The public perception of your brand is dependent on how you communicate with your audience.
On normal days when operations are business as usual, how are you perceived? During troubling times like the year 2020, how has your brand been perceived?

Perhaps now is the time to change public perception about you from negative to positive. Some of the brands highlighted below went beyond being everyday brands to human brands. They empathized with people and not only did this act change perception about them, but it also skyrocketed their sales.

The past few days have seen Nigerian youths stand up to protest police brutality in the country. The protest gained global momentum, becoming the center of discussion in many places.

In the middle of this, Chicken Republic chose to support the protest in a unique way. Unusual as it seems, the restaurant decided to share food with protesters in Lagos. For hours on the day, Chicken Republic was at the top of social media trends, with millions of Nigerians pledging their support to the brand.

Flutterwave also got a resounding applaud for leading the fund-raising campaign to support the protest. The impact of this was felt when the CBN summoned the Fintech, only to fuel the fire of a fresh protest.

This doesn’t say your business has to financially support social causes to be heard. In little ways that you can, the most important thing is to not be silent.

Be human, it goes a long way.

You should begin to own your voice on social media from the first word. 

“If you communicate you can get by,  but

if you communicate skillfully, you can work miracles”

– Jim Rohn

As a brand, if getting by is your goal then it is fine to continue without having a social media voice but if not, you need to find and own your brand’s tone.

Why is owning my social media voice important to a business?

For businesses, it has since become important not just to have a presence online but more importantly to have a voice and be able to own that voice. Is it safe to conclude that you must know why it is important that your business is on social media?

If you don’t know, it’s not too late to hop on this train so I suggest you read our other post on why your business should be on social media.

Here is an outline of a few steps to take in ensuring that you own your voice on social media. 

• Determine Your Tone. 

If you say the same joke as a comedian, will laugh the same way they’d laugh at the comedians’ jokes? Well, maybe not! 

Cos you don’t sound like a comedian. 

Safe to say, you don’t have the tone of voice!

You have to decide what kind of voice you want to project on social media and stay true to it. There are hundreds of options to choose from, ranging from happy, sarcastic, adventurous, bold, cool, creative, eccentric, friendly, fun, vintage, urban, etc, you can choose any adjective you want.

• Write the way you talk

It suddenly feels lighter when you do not have to send an email or write a formal letter right? That’s because it is easier to say it than to write it.

However, this should not be the case, you should write like you talk not like a robot or like you are writing an email. 

For instance, after a conversation with someone would you say “best regards”?, That will sound awkward right? So you’d rather say “see you” or “talk later”. The same applies to social media, avoid talking in a mechanical tone like an automated response.

People already have to inconveniently interact with machines, what you don’t want to do is add your social media platform as one of their ever-growing sources of discomfort.

• Think like the reader

Don’t just try to wear the shoes of the reader walk in them. Genuinely ask yourself, if you were a part of the audience you are talking to would you be interested in the industry jargon, would you like your own tone of voice?

If that answer is no then your audience is probably not interested too. What is the point of talking if nobody is interested in listening?

If your brand would want to come across as a ‘we-like-to-groove’, apart from the ‘hardcore’ values like ‘excellence’, ‘promptness’, ‘value-adding’, fun is part of who they are.

So it will not come as a surprise when you visit their social media pages and you feel it is fun.

Take the week! Audit your brand tone on social media!

But what happens if that customer buys once, and only once?

Fact is, true customer acquisition doesn’t end after the first purchase. The first purchase is a necessary step, but the second purchase is really the key to driving long-term value for your company.

If care is not taken, a first purchase could remain a one-time purchase only, and the business will miss out on potential repeat customers. Because, unfortunately, most buyers never engage with an initial brand again.

The challenge is that new customers haven’t yet formed a particularly strong association with your brand and thus, still need to be nurtured beyond an initial purchase.

Ensuring a customer gets their first purchase isn’t enough in terms of maximizing their lifetime value with your business, especially if you’ve spent significant resources acquiring that new customer in the first place.

