Americans have always liked their coffee hot. But then Starbucks made hot coffee desirable, in demand, and extraordinarily profitable. And then Starbucks made coffee "cool" with its super-popular iced Frappucino drink — just as trendy, fashionable, and universally appealing.

Starbucks is no doubt one of the greatest marketing stories of recent history. How this company turned an unassuming beverage into an icon of sophistication and taste is no mystery, however. It’s all about a marketing tenet called positioning.

The coffee company started out in Seattle’s Pike Place market in 1971 as a single gourmet coffee shop, and by 1995, the chain’s earnings were $26.1 million. Marketing experts agree that Starbucks’ skyrocket to fortune centers on its aesthetic sense. In other words, the public’s perception of Starbucks has to do with how it appreciates this company’s style. Sure, Starbucks filled a need and created unique product brands, but what attracts coffee drinkers again and again is the experience of the Starbucks environment and its products. Smooth, sophisticated, artistic: These are seductive qualities even for a business based on a little brown bean.

The Starbucks story illustrates at least two powerful marketing principles. Both help us to better understand effective positioning, or the process of finding a "place" for ourselves in people’s minds:

1. People buy for their own reasons, not anyone else’s.

2. The stronger position is found in the experience, outcome, or benefit you provide as opposed to the methods you use for producing those outcomes.

Starbucks shows us that it’s not about packaging — it’s about positioning. The environment of Starbucks creates an experience that invites us to come study for exams, hang out and philosophize with friends, or get the day started with a warm cup of java and the morning news. Starbucks is an invitation to linger, not just get your coffee and go.

When you are assessing your own position and considering how you might improve your image and thus your market share, remember that there are essentially four winning positions: better, different, faster, or cheaper. You can certainly position yourself as one of these, perhaps even two; capturing a position as three of them is tough and probably not desirable, and cornering all four is just about impossible.

Not everyone is up to the task of creating another Starbucks. It’s tempting, with price wars so rampant, to believe that a perception of being cheapest is easiest to establish. Yet in truth this is the most difficult because of fixed costs. It’s like doing the limbo: you can go only so low, and then you’re overextended or flat on your back. Definitely not the easiest position to be in.

How about being better instead? Contrary to popular belief, this is perhaps the easiest position to take, since making an improvement or simply creating the impression of greater quality or ability has no constraints. One tip: when you capture the different category, you may get the better category as a by-product.

Starbucks capitalized on this technique, as did Dennis Rodman, the oddball of basketball. He came up with a way to take two positions in fans’ eyes: both different and better. Okay, maybe he wasn’t actually better than his teammate Michael Jordan, who was unbeatable, but certainly he was perceived for a time as better (cooler, trendier) among those who were captivated by his style. His fashion and fascinating antics made him so unique that he became unforgettable. And because he was also an excellent ball handler, he became famous and highly regarded in his sport.

BMW has also taken the better-different approach. Until fairly recently, Mercedes-Benz had the better luxury car market sewn up, so BMW — a competitor with a parity product — simply repositioned itself. Its tag, "the ultimate driving machine," appeals to a younger crowd and gives them luxury with power and handling. This is "hip luxury," which is different from the Mercedes position, which could be summed up as "elegant luxury." And voilà: BMW became as hot and desirable as a cappucino on a wintry morning.

BMW marketers had both a strong sense of the position they wanted to hold and precisely defined their premium clients, the créme de la créme within their target market. You can do this, too. Once you’ve figured out what position you can successfully gain in your business, ask yourself the following.

• Who is my premium client? Who would be the most enjoyable and rewarding to serve?
• What are this client’s unique desires, needs, and challenges? How can I best serve this client?
• What do I (or can I) provide in a unique way to help my clients achieve their business outcomes?
• How can I position myself as an expert in this market?

With this information, you can tailor your marketing efforts — everything you say to people, any support materials you use, even the way you dress and act — directly to this audience to help establish your position. This is the first step to "owning your market."

