Laurence Vincent on How to Get Your Customers to Love Your Brand…Again

The following is a guest post by Laurence Vincent author of Brand Real: How Smart Companies Live Their Brand Promise and Inspire Fierce Customer Loyalty about rekindling the love between a brand and its customers.

I wear many hats in my line of work. Sometimes I’m a doctor who diagnoses client problems and writes prescriptions. At other times, I’m a professor, charged with simplifying complex material so that it can be understood by a large audience. But the role I play most often is marriage counselor. I find myself helping clients rekindle the love that brought them together in the first place. On my couch sits the brand on one side of the couch, and the legion of customers it serves on the other. My job is to get them sitting close to each other again. Like any marriage counselor, I have to contend with misguided signals, unsympathetic conversations, and in some cases, downright abuse. No matter the circumstance, the marriage between brand and consumer is in jeopardy because both parties are asking, “where is the love?”

A recent study in the Journal of Marketing explored the concept of “brand love.” One aspect of the study reinforces my marriage counselor metaphor. The authors found that there is a distinct difference between a feeling of love for a brand (an emotional state) and an act of loving a brand (a behavioral pattern). Advertisers can make consumers feel “in love” through evocative storytelling, but it’s quite another matter to stimulate the loving behavior that leads to sales and profitability. This is the kind of love that should most interest brand managers. The study described this dimension of love as a willingness to invest resources, a passionate desire to use, and a habit-forming behavior that is connected to past experiences with a brand.

In Brand Real, I argued that real brands focus on brand attachment instead of brand affect. Affect measures how much people feel “in love with” a brand, while attachment measures how much a person sees a brand as an indispensable part of their life. To generate the powerful bond of attachment with their consumers, real brands focus their activities on three key areas:

•  They invest in being indispensable. Like a good spouse, they never take their relationship with the consumer for granted. They strive for excellence, and study what their customers really need.
• They choose wisely. Real brands make purposeful sacrifices in order to sustain their relationship with their customers. They sometimes forego entire markets in order to be the best they can be for the market that loves them.
• They are trusted because they are consistent. Real brands are beloved for the same reason most marital spouses are beloved: because they provide a sense of safety. We don’t care much about safety when we’re flirting and dating, but when we “settle down,” and stop “playing the field,” marriage provides us with stability through shared commitment. Real brands commit to their customers, and in return they are loved.

 Laurence Vincent has developed strategies for some of the world’s most beloved brands, including Disney, MasterCard, Microsoft, the NFL, Sony Playstation, Four Seasons, and vitaminwater. He is head of The Brand Studio at United Talent Agency and lives in Los Angeles. His first book, Legendary Brands was published in 2001 and translated into 7 languages. You can find him on Twitter, Facebook, and Linkedin. You can read his blog for other articles on branding.

Jim Joseph on Whether Temporary Holiday Rush Employees Hurt the Brand

The following is a guest post by Jim Joseph, author of The Experience Effect, on how brand managers should think about customer service during the holidays.

We are entering the hectic holiday season and that means one thing: shopping! This is make-it or break-it time for many brands and almost all retailers. It’s a scary time for retailers in particular. The lion’s share of retail sales and almost all profits happen in the last two months of the year.

Retailers handle this surge in seasonal demand by bringing in temporary help to stock shelves and serve customers. The problem is that temporary employees are often not “in the game” like permanent employees, which can damage their store in ways that retail managers might not consider.

First, we have to recognize that retail employees are the brand. Employees on the floor are the face of the company—what shoppers experience and what the retailer ultimately stands for; they are the part of the brand that customers interact with.

The truth is that the holiday season may be the only experience that many shoppers have with the brand. This may be the only experience that they know or remember. So it better be good.

An employee that is “off brand” doesn’t represent the brand well. When a temporary employee doesn’t offer the same level of service as the other employees, then the experience won’t be ideal for the customer, and the customer may get a bad impression.

Good retailers avoid this trap by:

• Training. They prepare “Brand Books” and “Training Guides” to teach temporary employees about the brand, store customer service policies, and provide rules of engagement on the sales floor.
• Enlisting help from permanent employees. Retailers should engage the regular employees to help train and guide temporary employees. Empower them to monitor and report behavior that is not “on brand,” as well as to correct it.
• Recruiting former workers. Smart retailers bring back many of the same temporary employees year after year, especially those people that embody the brand and have a good memory for what to do from year to year.