The end goal shouldn’t be the first purchase – the end goal should be a second purchase, after which, customer retention has officially occurred and a customer is much more likely to return for additional purchases. However, if business owners haven’t recognized yet, that the second purchase is perhaps THE most important purchase in terms of driving customer loyalty, then they aren’t taking advantage of the biggest opportunity to go on to maximize customer lifetime value.

So it may well be time to shift some of your marketing focus from finding and engaging new customers to nurturing and convincing your existing customers. Here’s how, in 4 simple, yet strategic steps:

Identify First-Time Buyers

Now that you’ve decided to focus on convincing one-time buyers to make their next purchase, how do you do it effectively? There are many tactics to try, but first you may have to segment your group of buyers specifically. Without a targeted list of customers who have bought from your company just one time, there will be no way to market specifically to them. So, data is king here.

Many of your buyers will have interacted with your brand in multiple ways—in-person at stores, via your website, on social media platforms, and more. You need to be certain that you know exactly who bought what and when. To this end, the importance of record-keeping of your sales, online and offline is emphasized.

With the right data, you can then make sure you’re sending a second purchase campaign only to customers who have bought once. This makes for a very relevant and accurate marketing campaign.

Create Targeted Campaigns

With a reliable segment of your one-time buyers, you can then create marketing campaigns specifically pushing those target customers to make the next purchase. Create a second campaign after a few days, almost immediately following a first purchase; when interest is at peak, and the first-time buyers are likely going to be more responsive to recommendations for future engagement and repeat purchases.

The key to an effective second purchase campaign is, always, relevance and personalization. This would entail thinking about what exactly that customer may want or need, based on their first purchase, and offer it to them in an appealing way.

Some of the classic examples of a second purchase campaign are a discount, a related product offer, or a flash sale.

With the right targeted and personalized marketing to one-time buyers, you’ll ideally see more and more customers make a second purchase. Once you’ve gotten them to take the leap a second time, it’s only a matter of time before they buy again and again, and graciously refer other buyers to your business.

Give Recommendations for Second Purchase

From marketing statistics, “a loyal customer is worth up to 10 times the value of their initial purchase”. While a customer’s first purchase is in no way a set-in-stone sign of customer loyalty, it’s sure a signal of engagement and interest – and at that initial interaction, it is critical for business owners to take advantage of that window of opportunity.

This point reinforces the previous, and goes further to suggest that you cross-sell recommended products that encourage a second purchase to your first-time customers.

These recommended products could sell at a discount within a set time-frame, and letting your customers know the deadline for the discount offers; as this can instill prompt purchase and interest in a second buy.

It’s important to bear in mind, that for this cross-selling approach to work, recommended products will have to be complementary to their first purchase, or better still, in line with their needs, based on the data you would have gathered on them, during their first interaction with you.

Data could be as simple as their gender, their occupation, or the first purchase they made from your business. If a customer first buys a women’s jacket for instance, and you then offer a discount on men’s shoes to them, this cross-selling may not convert at all.

Tailoring your recommendations to the customer’s ‘needs’ or initial purchase, is where increased customer service and customer loyalty will indeed shine through.

Two Purchases are Better than One

On a final note, while getting a customer to a first purchase is great, it’s also critical to ensure that their journey with your brand doesn’t end there. Too often, business owners fail to continue to engage with customers after they’ve made their first purchase, and allow potentially high-value customers to slowly fade away.

When you ensure that a customer doesn’t just stop at a single purchase, you’re then able to take a more active role in maximizing their lifetime value, and relationship with your business.

So, how’s it going?

What’s your own retention story? What customer engagement metrics have you tried, that worked greatly in boosting loyalty?

You can share your story in the comments below!

_{credit: this article featured excerpts of wisdom nuggets on customer loyalty by Zaius}

Discover 8 ways you can thrive in the marketplace if you currently run a small business.