Positioning is like popularity: You have to be seen in the right places and with the right people. This is more than social climbing: You learn more about your clients and they learn more about you when you frequent the same places, attend the same functions, join the same associations, be published in their periodicals, and develop products and services specifically for them.

Positioning is as much about who you are not as it is about who you are. Starbucks is not a cheaper and faster cuppa joe; it is an upscale, gourmet coffee experience. BMW is no old-style luxury; it is stylish performance. Dennis Rodman is no gentleman forward; he is the outrageous, extreme athlete who is a recognized celebrity even for people who don’t know basketball from billiards.

Do you want to win big? If so, have the courage to answer these questions clearly and define your own game: Who are you? Who are you not? Who are your clients? These are the essential decisions you must make if you want to not only understand but own your market.

James Arthur Ray of James Ray International is an expert in teaching individuals how to achieve Harmonic Wealth™ in all areas of their life by focusing on what they want, opposed to what they don’t want. He has been speaking to individuals as well as Fortune 500 companies for over 20 years and is the author of four books and an inventor of numerous learning systems. His studies of highly successful people prove that they continually achieve results by taking control of their thoughts and actions to create and shape their own reality.

The Power to Win seminar (http://www.ThePowerToWin.com) will explain in detail how success is state of mind and how the principles of quantum physics (as seen in the movie What the Bleep) can be applied to proven success-building techniques. James will also cover why people who are successful in one area of their life tend to be successful in all areas. For more information, visit http://www.ThePowerToWin.com.

To succeed in today’s crowded marketplace where most of the products and advertising look exactly the same, a small business owner must stand out, shouting above the din with a message so clear and compelling that prospects stop and take notice. It’s a matter of business survival. Unfortunately, most entrepreneurs quickly retreat to the supposed security of sameness, soon to be lost in a sea of anonymity and a tidal wave of frustration. In effect, albeit at a subconscious level, they are saying , “I don’t want to be different”.

In back room offices and store fronts everywhere, salespeople are telling business owners they should do this or that kind of ad because it worked so great for their competitor. The owners nod and sign on. It’s already proven to be a winner, right? WRONG! Change the name, background color and a font style and you’ve got sameness. Put those ads in the yellow pages, a coupon magazine or a TV commercial cluster and you’ve got advertising death. Want proof? Get the latest statistics on small business failures.

To make your advertising work, follow the principle if your competition is doing it, don’t. Go where they aren’t and win the battle without a fight. Resist the urge to get a listing in the phone book because that’s where everyone else is. A coupon direct mailer that features 6 or 7 of your competitors is a poor choice too. Look for new opportunities in direct mail and email campaigns. Look at direct response ideas. In short, try to find the biggest number of clients you can find in one spot. Fish in a barrel, not the ocean.

When you’ve chosen different channels to attract your customers, make sure you overcome the “so-what” factor in your copywriting. An ad for a heating and air conditioning company that says it has certified technicians that will fix your problem quickly is a so-what line. No one is looking for uncertified slackers that will get around to the problem whenever. A moving company that mentions superior insurance coverage makes you think they’ll probably break something. Be creative and write copy that will compel prospects to take action.

Consumers are bombarded by thousands of ad messages every day. There is so much overload they tune everything out. To get their attention, look within your business and find all that you do differently and decide which of those elements your customers most want. Decide how to word it best. and where to position it. Decide you really do want to be different. You have to. Your business depends on it.

Brian Grinonneau is the general manager of McMann and Tate advertising, an agency that works with small business owners helping them stand out from the crowd.

Branding is an application of appropriate marketing techniques in the right proportion to a product. Brand management is to manage the forces in a market suitably to win favors for the product.

Branding essentially has to work on both mind and heart of consumers so that the product’s perceived value to the customer increases and thereby increase brand equity.

