Guy Richards - Ordinary life with a brand strategist

Brand vs. Bottom-line Focused Organizations

From my experience I believe there are two main mindsets that lead all organizations,  “brand focused organizations” and “bottom-line focused organizations.”

The difference between these two mindsets leads to two very different outcomes.

Bottom-line Focused Organization
The bottom-line focused organization’s primary concern is here and now. They think… “How can we profit the most off of every transaction, even if we have to use pressure to squeeze the last penny out of a customer/donor.“

This organization will soon go under or fade to the background of the market as a result of disappointed customers/donors sharing their experience with friends and family (and these days Facebook and forums).

Brand Focused Organization
The brand focused organization’s main goal is a great reputation that drives profitable sustainability. They think… “How can we please our customers/donors by consistently giving them a great service/product and an unexpected experience, even if we financially breakeven in some situations.”

This organization will slowly build a great brand reputation and secure a top position in the market while sustaining the loyalty of a base of advocates who will not consider another option.

What is the focus of the organization you work for, want to work for, lead or do business with?

Assessing Your Client’s Future

Assessing your client’s/brand’s future is a tricky thing. You must not put too much weight on what your client says until you have determined their behavior matches.

Because I’m pretty vocal about being a Christian, I get clients who seem to give me answers that don’t match. I believe it’s because they want to influence me to view them as great people. We as humans naturally want people to like us.

Let me give you an example. When assessing a client I usually ask them… what three goals would like to achieve before you die? And they say:

1. Have our business increase by 10 times while having minimal responsibility.

2. Travel more.

3. And…aaa…build housing for underprivileged kids.

Well, I would say their only business motive is wealth so it can support an affluent lifestyle. With this motive their brand will have no engaging goal to tackle. Their employees will see through the lack of leadership and the brand will almost always fall in the middle of the competitive pack because the ownership won’t want to risk profitability on innovation.

The rule of thumb in assessing a brands situation is: listen to opinions but make diagnostics determinations on factual behavior.

Most people can’t articulate why they make the choices they do because they’re not in touch with their subconscious motivational drivers. So, they tell you what you want to hear or what they think should be the write answer.

Ground Zero (Sunday Insight #5)

Have you ever measured your plans to eternity? I mean after this life and on to the next?

Or do your plans stop at retirement or death in this life?

When a person realizes that this life is an arena that determines the results of their eternal dwelling, their definition of success should change. Which would redefine their goals and plans.

I’m a person who believes that after this life everyone ends up in one of two places… heaven… or hell. And the final destination is determined by one thing; has a person asked Jesus Christ to forgive their sins and be the Lord of their life.

Because of my belief I have a choice; I can coast through this life being quiet so I don’t offend anyone, or I can step up and use the resources and time I have left to help others spend eternity with God in heaven.

The second choice is hard! I will be criticized and mocked by others who think what I believe is made up and in some circles become a social outcast. But if I don’t speak up but state that I believe that every person, no matter how good they are will go to hell if they don’t ask Jesus Christ to forgive them and be their Lord… I’m a hypocrite. It’s like a fireman who wouldn’t save a person from a burning building because he didn’t want to offend her by picking her up.

Does your plans stop in this life?

Defining Your Markets Thought Process

Every market has decision drivers. Here is a simple test to determine if your market is made of short-term thinkers (minimal or no vision), long-term thinkers (have vision) or a blend of both.

If a segment of your market buys the cheapest (add your product or service here), they are probably short-term thinkers.

If a segment of your market buys the more expensive (add your product or service here) that lasts longer, they are probably long-term thinkers.

If a segment of your market buys the super, super, hey look at me (add your product or service here), there is good chance they are short-term thinkers.

Hope this helps Kevin.

Thought Process / Your Market

Most people make balanced decisions based on their past experiences, current situations and what they hope to happen in the future.

The challenge as an organization leader is trying to understand which one of the three your market bases the majority of their decision on.

Advertising agencies, PR firms and internal marketing directors commonly make the mistake of misjudging the clients/donors thinking process when positioning their brand and offering. Which sends the message to the market… “We are out of touch!” And leads to a high price tag per conversion (divide marketing budget, by number of sales = cost per conversion).

Here is a simple way to define the two primary ways people make decisions to help you reposition your brand and offering:

1. Lack of Vision
If a person or organization lacks vision (a long-term goal) they are more likely to make decisions based on helping their current situation even if their decisions cause long-term problems.

2. Clear Vision
If a person or organization has a clear vision (a long-term goal) they are more likely to make decisions based on their future hope of reaching their vision even if the decisions cause a short-term problem.

The Point
You can be more profitable (which equals effective) if you understand your markets decision drivers and use that knowledge to position your brand and offerings.