#1. Go straight to the point

Big brands can beat about the bush when it comes to marketing (online and offline), and still make sales, but not so for smaller brands. You just have to hit the nail on the head (with your message/offer) and let your audience know how your products/services will be of benefit to them. Focus on how you can help them, as opposed to how “great” your brand is.

#2. Deliver top notch customer services (satisfaction)

Let’s face it, customers/clients want the best services for their money, and in order for smaller brands to get their attention, they (the smaller brands) need to offer quality customer services. This is what brings about referrals and more sales. If the customer/client is happy and/or satisfied with the product/service delivered, then they will mention/refer the small business/brand to their network.

#3. Listen more

It’s true that the internet is noisy, and that’s because every business on the web is looking for a piece of the pie (they want to make sales). But in the midst of all the noise, buyers are asking questions and looking for solutions to their problems. When a smaller brand gets into the mood of paying close attention to these questions, then that brand stands a better chance of delivering better services, and also building up a database of loyal clients/customers down the line.

#4. Keep up to date

Marketing like it’s 1990 just won’t cut it in 2018 and beyond. There’s a reason why markets grow and also decline, and that’s because of what’s known as CHANGE. Things that work now may not work tomorrow. Take Facebook Ads for example… if you go into your Ads manager platform, you’ll immediately notice the changes, which means a new learning curve; so, keep up with the trends and research about your industry as much as you can.

#5. Tell your own story

Every business has a story to tell; and when that story is told properly, it has the ability to capture attention, connect/resonate, encourage, enlighten and also motivate people who watch and/or listen to it.

What’s the point of telling stories?

Good story = brand awareness

For Instance: A one minute video on Facebook shines the light on a small brand down in Ecuador South America, which uses waste (tons of empty milk boxes) to create tiles, build houses, make doors/boards, roofing, hoses, and many other things. The said video now has over 9.5 million views… in the comments, people are asking to know more, how to get involved, etc.

That’s what a good story is… short, simple, effective, positive impact, and straight to the point. So, what’s your brand’s unique story?

#6. Sell what works

The days of selling just about anything is no more. People buy what they know will work for them or what they want/need. This means your products/services must go through testing periods. This is why businesses do Beta testing, Customer Profiling, and sorts, mainly to get a feel of the market. If the responses are positive, then they stand the chance of achieving their sales goals through their product(s)/service(s). Whereas, if the responses are negative, they can re-strategize their business model, and test again.

#7. Encourage positive reviews/testimonials

People mostly buy from certain platforms , mainly because of the reviews they read about such platforms. Encouraging positive reviews/testimonials, goes beyond just asking your clients/customers to leave reviews… everything boils down to your customer delivery. If you serve them well (refer to point #2) then you’re more likely to receive positive reviews from your client/customers. In some cases, you don’t even need to ask them, they’ll do it voluntarily.

#8. Don’t try to be exactly like the big brands

Smaller brands can learn from bigger brands, but trying to be exactly like them is a surefire way to fail. People will pick on it immediately, which may lead to a boycott of your business (copycats don’t last). Small brands are unique in their own way, and all they need to do is carry on catering to their customers/clients, and build gradually from there. Big brands were at some point small brands, so it’s a matter of time/strategy for growth to occur.

Above all… Stay Committed to your Craft! 

You’re Not Alone

Running a small business can indeed be a tall order. 

Rethink your engagement with Phyllion for effective business and communication execution.

_{Credit: This article first appeared on digital doughnut}

What approach will be most profitable? What metrics would go into extinction, and we should quit engaging? What calculated risks do we need to take?

We’re all wondering what works BEST.

But what will we do today, if we knew exactly what would happen tomorrow..?

Finally! We found it!

We know exactly what would happen tomorrow and here we have 5 marketing metrics that would never change, nor go obsolete in 2018 (not even in your business) – take it, or take it.

P.S. These are the core marketing metrics that will enable your business stay profitable all year round and become wealthy, matter-of-factly. 

First, SEO will be More Important Than Ever

Breaking News: SEO isn’t dead! (yet).