Ultimately, good retailers orchestrate the overall retail brand experience. They actively think about the experience that they want their customers to have and what they want their customers to remember about their brand. They hire and train for that vision. They put the best people on the retail floor (temporary and permanent) and cast their employees as if they were putting on a show.

Because during the holiday season, in many ways they are! Have a great holiday season!

Jim Joseph is the author of The Experience Effect: Engage Your Customers with a Consistent and Memorable Brand Experience, President of Lippe Taylor and Professor at New York University (NYU).

Yesterday… Renee Evenson on Customer Service Training Tips for the Holidays.

Coming tomorrow… Customer Service During the Holiday Season Giveaway: Buying Styles.

AMACOM on NetGalley

The following blog post was taken from AMACOM’s BookBlast e-newsletter. Sign up for your free monthly e-newsletter HERE.

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AMACOM ON NETGALLEY
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BLACK FACES IN WHITE PLACES: 10 Game-Changing Strategies to Achieve Success and Find Greatness by Randal Pinkett and Jeffrey Robinson, with Philana Patterson

If the name Randal Pinkett sounds familiar, it may be because Pinkett was the first African-American winner on The Apprentice. When he won, this black man also became the only contestant to be asked to share his victory—with a white woman. The request (and Pinkett’s subsequent refusal) set off a firestorm of controversy that inevitably focused on the issue of race in the American workplace and in society. For generations, African-Americans have been told that to succeed, they need to work twice as hard as everyone else. But as millions of black Americans were reminded by Pinkett’s experience, sometimes hard work is not enough. Black Faces in White Places is about “the game”—that is, the competitive world in which we all live and work. The book offers 10 revolutionary strategies for playing, mastering, and changing the game for the current generation, while undertaking a wholesale redefinition of the rules for those who will follow. It is not only about shattering the old “glass ceiling,” but also about examining the four dimensions of the contemporary black experience: identity, society, meritocracy, and opportunity. Ultimately, it is about changing the very concept of success itself.

RANDAL PINKETT, PH.D. is the co-founder, chairman and CEO of BCT Partners, an information technology and management consulting firm. He was the season four winner of “The Apprentice.” JEFFREY ROBINSON, PH.D. is a leading business scholar at Rutgers Business School. PHILANA PATTERSON is a business news editor for the Associated Press.

Request BLACK FACES IN WHITE PLACES e-galley HERE.

NOW, BUILD A GREAT BUSINESS!: 7 Ways to Maximize Your Profits in Any Market by Mark Thompson and Brian Tracy

No matter what industry you’re in or what economic conditions you are facing, you can still build a phenomenally successful business. Bestselling business authority Mark Thompson and international success expert Brian Tracy have joined forces on a revolutionary book whose ideas are as inspiring and thought-provoking as they are accessible practical—and proven to deliver results. Now, Build a Great Business! reveals a series of seven powerful principles that will change your business for the better. Complete with examples of businesses of all kinds that are applying these methods to achieve remarkable profits in today’s economy, Now, Build a Great Business! shows that when you do what the most successful companies do, you too can get extraordinary results.

MARK THOMPSON is coauthor of the bestseller Success Built to Last, is an executive coach, leadership expert, and investor. Forbes has called him “a venture investor with the ‘Midas touch.’” BRIAN TRACY is a top business speaker, author, and consultant, addressing more than 250,000 people worldwide each year. He has written 45 books and produced more than 400 audio and video learning programs.

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ARMY OF ENTREPRENEURS: Create an Engaged and Empowered Workforce for Exceptional Business Growth by Jennifer Prosek

Imagine the benefits to be gained from a pool of employees who act as though they own the business: greater motivation, increased productivity, and a supercharged desire to succeed. As a young entrepreneur who turned a small PR business into a highly successful, international communications firm, Jennifer Prosek has experienced firsthand the power of instilling an “owner’s mind-set” in every employee. In Army of Entrepreneurs, Prosek presents an easy-to-follow action plan any company—large or small—can use to build a workforce dedicated to generating new business, creating new products and services, and sustaining growth. Great businesses aren’t built by a single leader or rainmaker. This book shows how to transform any workforce into a profit-generating army and reap the rewards.