Marketers see a brand as an implied promise that the level of quality, people have come to expect from a brand will continue with present and future purchases of the same product. There are a lot of products available but limited brands. Its comparatively easier to judge the needs of people and develop a product accordingly, but it is tough to tell the world that there exists an answer with you to their needs. Its not hard to sell some one what he wants, but its hard to make him aware about the availability.

Brand your products in a way to generate sales and also a good will in the market. Use the mixes in a way that at one end the consumer feels that he needs your product and at the other he feels that’s its in his betterment that he is associated with your product.

Author: Devanshu Bhatia
http://entrepreneurparadise.blogspot.com/

Why should I care where I get my printed material from, I’ll just go for tenders and go with the low bidder. If you do this probably you won’t be in business for long or you’ll never really run a successful business. My company, Solutions Ink started from the premise that I don’t just sell printed products but rather I help businesses grow and prosper. Being in the business for over 20 years I’ve seen how the industry and the market have changed. Gone are the days you could charge what you want and deliver any quality good’s. With global competition so great, the product must be perfect and your price must be competitive just for you to survive. That being said what should I look for in a printing company. First you should explain what you do and how you do it,to your printer. It is his job with his expertise to decide what product he should offer you. Today there are offset presses, digital presses, web presses and each one is appropriate for a different type of job.

Digital presses today have greatly improved their quality and are great for short runs (under 1000 quantity), variable data (inserting names into each letter), large format small quantity jobs (point of purchases, banners, posters, small direct mail jobs). Turnaround is key and digital jobs usually can be done in days if not hours.

Offset presses are good for jobs of greater than 1000 t’ill about 100,000 or if the absolute quality is essential for the job (brochures, fashion catalogues, price lists, letterheads, business cards, envelopes). These type of jobs usually takes days or a week or two, depending on the complexity of the job.

Web presses are great for large runs of magazines, newspaper flyers or large run business forms.

Suggestions by your printer should help your business grow. He should help in deciding paper stocks, colors, finishings and offer you different price options. New technology can save company’s great amounts of time by offering e-commerce ordering and proofing systems. New technology allows form/card combinations, form/label combinations and form/magnet combinations. These reduce the need to print 2 pieces. This can also cut your mailing costs. The idea is for your printer to help you market your business so that you can become more successful. Penny pinching on costs can be short sighted. For true long term growth you have to work in partnership with your printer so that both of you benefit. If you have only one winner, chances are you’ll be searching out a new partner pretty soon.

Steven Schneidman has an M.B.A., worked for a large bank, was a Finance Professor at University and has owned 2 Printing and Promotional Product companies.

If you need any help deciding what you should do for your next printing job drop me an email at steve@solutionsink4u.com or visit my website at www.solutionink4u.com.

When people mention the word "brand" they usually mean a well known, well defined company. That’s why consumers frequently mention names such as Target, Rolex, Apple, BMW and others who have done an excellent job in crafting an image and sticking with it. Buyers know what to expect from these companies, and as long as these companies meet that expectation, they will continue to imprint their brand in the minds of our their audience. It’s pretty simple really, if you just keep in mind these two principals.

Principal One: Know your promise.

As amazing as this may seem, most companies don’t really know what it is they are promising their clients. That’s why they have weak brands. They may have mission statements, and can spout off why everyone should use their product or service, but really it’s just a rambling list. Out of fear of losing audience, most companies will try to compete on price, quality and service… and that’s a recipe for disaster. Who wants to buy a watch from the Discount Overnight Rolex store? If you try to go after all three areas you end up muddied in the mind of the consumer, who is trying to put you in a box. And in this case… that’s a good thing!

A mental "box" is not that different from a set of mail room boxes. The customers gets all these incoming "messages" and has to sort them all day. The easier you make it for them to sort your company, and put it in a category, the easier it will be for them to recall it when needed. Try this… think of a fast place to eat. How about the best tasting food? And finally, the place you go if you really want to impress someone? You can probably think of each of these categories rather quickly. And chances are, these companies are more than happy to fill that niche without trying to become much more.