Pretty much, many organizations have built their entire businesses from search engine optimization (SEO). And are still growing them.

How are we sure SEO isn’t dead?

Quick one: Are people still using Google to find products and services?

Yes!

Can we still influence Google by the content we write and the things we put on our website pages?

Very well, yes!

Therefore, SEO isn’t dead. Your company can win in organic search, and have its profitability skyrocket this year, by putting massive efforts into search engine optimization.

If SEO isn’t yet part of your marketing strategy for this year, then you really should think about it.

Second, Email marketing will Continue to be Important

But with a clause – Email marketing, done well.

Sure, email open rates may be low, and people’s inboxes may be cluttered; but that’s because it continues to be email marketing and not email communication.

Only, use email as an engagement tool with clients and not as a branding or advertising tool. Be intentional about providing value (and not just pimping your brand).

Make your email strategy pretty simple: be personable and be helpful. If you do this, your business will be 95% ahead of email marketers.

Meanwhile, email is still one of the most direct channels of marketing we have. So, your business should be engaging the platform the right way, in 2018. No brainer.

Third, Video will be More Important Than Ever

In the marketing planet, creating video content is the new cool. Vlogs, tutorials, animated content, interviews, how-to’s – video content should be part of your marketing strategy.

Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and Snapchat all love video. Video is great in email marketing. It is great for SEO.

Video is awesome.

When creating video content, follow the same rules as with email: be personable and be helpful.

Video content needs to be a part of your marketing strategy in 2018. Don’t second-guess it.

Fourth, Good Sales Copywriting will Make or Break Your Business this Year

A million visits to your website is good for statistics, but a hundred conversion is great for your business.

Be intentional about your sales copywriting this year. Strive not to only generate traffic; but more importantly to generate leads, and convert them to business deals.

Good copy is about helping people. It’s about making people care enough to do business with you. And good persuasion will always matter. Great client acquisition is always the result.

Fifth, Forget not that You’re Marketing to Real Humans with Real Needs and Desires

It is very easy to get absorbed in things like number of likes, links open rate, email bounce rate, and followers. But, beyond the numbers, the communication engagements of your business online, is to people – real people.

So, every care must be taken into the means of engagement, approach to communication, choice of words and style of interacting with your audience online.

Because all that communication are being received by real people. People with emotions, feelings, buying decisions – and brains.

Real, potential customers who may/will buy your products or services.

—–

And… There you go! The top 5 things your business should still be investing time, money and energy into, in 2018.

Why?

Because these things won’t change.

Then, what?

These metrics are still the most profitable marketing decisions your business would be making in 2018.

Easier said than done? Maybe, maybe not.

Let Phyllion help you rethink your engagement.

With in-depth understanding of who your target audiences are, what they care about and are willing to pay attention to, Phyllion creates content for your organization that enhances smooth running of your marketing campaigns.

Beyond the new year resolutions,

We hope that you will have written Goals on the tables of your heart; goals that you’d be so passionate about, to cause outstanding changes in your life and work.

Beyond the written goals,

We hope that you will develop Strategies, so viable enough that they will see you through the accomplishment of your goals.

Beyond strategies,

We hope that you will have series of Alternative Plans, so trustworthy enough that Head or Tail – whatever side the coin falls on, you will stay profitable in business all year round.

Beyond the alternative plans,

We hope that you will acquire Energy to grow each and every one of your plans into dreams, and never lose sight of your focus while doing so.

Beyond energy,

We hope that you will seek Direction, to make plans only in line with your big, audacious goals; and never be caught up in the crowd – but stand out, making a huge difference in business.

Beyond direction,

We hope that you garner Speed, that you run so fast while accomplishing your goals, and never lag behind your timelines and schedules.

Beyond speed,

We hope that you Reach your Goals, indeed. That you get to the peak of your performance where you are most profitable, and most productive.

Beyond reaching your goals,

We hope that you have Something to Learn all the way up. Methods to replicate, lessons to share.