The Mask

You may have noticed the General Mills commercials ripping on Kashi. If you are like me, you laugh at the commercials because you can’t believe that anything General Mills sells could be healthier than Kashi, regardless of what they say.

Let me share some disappointing news, Kashi is owned by Kellogg. Yes, the same people who make Frosted Flakes. For Kellogg to communicate through Kashi a passion for an organic lifestyle while they pump sugary flakes through their other brand is a value issue.

Kellogg would never be believable if they came out with the same wholegrain options they sell through Kashi. But because the market craved a healthy option they figured out a way to create a platform of empathy to sell the product from.

Although this strategy works it has the possibility to backfire if the client base finds out and has another option to switch too. But more likely this will create a monopoly that will hold consumers captive.

This is just me, but I wish brands didn’t do this. I know it works, but values to me mean that you would hold to them even in an unfavorable situation.

As a follower of Kashi, I’m let down.

When will brands stand for what they believe then worry who will come?

Be clear about your brand promise

Most leaders understand what a brand promise is, but for a recap. A brand promise is the claim of distinction made to the market. The more value the promise has, the harder it is to deliver, but the more market favor your organization will given in comparison to your competitors.

Example:
Fedex - The world on Time
Toms - One for One
BMW - The ultimate driving machine
Target - Expect more. Pay less.
Compassion - Helping release children from poverty in Jesus' name

These brands have stuck their neck out with their claims. They have connected with the market and have been able to deliver on their promise, accelerating them as market leaders.

Ministry, business or government… small, medium or large; here are 4 brand promise principles to accelerate you.

1. A brand promise creates a plan
The primary purpose of a brand promise is to tip customers/donors in your favor. The secondary purpose is to inspire your team to push industry boundaries, which creates engagement and inspiration.

2. No promise, no standard
Not having a brand promise is comparable to having a bad one. Without a brand promise there is not an organizational standard to live up to. Which places you in the ordinary category from the customers/donors perspective and creates internal disengagement.

3. Aligning unspoken market needs
The claim you make should be something your market is craving (and sometimes, not necessarily asking for) and competitors are not or having trouble delivering on.

4. Deliver, deliver, and deliver
The hardest part of any promise is keeping it. Over promise and under delivery is one of the main reasons organizations fail. There is a saying, “great marketing will put an average business under.”

Know what your cause is, know what your competing for, know your competitive rank and build a plan to offer and deliver the best.

The passion of the leader’s vision

How a leader views the cause of the organization greatly determines its success.

I have found when a leader has passion and urgency to reach the brand goal and his/her lifestyle and actions align with the cause, it creates an organizational rally. The excitement motivates the leadership that motivates the employees, which over flows to the clients/donor base.

Your brands loyalty, both internally and externally will always be a direct reflection of how the leaders portrays the cause... good or bad. 

Seed Planter / Market Place Ministry

This post is for the Christian business owner. What if you decided to use your business to make eternal impact?

Ok, so you sell pizzas, car parts or widgets. That means you have resources, customers, vendors and maybe employees that you have influence with.

You are a steward of something that is unique, special and rare. For business owners who are based in the US, you make up about *1.4% of the population. And being a “Christian” business owner you probably make up .25% of the population.

Being rare is good. Because God is always on the look out to use the unseemly who want His agenda to show His power through.

“The eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.” (2 Chronicles 16:9)

You have been entrusted with seeds; you can eat them, keep them in a locked safe or replant them and get to experience a multiplied harvest that has eternal rewards.

Why not use your business to influence others to spend eternity with God?

A great example of market place ministry is In-N-Out Burger who is a well-established fast food restaurant on the West Coast who places Bible verses on their cups and burger wrappers. Or, Forever 21, a high end fashion clothing company that prints John 3:16 on the bottom of their bags.

These are just one way you can have eternal influence. Be creative!

*http://www.census.gov/epcd/www/smallbus.html
*http://www.census.gov/population/www/popclockus.html

Sunday Insight #4 (God and your employees)

I was praying and these words came out, “God allow my desires to be your desires so I will be a better husband, which will make me a better dad, which will allow me to live the purpose You have set for me.”

It then made me think of how the motives of employees affect their companies.

What if your employees worked to please God?
Your employees would want God’s desires to be their desires which would cultivate a great work ethic, which would increase your product quality and service delivery, which would please your customers and drive better brand performance, which would accelerate your organization in reaching it’s goals.

What if your employees worked to please themselves?
Your employees would want self pleasure, which would make them do the minimum to reach the maximum results, which would decrease your product quality and service delivery, which would be the catalyst for losing customers, which would place the organization in an uphill fight for survival.