Take a moment and write out in two or three sentences (more if you’re feeling inspired) exactly what your brand promises. It will usually fall under three main categories… quality, service or price. But there are nuances. Ben & Jerry’s image contains both a quality message and a social message… one of comittment to the community and environment.

Principal Two: Never violate Principal One.

Once you have firmly established your promise in the minds of consumers, make sure every move you make conforms to that promise. Coke was fine to come out with Diet Coke, Cherry Coke and a host of other flavor variations (brand extension) but they completely missed the mark when they introduced NEW Coke. People believed in Coke, identified with Coke and it was a part of their history. New Coke was seen as a betrayal of the brand itself, a vote of no confidence in their core product. "What’s wrong with the original Coke?" was the immediate question that popped up in most minds. That’s why is so important to know what it is, and why it is, that people buy from you and believe in you.

Know your promise and keep your promise. Pretty simple? Yet it will go a long ways toward making your company resonate with your customer on a deep and lasting level. And that’s a promise.

Phil’s life goal of “creating environments where people thrive” reflects his desire to assist in personal, professional and business growth. Phil founded and ran a full service ad agency for over 17 years and now works full time as a business naming and branding consultant. He has authored numerous articles on naming and branding as well as addressing groups nationwide. Phil resides with wife Michelle and four energetic offspring outside Asheville, North Carolina. His web site can be viewed at http://PureTungsten.com or you may reach him by e-mail at Phil@PureTungsten.com

I am always amazed when I hear about companies who spend tens of thousands of dollars organizing a make-it-or-break-it company event designed to celebrate a company milestone and/or impress prospective customers. Sometimes these events have big contracts or sales at stake! Yet, often planners will fall short on the most critical aspect of planning the event—the invitations! After all, before a client steps foot into your venue, or even confirms attendance, the invitation sets the tone and leaves the first and most important (and lasting!) impression!

Have a look at this compelling list of “10 Reasons Why Your Company Needs Custom Invitations”. The information in this article may very well be worth thousands of dollars to your company!

1) Double Exposure! – Before, during, and after the event, your invitation represents your company with guaranteed staying power to the date of the event. It’s better than an ad! It’s an ad with a useful purpose that MUST be reviewed, responded to, and kept securely for weeks or months to the event date (and even after!)

2) The “U”-Factor (Ubiquitous Factor) – Simply put, stunning invitations get noticed—everywhere. They get tacked up in communal areas (bulletin boards, lunch rooms, reception areas, etc) or passed around your guest’s office, management, other potential clients or partners. How do you get “stunning” invitations? Through a custom designer!

3) Stay Ahead of the Competition – If your company isn’t sending out excellent invitations, rest assured your competition is! More and more companies are using custom invitations to gain that competitive edge and “unique” distinction in respective industries.

4) Image is Everything – A flimsy self-printed Times New Roman font invitation card with perforated edges leaves just as “strong” an impression as an elegantly shaped shimmering layered silver pocket-fold emblazoned with your company logo. Which “strong” impression would you have your company make?

5) Create Buzz – What? Excitement over a company or corporate event? It’s true. I recently created gorgeous custom invitations carefully packaged and wrapped in the company’s foil stamped logo. They were labour-intensive but definitely memorable invitations. The actual event was a debate between two respected audio engineers – pretty dry by most standards. But the impact of the invitations alone made it one of the most talked about events in the industry!

6) Cutting Edge, Modern, & Savvy – An invitation allows you to make a real statement about your company. Use this vehicle to reinforce your image or insert a more dramatic contemporary interpretation of your company image! It will get noticed!

7) Establish a Relationship with a Custom Invitation Designer – Save time, money, and stress on your invitations! Develop a personal one-on-one relationship with the right invitation designer and you’ll never regret it. Your designer will be able to customize and anticipate your needs while avoiding or preventing potentially costly errors or miscommunications!