Beyond having something to learn,

We hope that you Appreciate Learning from the Failures also. The trials, mistakes, disciplines and strengthening circumstances you would have gone through, in the process of becoming your goals.

We hope that you will learn that mistakes are a part of the process; because failure teaches success.

Beyond learning from the failures,

We hope that you find the strength to Keep Pushing, Keep Fighting, and Keep Winning!

Much more so, we hope that when the year comes with its opportunities in form of tests, trials and disciplines, we hope that this video is You!

“Without Commitment, you’d never start;

But more importantly,

Without Consistency, you’d never finish.”

Stay focused. Stay motivated. Stay committed. Stay consistent.

Happy New Year to you and yours, from all of us at Phyllion and Partners Limited!

See you at Work!

Welcome to 2018.

We are already there. Let’s help you re-think your engagement this time around, you don’t have to do it alone this time.

How would you describe your 2017 in 1 word?

Productive? Fulfilling? Disappointing? Depressing? Or perhaps, full of mixed feelings?… Fall Forward.

Denzel Washington said this best in one of his speeches:

“You will fail at some point in your life – accept it.

You will lose, you will embarrass yourself;

You will suck at something. There’s no doubt about it.

Thomas Edison conducted 1000 failed experiments;

Because the 1001st was the light bulb.

Fall forward.”

And, if the clip below describes your current situation;

“Never be discouraged, never hold back;

Give everything you’ve got.

And when you fall throughout life,

Remember this: Fall forward.”

What time is it in your Zone?

Perhaps, it’s time to learn from your failures; time to re-strategize.

Time to come back from your set-back…

Time to Fall Forward.

Phyllion and Partners Limited wishes you an inspiring end of the year!

And you don’t have to be alone in 2018. Let us do this with you!

I’M a nice customer. You all know me. I’m the one who never complains, no matter the kind of service I get.

I’ll go into a restaurant and sit quietly while the waiters and waitresses gossip, and never bother to ask if anyone has taken my order. Sometimes, a party that came in after I did gets their order, but I don’t complain. I just wait.

And when I go to a store to buy something, I don’t throw my weight around. I try to be thoughtful of the other person. If a snooty salesperson gets upset because I want to look at several things before making up my mind, I’m just as polite as can be. I don’t believe rudeness in return is the answer.

The other day I stopped at a full service gas station and waited for almost five minutes before the attendant took care of me. And when he did, he spilled gas and wiped the wind-shield with an oily rag. But did I complain about the service? Of course not.

I never kick. I never nag. I never criticize. And I wouldn’t dream of making a scene, as I’ve seen some people do in public places. I think that’s uncalled for. No, I’m a nice customer. And I’ll tell you who else I am.

I’m the customer who never comes back!

When I get pushed too far, I just take my business down the street to places where they’re smart enough to hire and train people who appreciate nice customers. And the world is full of nice customers, just like me, who can put anyone out of business.

I laugh when I see you frantically spending your money on expensive advertising to get me back, when you could have kept me with a few kind words, a smile, and some good service.

I’m your customer who never comes back.

– Author unknown (but nice)

The Greatest Customer You’ll Ever Win

The famous New York diamond dealer Harry Winston heard about a wealthy Dutch merchant who was looking for a certain type of diamond to add to his collection.

Winston called the merchant, told him that he thought he had the perfect stone, and invited the collector to come to New York to examine it.

The collector flew to New York and Winston assigned a salesman to meet him and show the diamond. When the salesman presented the diamond to the merchant, he described the expensive stone by pointing out all of its fine technical features. The merchant listened and praised the stone, but turned away and said, “It’s a wonderful stone but not exactly what I want.”

Winston, who had been watching the presentation from a distance, stopped the merchant going out the door and asked, “Do you mind if I show you the diamond once more?” The merchant agreed and Winston presented the stone. But instead of talking about the technical features of the stone, Winston spoke spontaneously about his own genuine admiration of the diamond, and what a rare thing of beauty it was. Abruptly, the customer changed his mind and bought the diamond.