JENNIFER PROSEK is the founder and CEO of CJP Communications, an award-winning international public relations and financial communications consultancy with offices in New York, Connecticut, and London. In 2009, Prosek was named an “Emerging Power Player” by PR Week magazine. CJP Communications was recognized as one of the “Top Places to Work in PR” by PR News in 2009 and named “Small Agency of the Year” in 2008 by The Holmes Report.

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WILD WEST 2.0: How to Protect and Restore Your Online Reputation on the Untamed Social Frontier by Michael Fertik and David Thompson

The Internet is like the Old West—a frontier rich with opportunity and hope, but also a rough-and-tumble land of questionable characters, dubious legal jurisdictions, and hidden dangers. And just like the Old West, if you want to stake out your territory, you have to get there first and fend for yourself. On the web, that means defending your good name and reputation before the attacks start. Because, despite the excellent product or service you provide, all it takes is one unhappy customer, jealous acquaintance, or unsavory competitor to start the rumors flying. Before you know it, search engines are regenerating that negative publicity every time someone researches you or your business. In the age of Wild West 2.0, everyone has an online reputation. Who do you want to create yours?

MICHAEL FERTIK (Redwood City, CA) is the founder and CEO of ReputationDefender, the world’s first comprehensive online reputation management and privacy company with customers in over 40 countries. A graduate of Harvard Law School, Michael serves on the advisory board of The Internet Keep Safe Coalition. He has appeared on “Dr. Phil”, “The Today Show”, “Good Morning America”, “The CBS Early Show”, “20/20″, and “Fox Business”, and been featured in publications including The New York Times, USA Today, Forbes, BusinessWeek, Investor’s Business Daily, and The Wall Street Journal. DAVID THOMPSON (Los Angeles, CA) is General Counsel and Chief Privacy Officer of ReputationDefender.

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THE ON-DEMAND BRAND: 10 Rules for Digital Marketing Success in an Anytime, Everywhere World by Rick Mathieson

Call it the digital generation. The iPhone-toting, Facebook-hopping, Twitter-tapping, I-want-what-I-want, how-I-want-it generation. By whatever name, marketers are discovering that connecting with today’s elusive, ad-resistant consumer means saying goodbye to “new media,” and hello “now media.” Featuring exclusive insights and inspiration from today’s top marketers—as well as lessons from some of the world’s most successful digital marketing initiatives—this eye-opening book reveals how readers can deliver the kind of blockbuster experiences that 21st century consumers demand. Spanning social networking, augmented reality, advergames, virtual worlds, digital outdoor mobile marketing, and more, this book presents an inside look at digital strategies being deployed by brands like Coca-Cola, Burger King, BMW, Axe Deodorant, NBC Universal, Doritos, and many others. Revealing ten essential secrets for capitalizing on the right mix of digital channels and experiences for any brand, this book reveals how to demand attention…before the audience hits the snooze button.

RICK MATHIESON (San Francisco, Calif.) is a leading voice on marketing in the digital age. Harvard Business School’s Working Knowledge calls him “a strategic marketing expert.” His insights have been featured in ADWEEK, Advertising Age, Wired, Broadcasting & Cable and on MSNBC, CBS Radio and NPR. A regularly featured speaker at industry events, Mathieson also serves as vice president and creative director for Creative i Advertising & Interactive Media, and is the author of Branding Unbound.

Request THE ON-DEMAND BRAND e-galley HERE.

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This blog post was taken from AMACOM’s BookBlast e-newsletter. Sign up for your free monthly e-newsletter HERE.

Spotlight On… The On-Demand Brand by Rick Mathieson

One of our titles has received a good response from the online community, so this week we thought we’d put our spotlight on The On-Demand Brand: 10 Rules for Digital Marketing Success in an Anytime, Everywhere World by Rick Mathieson.

Publishers Weekly wrote in its review:

Through persuasive arguments and q&a’s with the major players in advertising, Mathieson makes an excellent case for greater creativity and outside-the-box thinking backed up with solid ideas.

New Age Retailer had this to say in its review:

Whether you’ve taken your business digital or are still overwhelmed by the sudden wave of new technology, this book will help you understand how to engage customers profitably in the electronic world.

Ad Pulp wrote this in its review:

The On-Demand Brand is a great compendium of non-traditional marketing methods–which may quickly come to be seen as traditional ones.