8) Good Career Move! – We once had a client who was responsible for planning a significant corporate event. We helped him narrow down his choices to one custom invitation style and was truly impressive and original. Long after the event, he contacted us to thank us and explain that the custom invitations made such an impact that he believed they helped him gain notice within upper management circles which eventually lead to a promotion! We can’t guarantee that kind of success with all of our customers, but it does illustrate that… with the right invitations, anything can [and does] happen!

9) Professional, Knowledgeable, & Your Resource – Don’t Sweat the Details! Outsourcing your invitations to a custom designer allows you to have better use of your time. Your Invitation Designer is a resource for formatting tips/guidelines, etiquette, invitation options, event-planning, and more! You’ll be confident you’re making the right choices and having the perfect sounding board for your ideas too!

10) Invitations are just the Beginning – A custom Invitation Designer can help you make the right choices for all your other stationery requirements. Perhaps you need webcards, change-of-address cards, important Announcement cards etc. You can save a lot of money and hassle by making your Invitation Designer the one-stop-shop for stationery, accessories and even gifts and gift-related items.

Just because technology is changing rapidly, doesn’t mean you can forget about the pen and paper. Event stationery is getting a lot more creative and a lot more intensive. I’m constantly amazed by how many company staff people planning events miss out on this golden opportunity to showcase their event, company and product.

Laura’s work has been featured locally and nationally across print and television. Her public and commercial clients range from brides to wedding and event planners to celebrities in Canada and the United States. For additional articles and resources, information on Laura Paladino, her invitation design collections, or her select bridal boutique products and studio services, visit http://www.laurapaladino.com

Marketing potential of any product is based on recognition and quality. Name based recognition happens with a variety of products. We have Paul Newman salad dressings, Robert Redford productions, George W. Bush policies, and Oprah Magazines; the list goes on. Each of these has a unique emblem of success, their name and face. No other product can compare; no other is similar.

Brand your market effectively with recognizable eloquence. Your name adds purpose, power, and punctuation to an otherwise bland product. Without your name, you would be unrecognizable by most forms of communication. Brand your market with simplicity and style: your name.

Originality swamps the market these days. Build a better burger became a sub-sandwich and fish and chips evolved into pizza, but meat is still meat no matter how you slice it. However, everybody recognizes Caesars, McDonalds, Long John Silvers, and Quizno’s. Name sells. Who are you?

At Pizza Hut, anyone could be in the kitchen cooking pizza. But at Little Ceasars, everyone knows Nero is spinning the dough, dealing the pepperoni and tossing the cheese. Name has impact. Be somebody. Be known. Be recognized. Get the recognition you deserve by putting your name on a quality brand product and standing on the face of prosperity.

A few benefits of branding the market with your name:

· Your name becomes a Google adword

· Your name becomes recognized

· Your name connects the product to you

· Your name reaches the audience

· Your name becomes memorable

· Your name locates your work on Search Engine Searches

Unabashedly plastering your name across some prosperous product slams impact into the sales market, branding your product with an identifiable title. Your name packs a power punch, focusing the client on integrity, enthusiasm, quality, and recognition. It’s commonly assumed that if your name is on the product, it contains quality. Use that assumption to market your product: you.

Copyright © 2005 – Jan Verhoeff

Effectively promote your product with individual punch. Name your product. Brand your market with success powerfully. Contact our offices at eBiz Brand Performance.

Ah, my very favorite promotional product of all, the refrigerator magnet. They are my favorite, because they are so extremely inexpensive, and extremely effective in getting your company name seen in countless locations.

They don’t make the greatest commission for a salesman of advertising specialties, but I can’t stop myself from recommending these little beauties first and foremost to my new customers and prospects. And the reason is so simple. They WORK! I’ve yet to approach anyone in any kind of business where I don’t feel that a refrigerator magnet will be effective advertising. Granted, some are more suited than others, but I still maintain that they’d be of use to any business.