While he was waiting for the diamond to be packaged and brought to him, the merchant turned to Winston and asked “Why did I buy it from you when I had no difficulty saying no to your salesman?”

Winston replied, “The salesman is one of the best men in the business and he knows more about diamonds than I do. I pay him good salary for what he knows. But I would gladly pay him twice as much if I could put into him something that I have and he lacks. You see, he knows the diamonds, but I love them.”

That story illustrates one of the single greatest principles of persuasion: People are far more persuaded by the depth of your beliefs and emotions than any amount of logic or knowledge you possess.

There is absolutely no substitute for an honest, unshakable, enthusiastic belief that the products and services your business offers are the best available anywhere. Couple this with a sincere passion for helping people, and you have an unbeatable combination for creating and keeping customers. And that’s why: The greatest customer you’ll ever win is you!

To put it another way, the greatest sale you will ever make is made the day that you buy your own product. Being totally sold on the value of what you have to offer automatically makes you a super salesperson.

Something to chew on: If you needed the same service your business is offering today, can you use your own service?

The Only Two Things People Ever Buy

Have you ever asked yourself, “What are our customers really buying when they do business with us?” While it may seem like a dumb question at first, it is definitely one of the most important questions that every employee from the chairman of the board to the front desk staff needs to know the answer to.

And the answer is not as obvious as you may think. You see, customers don’t buy what your company sells. Instead, they buy what those goods and services do for them. To illustrate, consider the following plea from an anonymous customer:

“Don’t sell me clothes. Sell me a sharp appearance, style and attractiveness.

Don’t sell me insurance, Sell me peace of mind and a great future for my family and me.

Don’t sell me a house. Sell me comfort, contentment, a good investment, and pride of ownership.

Don’t sell me books. Sell me pleasant hours and the profits of knowledge.

Don’t sell me toys. Sell my children happy moments.

Don’t sell me a computer. Sell me the pleasures and profits of the miracles of modern technology.

Don’t sell me airline tickets. Sell me a fast, safe, on-time arrival at my destination feeling like a million dollars.

Don’t sell me things. Sell me ideals, feelings, self-respect, home life, and happiness.

Please don’t sell me things. Sell me good feelings, and solutions to my problems.”

Despite all of the untold millions of products and services for sale in today’s marketplace, customers will exchange their hard-earned money for only two things:

• Good feelings
• Solutions to problems

The business world today is undergoing a major revolution in the way customers shop, buy, and decide to come back or take their business elsewhere. In the 1980’s, companies began to realize that the balance of power was shifting from sellers to buyers.

The customer’s message then was “Give me what I want, how I want it, or I’ll buy from someone who will.”

Today, that message has been expanded and amplified to “Give me what I want, how I want it, when I want it, at the lowest possible price, and make me feel special about it, or I’ll buy from someone who will.” Why are customers making such demands? Because they can. Today’s customer is better educated and better informed, and has more choices than ever.

Something to chew on: Is your business providing real solutions to customers’ problems?

Does your response rate to clients’ requests, delivery time, level of professionalism, customer service; make clients feel good about doing business with your organization?

To Keep Customers for Life, Ask these Platinum Questions

A young boy entered a drugstore phone booth and the druggist overhead the following conversation:

“Hello, is this the Smith residence…? I would like to apply as a gardener with your residence…

What’s that, you already have a gardener…? Is he a good gardener? Are you perfectly satisfied with all of his work…? Is he doing everything that you would like to have done?

Do you plan on keeping him? I see… Well, I’m glad you’re getting such excellent service. Thanks anyway. Bye.”

As he left the booth, the druggist remarked, “Johnny, I couldn’t help overhearing your conversation. I know it’s none of my business, but aren’t you the Smith’s gardener?

To which Johnny replied, “That’s right. I just called to find out how I’m doing.” At a very early age, Johnny has learned that the key to keeping customers is to regularly check up on what they like and dislike about his work.