Mind Connection said in its review:

So, this book isn’t some rubber chicken circuit person’s “book me for your next event” promo fluff piece. It’s really an advertising industry expert providing insights of various experts who are getting results in the real world.

Suite 101 had this to say in its review:

Mathieson’s book is a good entry point to learning best practices to implementing on-demand. It is a quick read filled with start to finish tips and techniques.

Blog Business World said in its review:

The book opens the marketer to the endless possibilities of on-demand branding, going beyond the tools, and presenting a new vision of a radical new approach to experiential marketing.

About.com had this to say in its review:

The On-Demand Brand thoroughly covers digital marketing and social media for business. Chock-full of case studies and interviews, this comprehensive book gives a solid foundation in establishing social media objectives.

Basil and Spice said this on its blog:

The author, Rick Mathieson succeeds at turning the traditional advertising and marketing concepts on their respective heads in The On-Demand Brand: 10 Rules For Digital Marketing Success

And finally, Suite101/ Advertising Influence said this in its review:

Rick Mathieson’s latest book is a great how-to tool for learning, creating and applying digital marketing techniques. It’s an On-Demand world now.

Rick Mathieson is a leading voice on marketing in the digital age. Harvard Business School’s Working Knowledge calls him “a strategic marketing expert.” His insights have been featured in ADWEEK, Advertising Age, Wired, Broadcasting & Cable and on MSNBC, CBS Radio and NPR. A regularly featured speaker at industry events, Mathieson also serves as vice president and creative director for Creative i Advertising & Interactive Media, and is the author of Branding Unbound.

Guest Post: Jim Joseph on Personal Branding

The following is a guest post by Jim Joseph author of The Experience Effect and President at Lippe Taylor .

I’m a marketer, and have been a marketer for my entire career. In fact I was one of those kids who knew I wanted to go into marketing for as long as I can remember. I used to watch the television commercials more than the shows, look at the print advertising more than the actual articles. Sounds weird, but I just loved it right from an early age.

The best thing about marketing is that anything can be a brand. Things we’d expect like Tide or Crest, but also a restaurant, a plumber, or any small business. Any business can be a brand.

Even people. Take a look at celebrities, as an easy example, because each one is a brand too, marketing their “products” to their target audiences. Lady Gaga is already a master, at an early age herself!

I’d like to propose that if we each thought of ourselves as a brand, and marketed our skills like a brand, then we might be more successful at getting what we want.

Think about it. A brand is really just a collection of ingredients that are consciously packaged together to deliver a certain set of benefits. And then those benefits are communicated to the target audience.

It could be said for people too. We are all a collection of skills. If we package our skills as benefits and communicate them to our target audience, whatever that may be, then we’ve just gone from being an average person to a successful brand.

We’re talking mostly work stuff here, although we don’t have to be limited just to our professional pursuits.

Carefully packaging our own skills as benefits to potential employers only makes common sense if you really think about it. Some would call it defining your brand. It’s a fundamental of good marketing, and of personal branding.

Take it to the next level. With brand in hand, write a marketing plan. Start by setting goals. Write down want you want to accomplish this year, and for the next two years. Knowing where you want to go is half the battle; now map out what you need to do to get there.

Need more skills to get that promotion? Need to showcase your accomplishments to the right person at work? Time to change employers to further build your resume?

These are the kinds of things that you should map out for your marketing plan, as part of your personal brand.

And then track your progress against your brand. Adjust what you need to keep progressing, and continually make sure that your personal brand is where it needs to be. Don’t be afraid to change and evolve as you begin to accomplish your goals.

Of course personal branding is not limited just to work. Our brands live with us 24/7, in and out of work. As part of the process, it’s also important to map your personal goals as well.

Remember that although there is a personal side to your professional brand, there should be consistency across the board. The choices you make in your personal life also reflect your brand, so choose wisely from a similar three-year plan on the personal side as well.

It’ll do your brand good.

Jim Joseph is the author of The Experience Effect and an award-winning marketing professional who specializes in building consumer brands. His client experience includes blockbuster brands like Kellogg’s, Kraft, Cadillac, Tylenol, Clean & Clear, and Wal-Mart.

Stay tuned for some summer interview tips from Lizandra Vega tomorrow!