Domino’s Pizza is notorious for giving out a magnet with deliveries that includes their logo and the phone number of the local store. I worked for Domino’s when I was a young guy, as a delivery driver. Often, whenever sales would dip a little, or the manager was bucking for a prize, we would go “door hanging”. Boy did these door hangers produce strong results. Inexpensive marketing that had proven itself time and time again. My fellow employees and I would spend time in a “slow” neighborhood, hanging these on the door knobs of as many homes and apartments as we could, and the results would be immediate. Sales would shoot through the roof! If a crew went out “door hanging” you could count on a lot of calls coming in that evening from the area you’d just targeted, for the next 3 days. The problem with these door hangers is, they’re paper, and they wind up in the trash, rather quickly.

A refrigerator magnet, almost always … always winds up on the refrigerator. And there it stays, for a long, long time. What other conventional advertising stays in a home that long? A commercial, printed advertisement, a radio address, nothing … stays as long as the magnet. And no matter what is put on the fridge, be it your child’s neatest drawing of a hairy fire truck, or their lunch menu at school, what’s on the very top? The beautiful, blessed magnet sporting YOUR company logo!

Let’s say you own a heating and a/c company. You get a call from a referral, or yellow page ad. You show up, fix the problem the customer is happy with the work you’ve done, the price you charged, and then you or one of your service technicians leaves. Three, or four years go by, and this same customer’s a/c breaks down. He says to his wife, “honey, what was the name of that company we used last time?” Who can remember that long ago? Had the customer been left with a refrigerator magnet, had the service tech actually physically went and put it on this customer’s fridge the last time he was over, the number would be right there waiting for him. What if this time, he’s going to need his complete a/c unit replaced? That’s one heck of a sale to miss out on.

Now most men will probably gripe at me for this one, but c’est la vie. Let’s say you’re a florist. A young teen boy calls to get a mum for his girlfriend for homecoming or a corsage for prom or roses for Valentines. You deliver the item(s) with a refrigerator magnet. Months roll by, and the teen girl’s father wakes up and realizes TODAY is his anniversary, and he didn’t buy his wife a gift! Trust me; his immediate thought goes to flowers. The old faithful, the default at any time, flowers. He’s going to have them delivered to her work. He remembers the “free delivery” comment on the magnet of your shop, and goes right to it. He calls the number and places his order. Without the magnet, he would have called AAAAmanda’s Flowers in the yellow pages.

Online businesses can benefit too. Now if promoting a web site, one would immediately think to sell a promotional item that would sit by a computer, but I disagree. If you sent a magnet to an existing customer, it’d wind up on his or her fridge. A friend, family member, or delivery person could see it, and inquire about the site. In addition, magnets will adhere to most automobiles. You can carry them around with you, and put them on cars, for focused advertising. I have one client that does this, he’s in real estate. Often he’ll stop by a prospect’s home, and if no one answers the door, yet a car is in the driveway, he puts a magnet on the car as he leaves. It’s produced positive results for him, he says. And he’s gotten word of mouth advertising from those people as well. I’d be willing to bet that it came from friends and family seeing the magnet on the former customer’s refrigerator, or toolbox, beer keg cooler, etc.

In my opinion, no business is unable to benefit from this item. So if you own a company and you’re looking to advertise, consider the refrigerator magnet. They’re inexpensive, and last a long, long time. Plus the Dominos one on your fridge is lonely, I’m sure.

Need content? You may use this article at your website, or in your newsletter. The only requirement is inclusion of the following sentence - Article by Kirk Otto of http://www.MakeYourCompanyVisible.com - a premiere source for promotional advertising products.

The public buys far more than just your products, services and so-called image promotions. Whenever they interact with anyone or anything associated with your business, they are automatically branded emotionally, good or bad, by the totality of your business character.

Whether you are a small business or a large operation, it is immaterial. If that brand is found lacking at any time in the customer-relation scenario, their return to you as a future-paying customer will be highly unlikely, not to mention all of their word-of-mouth associations. If that doesn’t get your attention, then you and your business are in trouble already.