No matter what business you’re in, you can’t improve on the rewards you offer your customers until you know what they like and dislike about the job you’re doing now. And you get the precise knowledge by asking them the platinum questions:

How are we doing?

How can we get better?

Finding the answers to these two questions, tells you:

• The customer’s perception of your quality of service
• What to do in order to increase that perception.

The big deals aren’t so much in winning customers, as they are in keeping customers. And you keep customers by providing better service than your competitors, as your customer perceives it.

Something to chew on: How are your customers perceiving your business?

Do you have metrics for receiving customers’ feedback about your organization’s services?

Knowing how to win and keep customers is the single most important business skill that any business should learn. Master this one skill, and there are literally thousands of deals that can make you wealthy!

]]> https://www.phyllion.com/are-nice-customers-ruining-your-business/feed/ 0 https://www.phyllion.com/better-brand-better-better-product/ https://www.phyllion.com/better-brand-better-better-product/#comments_reply Sat, 23 Dec 2017 14:38:04 +0000 http://phyllion.com/?p=5614

Is this actually the best smartphone?

• What’s the best energy drink? Red Bull, of course.
• What’s the best coffee? Starbucks, of course.
• What’s the best smartphone? The iPhone, of course.

“Perception isn’t always half the battle;

Sometimes it’s the entire battle.”

– Al Ries.

In the marketing community, there is a struggle between two schools of thought. One school is focused on the product. The other school is focused on the brand.

The product school believes that the ultimate winner in every marketing battle is the product. If this is so, then goes the thinking, the role of a company’s marketing program is to communicate the features and benefits of a company’s product, in a way that is clearly superior to its competitors.

So if you want to become market leaders like Red Bull, Starbucks, and the iPhone, you need to develop a better product or service than they already do. Then hire the best advertising agency you can find, to communicate your superiority message.

How can anyone believe otherwise?

With all the evidence on the side of the product school, how can anyone believe the brand is more important than the product? The key insight is perception.

There are no facts. Everything in life is perception. There are no superior products. There are only superior perceptions in consumers’ minds.

The role of perception

There’s no question iPhone has the perception of being the best smartphone. The same is true of Starbucks and coffee. Red Bull and energy drinks.

What can we learn about perceptions? They are very difficult to change. Once a person holds a strong perception about a specific brand, it’s extremely difficult to change that perception.

Developing a better energy drink than Red Bull is a simple task compared to developing a better perception than Red Bull in consumers’ minds.

Perceptions are usually difficult to change. When was the last time you changed your mind about a brand?

The role of timing

The product school doesn’t need to worry about when to launch a brand. At best, it might be wise to delay the introduction of a new brand in order to have the extra time to develop a superior product.

The brand school however thinks differently. Since perceptions are difficult to change, then it’s critical to get into consumers’ minds before the competition does. That’s why leader brands are usually first in their categories.

Motto of the brand school: It’s better to be first than it is to be better.

The role of difference

Only a handful of brands can be first. So how can an also-ran overtake a leader? The brand school has an answer for that question, too.

Be different.

Enterprise Rent-A-Car, a rental company in the USA, wasn’t necessarily better than Hertz. But it was certainly different. Instead of locating its rental counters in airline terminals (like Hertz, Avis, National and almost everybody else), Enterprise Rent-A-Car opened up in the suburbs.

Today, Enterprise is the largest car-rental company in America. Not Hertz.

Again, Motto of the brand school: It is better to be different than it is to be better.

Robert Galbraith vs. J.K. Rowling

J.K. Rowling is the first author to become a billionaire by writing books. Her “Harry Potter” books were translated into 55 different languages in 200 countries, and sold more than 450 million copies.

So what happened when J.K. Rowling wrote a novel (The Cuckoo’s Calling) and had it published under a different name (Robert Galbraith)?

Nothing. In spite of favourable reviews, “The Cuckoo’s Calling” sold less than 1,000 copies. Then word got out that the book was actually written by J.K. Rowling, and it almost immediately jumped to the top of the best-seller lists. In just a few months, the book had sold 1.1 million copies.

