave our company more of an identity, and it's become something of substance."
Read the full article.
Monday, January 2, 2012
Book Review: The Ultimate Marketing Plan
by Dan S. Kennedy
I liked the conversational tone of Dan's writing. He is not academic. His experience comes from working with businesses first hand. The book relates the ideas that worked. This book is aimed at small business owners with little or no marketing experience looking for ideas to promote their businesses.
Dan starts by emphasizing that you must have a Unique Selling Proposition (USP). The marketplace is more competitive than ever, yet if you research your competitors you will find most of them are saying the same thing. Stand out by being different. Your USP should evoke an emotion or tell a story. Identify your audience and figure out what will connect to them.
He then goes on to the "five steps to a buying or action decision."
"1) Awareness of need and/or desire. 2) Picking the "thing" that fulfills the need/desire. 3) Picking the source for the thing. 4) Accepting the source's price/value argument. 5) Finding reasons to act now." He emphasizes to address all the 5 steps and not to assume anything. After you have organized your presentation, make it exciting. Then always, always ask for an action.
The rest of the book is not ground-breaking, but does cover all the marketing options that a small business has available. Dan offers a lot of examples of all his suggestions. The book is punctuated with marketing "secret weapons" and marketing "sins."
The problem with this book is that his examples are poorly designed aesthetically. Many cross into sheer hucksterism. The book itself constantly plugs his "Insiders' Circle." I would be embarrassed to counsel my clients to do some of the hokey things he suggests. His favorite case study is Sun Your Buns tanning salon. I went to the website out of curiosity and saw three typos on the home page. He is not wrong about the marketing principles that he has discovered, but he doesn't seem to recognize the difference between shoddy and excellent execution.
I liked the conversational tone of Dan's writing. He is not academic. His experience comes from working with businesses first hand. The book relates the ideas that worked. This book is aimed at small business owners with little or no marketing experience looking for ideas to promote their businesses.
Dan starts by emphasizing that you must have a Unique Selling Proposition (USP). The marketplace is more competitive than ever, yet if you research your competitors you will find most of them are saying the same thing. Stand out by being different. Your USP should evoke an emotion or tell a story. Identify your audience and figure out what will connect to them.
He then goes on to the "five steps to a buying or action decision."
"1) Awareness of need and/or desire. 2) Picking the "thing" that fulfills the need/desire. 3) Picking the source for the thing. 4) Accepting the source's price/value argument. 5) Finding reasons to act now." He emphasizes to address all the 5 steps and not to assume anything. After you have organized your presentation, make it exciting. Then always, always ask for an action.
The rest of the book is not ground-breaking, but does cover all the marketing options that a small business has available. Dan offers a lot of examples of all his suggestions. The book is punctuated with marketing "secret weapons" and marketing "sins."
The problem with this book is that his examples are poorly designed aesthetically. Many cross into sheer hucksterism. The book itself constantly plugs his "Insiders' Circle." I would be embarrassed to counsel my clients to do some of the hokey things he suggests. His favorite case study is Sun Your Buns tanning salon. I went to the website out of curiosity and saw three typos on the home page. He is not wrong about the marketing principles that he has discovered, but he doesn't seem to recognize the difference between shoddy and excellent execution.
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