Brand marketing and brand character are certainly familiar busness terms, but they are business-school jargon, nonetheless. All of those buzz words may sound great at board-rooom presentations and seminars, but often mean something else to customers.

While the highly-paid marketing gurus tell you to concentrate on presenting your product or service imagery, they fail to warn you that it is your organizational brand that does the real imprinting. What’s most notable is that the total character of your particular business imprints that brand on your customers’ emotions, a realm far beyond typical business education. That’s why I believe you should expect every business consultant to posess this kind of perspective.

As every interaction with your public is a so-called “moment of truth” or, better yet, “moment of judgment”, the public knows when they’re being burned by a hot poker; and they judge accordingly. A form of business branding is, therefore, created by you and your organization at every turn. It’s both an active and passive event. The customer merely views it, experiences its presence, engages his or her emotions, and then determines YOUR fate.

So, it’s time to make yourself aware of the quality of your business trademark as much as your products and services. It’s the only way to really distinguish your organization from the crowded and competitive business arena we call world markets!

Obviously every company promotes its products and services to gain market share for the purpose of profit. That’s no sin. Without realizing it, though, a poor organizational brand quality can scuttle that endeavor, especially when it is exposed as an integral part of the market-to-purchase-service process.

You can’t hide it. Emotional branding of your customers is especially created or dessecrated with every interaction at every level, whether that interaction is direct or indirect.

So, realization that business-branding occurs all the time is your first step, but a most-important one. While typical brand marketing of a product focuses mainly on product imagery, it is your public interactions that can force all of the expenses associated with marketing that imagery to crumble in a single moment. Point: As your organizational character is reflected, so goes your future success or failure!

In other words, dealing with the public especially exposes your organizational brand for what it really is. In total, every talk and every walk that your company engages in, regardless of size and business sector, refines or tarnishes your business-brand image. Here’s where the true corporate or business character, as displayed by your people in the form or disposition and attitudes, sets you up for profits and losses.

Lose the heart of the customer and all of that development, testing, marketing and expected profits will go literally up in smoke. The key here is learning how to recognize your business brand and keep it shining from within, not just on the surface.

Surprisingly, many highly educated organizations don’t realize WHY their business brand is broken. It’s pitiful to watch. Assuming it’s production or process related, management know-it-all vanity seems to get in the way from seeing the simple truth.

The Power of People and Emotions

Every business has managers TALK about the importance of people, but actually focus or WALK away from the people factors like character; and people define the totality of your business brand far more than any tool in your marketing arsenal.

It’s true that many CEOs and managers realize the importance of appealing to emotion. However, the branding tool that they usually choose to do the job is their product or service itself. They even attempt smiles and free coffee mugs which are not enough, because that’s not what customers want or need. Well, there’s much more!

First of all, assuming that values touted in mission and philosophy statements are sufficient for success can be a dangerous assumption in today’s competitive arenas. Character needs to be perfected at every turn, internally and externally.

For example, your programs may be internally late, not due to the inabilities of your people, but due to internal cutting politics, indecisions and a constant state of change induced by managers like a form of rearranging deck chairs on a sinking ship. I know this first hand.

In my 36 years of associating with various product development and product marketing teams, including 12 years with the successful Saturn Corporation, I have personally witnessed just how brand-marketing strategies have caused many fine organizations to lose focus. How? They have been led to conform to the lopsided thinking that branding applies more to a form of product and service imagery that induces lust more than warm emotions.

Externally, a business truly has to focus on product, price and marketing imagery, but directing all of it toward customer lust to buy is certainly a double-edged sword. For one, lust is the wrong emotion to appeal.

By its nature, lust is a sentiment that is never satisfied, and never enough to keep customers always buying from you. Here’s why: Those who lust are also fickle! Eventually the truth about your pricing, fair value, reliability, service and care can cause YOU to be judged by them walking with their feet and their wallets.