What’s more important; the book or the author?

What’s more important; the product or the brand?

Case-in-Point for Your Business

Develop a better brand, not a different product. Waste no time trying to compete with your competitors; rather, invest more time on improving your customers’ perception about your brand.

How do your customers perceive you? Your service? Level of professionalism? Business ethics? Industry knowledge?

Remember, your customer’s perception is your reality. It is everything about your brand.

Have you got a product/service that needs a high touch of branding? Let us help you re-think your customer engagement for effective business goals. See what we do best here.

Credit: This article first appeared on Ad Age by Al Ries.

“The first logo of your business is your mind.

      Branding starts from the mind, not your website.”

– Phyllion and Partners Limited

He is black, was born in February 1963 in Brooklyn, New York slums. And he couldn’t see any further, what hope for the future he had.

The 13-year old boy that year, was one day called by his father who handed him an old piece of sweatshirt: “This shirt can be worth?” “Probably one U.S. dollar” Michael replied. “You can sell it?” his father asked, looking at him with quizzical eyes. “The fool would buy!” Michael replied.

“Why not try to sell it? If you do, can be considered to help me and your mother.”

Then he nodded. Michael carefully washed the old torn shirt, ironed it and brushed out old wool from it. The next day, he took the cloth to a crowded subway station. After more than six hours of trying to sell, he finally sold the piece of shirt.

Ten days after, Michael’s father handed him another piece of old T-shirt. “Think about it, how about selling this shirt for 20 dollars?” “How could? Such an old garment! The maximum value of this shirt is two U.S dollars.” Michael replied, startled.

“Why do you not try it?” his father inspired. “Think about it, there is always a way.”

Finally, he thought of a good way. Remembering an old cousin who knew how to draw very well, and studied at an Art school; Michael had his cousin draw a cute Mickey Mouse graphics on the old piece of cloth.

Afterwards, he chose to sell the piece of shirt by standing in front of a school for noble kids. A moment later, a car turned out from the school compound; a young housekeeper alighted and bought the piece of shirt for his little master. The ten-year old school boy loved the art work on the shirt, and turned to give Michael a 25 dollar tip. Twenty-five U.S. dollars! Which was undoubtedly a huge sum of money at the time. Equivalent to the wages of his father in January.

After returning home, his delighted father gave him another old piece of shirt: “You can sell this piece of shirt for $200?” This time, Michael did not hesitate; he took the shirt, left quietly and started thinking.

Two months later, the opportunity finally came. The popular movie, “Charlie’s Angels” starring John Forsythe, came to New York publicity. After the press conference, young Michael suddenly pushed through the security, jumped at John Forsythe, holding the piece of shirt, and pleaded with him to sign his name on it.

John was surprised a moment, but immediately smiled and said, “I think no one would deny an innocent child.” John swiftly went ahead to sign his name boldly on the shirt.

Summing up courage, Michael raised the autographed shirt among the crowd: “John Forsythe’s Autographed T-shirt at $200!” During the auction, an oil merchant bought the shirt at a high price of $1,200.

Back home, Michael’s father was moved to tears; kissing his forehead, he whispered to Michael, “You have done awesomely well, my child. And I want you to know, there is a lot of $ value even on an old piece of shirt, depending on how noble your mind prizes it.”

In that moment, Michael’s heart lit up and said to his father; “Even an old piece of cloth has a way of becoming noble. So there’s no reason to sell ourselves short!”

From then on, the young boy began trying to learn, work hard, and always full of hope for the future. Twenty years later, his name has spread to every corner of the world. His name is Michael Jordan.

Today, Michael Jordan is a famous billionaire and co-founder of Nike Air Jordan Series; winner of several NBA Championships.

And here is the golden question: “How much is your old piece of shirt worth?”

And guess the answer? “It is worth as much as your mind prizes it as noble.”

And why? “Well, because your greatest brand is your mindset!”

So, how much is your business worth?

And guess what the answer is..?