GREAT BRANDS DON’T CHASE CUSTOMERS Brand Management
COMPEL NOT CHASE ➤
We are all drawn to people who express certainty about who they are. We respond naturally to their selfconfidence, and our relationships with brands are no different.
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Produces clarity and conviction for everyone who works on the business.
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This fully brand-centric approach to customers starts with compelling, not chasing, customers.
USING MAGNETIC APPEAL TO ATTRACT CUSTOMERS If you try to be all things to all people, you risk becoming nothing to anyone.
LULULEMON ➤
“We make a certain amount of product and the newness is what our guest wants. Our guest doesn’t want to be wearing what everyone else is wearing in yoga class, so we only make a certain amount of product.”
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Lululemon’s aversion to putting products on sale is an extension of the company’s brand identity. The objective is to condition customers to buy an item at full price when they see it, rather than wait for the next sale.
THE LIGHTHOUSE CONCEPT This lighthouse approach contrasts with the much more typical “spotlight” approach, one in which companies analyze category data to determine which customer segments are the most pro table and worthy of a spotlight.
THE LIGHTHOUSE CONCEPT ➤
Marketers have a tendency to dilute their messages because they don’t want their brands to seem exclusionary.
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If it doesn’t provide a clearly appealing message to a discrete target, a brand will lack distinctiveness.
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A sharply focused and clearly targeted message and offering resonates with some customers, even if it turns others off.
THE LIGHTHOUSE CONCEPT ➤
“Success as a Challenger comes through developing a very clear sense of who or what you are as a brand/business and why—and then projecting that identity intensely, consistently, and saliently to the point where, like a lighthouse, consumers notice you (and know where you stand) even if they’re not looking for you.”
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When you embrace and celebrate who you are, you attract the people who are destined to be your most loyal customers.
Get into groups and make a list of how Trader Joes brands itself. What makes it unique?
YOU CAN’T PLEASE EVERYONE ALL THE TIME When you try to treat everyone well, you risk withholding exceptional treatment from your best, most loyal customers.
“Customer centricity says, ‘Let’s find who the most valuable customers are and let’s do everything for them,’ [by offering] super duper service and more than that. For the other customers, [it says] ‘Eh, we’re glad to have their business, but it’s going to be more on our terms than theirs.’” In Fader’s estimation, the opportunity costs are too great to do otherwise.
NEEDS-STATES ➤
A “needs-based” segmentation research approach can identify several needs that a single person may have in different situations during the course of the day, which is a much more realistic assessment of buying behavior.
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Needs-states combine the purchasing attitudes of users with their purchase occasions. For consumer products, attitudes include such purchase considerations as design-consciousness, price-sensitivity, or the desire for innovative products.
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Needs-based segmentation allows for the fact that most individuals have more than one demand driver for products that they’re interested in. (for example?)
From there, the company was able to use the target segment insights to plan its product lineup
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Ultimately, the benefits of the needs-states method is that it reveals which of your customers’ emotional drivers are most powerful in relation to your products.
Most segmentation analyses are heavy on the “what” (customer behavior) but weak on the “why” (attitudes and motivations that stimulate behavior).
CREATING A BRAND-CENTERED CUSTOMER STRATEGY Before Virgin invests in an upstart challenger in any industry, it looks to five criteria that would qualify it for the Virgin label: it must be highquality, it must be innovative, it must challenge existing alternatives, it must provide good value for the money, and it must have a sense of fun.
BUILDING A BRAND PLATFORM WITH A COMPETITIVE BRAND POSITIONING Two elements make up a strategic brand platform. The rest is the brand identity—what the brand stands for. The second is the competitive brand positioning—how the brand compares to and competes with other options in the marketplace.
COMPETITIVE BRAND POSITIONING ➤
Clarifying your competitive brand positioning is essential to brand building because it defines who you are selling to, what your business scope is, and what you do to create value for your customers.
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Since all three of these factors are in constant flux, your competitive brand positioning should be regularly revisited and updated as needed.
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No matter how steadfast your commitment to your brand values, how you are different and how you compete can change from one season to the next.
3 WAYS TO DIFFERENTIATE
3 WAYS 1. Be First 2. Own an Attribute — identify a brand attribute that no one else is talking about or one that constitutes a serious weakness for your main competitor—and then adopt it as the defining attribute for your brand. 3. Specialize —Brands that stand out for customers— lighthouse brands— are powered by strong and clear differentiation.
GOOD QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF ABOUT YOUR BRAND ➤
Who are the best customers for our brand?
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What competitive position has the greatest relevance to and differentiation for our chosen targets and that we can consistently deliver?
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What differentiators give us the greatest competitive advantage?
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What do we have to start, change, or stop doing in order to really deliver on our brand identity and competitive positioning?
Brand positioning statement: “Only we design performance solutions that t athletes who are con dent in themselves and are driven to achieve.”
CONCLUSION
GREAT BRANDS EMPLOY BRAND ATTRACTION ➤
Chasing customers can drive down profits, blur your brand message, and, especially for retailers and other experienceoriented businesses, put your truly loyal and valuable customers at the end of the line behind people who aren’t now and never will be counted among your fans.
As Richard Branson puts it, “Our customers and investors relate to us more as an idea or philosophy than as a company. We offer the Virgin experience, and make sure it is consistent across all sectors. It’s all about the brand.”
AD DISCUSSION ➤
Kim Yuna — KB Bank
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George Clooney and Jack Black —Nespresso
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The Winning Moment — Nike