Price gouging especially personifies negative-emotion branding, and occurs when a company prices their products or services so that managers can make salaries and benefits beyond their true worth. I guess that’s supposed to be just too bad for the public. That’s capitalism, many say. In reality, gouging then becomes the business brand; and attempting to save the business face by donating to charities and politicians is viewed merely as an attempt to gain absolution. Some rebates kind of fit into that category, in my opiniion. The prices were a gouge to begin with!

A more sinister brand occurs when business allows itself to use manipulatable accounting practices like RONA (return on net assets) as the main benchmark for management bonuses. First, it allows accounting trickery through postponing of programs and reducing of head count to fake its financial health so that bonuses can kick in. That makes the company books manipulatable at the expense of the customers, the stock holders as well as employees. In essence, their manipulation put off the day when prices would naturally reflect fairness.

Well, the public is not stupid. They have a long memory when it comes to someone taking their money and delivering poor value, disrespecting them at the time of purchase or service. They even recognize when you route your employees. And they certainly know when they’re being gouged or manipulated just to sustain a business’ plan that is intended to win at all costs, namely theirs.

How many times have you paid full price for a quality product, but it still failed? How many times have you paid a high price while the company cut its employees to shreds with downsizing everything except upper management’s perks? That brands you as a nasty hot poker, because they know they’re paying for those perks.

Like I said, the customer is not stupid. As a result of their awareness, you are now expected to deliver quality products, quality services, and quality in their total buying experience; and that now includes quality pricing; hence, value pricing at employee discounts. After all, the public knows they’re overpaying for literally everything.

Failure to comply to customer expectations in any way brands you as an abuser, but brands them as being gullible, disrespected and undignified. Talk about negative emotions!

This concept of business or organizational branding is an image niche untouched by many business books. Now, don’t get me wrong. Plenty of training is going on, but not about total business branding, especially ethics and fairness in pricing for value rendered.

Yes, we have mission statements, philosophy statements and just a touch of team-oriented, feel-good training sessions. Yet, many businesses still seem to miss the mark, maybe not in every corner, but enough to make many CEOs cringe at market-share and earnings-reporting time; which only proves that customers have the last say, further proving that higher education does not always guarantee business success.

Few managers and business owners really take the TOTALITY of their business brand to heart, including personal communications and relations. Emphasis is so heavy on trying to make a profit that they overlook the one element in the formula that might assure that profit.

As products, processes and quality increasingly take the center stage, more and more companies have become oblivious as to why they are losing market share, and will risk being blown out of business entirely.

There is always a cause for every effect. Don’t let the negative-branding syndrome happen to your business or your company, even if you just work there. Make a commitment to improve the business brand. Don’t forget that every internal issue will come to light in some way that you may not now even imagine.

You can help yourself and your business by first paying attention. Accept the reality that the public fully recognizes when another product or service is better, and that they always vote with their pocket books. It is their right as much as it is their duty for economic self preservation.

Your product may be innovative, but a greedy price mark-up, for example, can dry out their emotions quite readily. That is just as much a brand failure as a recalled tire.

Yes, a failure to keep the customers’ emotions positive can be deadly to your bottom line. So, the time to be more alert is now!

And speaking of emotion, why do some products fail to sell, while others prosper? Simple: Contrary to today’s business doctrines, product quality is no longer enough! Content is no longer enough. The only way you can segregate yourself from your competition in this new century is to better the totality of your customers’ business experience; as that summarizes your business brand and appeals to your customers’ hearts where their buying and staying emotions originate.

So, the next time some market guru challenges you to brand market your products and services, make sure to include your total business brand. And make darn sure it isn’t just any old hot iron.

Frank Sherosky is a research author with over 36 years experience in the automotive corporate world. In 1997, he wrote "Perfecting Corporate Character: Insightful Lessons for 21st Century Organizations" before anyone heard of Enron and Tyco fiascos. He may be reached at http://www.authorfrank.com

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