Brand Identity part 2 of 3

 Have you given more thought to your brand and who your trying to reach? Great question right? Hi I'm Jeffrey Bernhard Many companies spend all their time perfecting the product and not the image. Some would argue that perfecting your brand is just as important. Most companies however, wait until the product launches and then they try and figure out what the brand is. Big mistake. Branding is much more intricate than you might think. For example, you have Brand advocates, brand communities, brand equity, brand name imprinting, and brand personality to just name a few. Let's talk about all of these briefly. So first lets talk about brand advocates. Brand advocates are probably exactly what you think they are. These are people who write about your brand online. They click and share just exactly how they use your product, what they like and dislike about it as well. These consumers work for and against you but are extremely valuable to your brand. Brand Communities is next and I like to describe this community by using Jeep as an example. You see, Jeep consumers are hardcore advocates for anything Jeep. You have Jeep clothing, Jeep accessories, Jeep everything really. They are selling a lifestyle, not a product. In fact, Jeep communities get together on the weekends and go off-roading and camping and people get married as a result of driving Jeeps. Crazy you might think, but hardly. Strong branding is the name of the game at Jeep. Every company could take a page out of the branding book at Jeep. Next is brand equity, now brand equity is the positive associations the customers feels as a result of the brand and loyalty that's associated with it. For example, when you think of a motorcycle what comes to mind? Harley Davidson should be the first brand you think of. The customers that ride Harleys buy the Harley jacket, boots, gloves, bumper sticker, t-shirts and it doesn't end there. This has one of the strongest brand equities in possibly the entire world. Very loyal customers, that is unmatched in every other brand of motorcycle. Imagine being at a Christmas party and the guy next to you says he rides and you ask what kind of bike and he says Harley and asks what you ride and you say Suzuki? Suzuki's are great but you get the point. Next is brand name imprinting which is simply linking a brand to a category in memory? For example, Tabasco to hot sauce, or Tropicana to orange juice. Now many scientist argue over the best method for brand imprinting whether it be saying the name several times before they show you the product or afterwards. Brand personality is next and it's a set of traits that people link to a product as if it were a person. A great example would be Apple computer products. Of 20,000 people surveyed they said that Apple users were more likely to be power hungry elitist, well-educated, interested in finance and banking. Wow. I have seen plenty who are just the opposite who use Apple products. I have much more to cover on this topic and it only gets more intriguing as we go along. If you have any questions feel free to leave them on my blog or send them to me on LinkedIn. I would be happy to help, if you need me to help you with your product, reach out to me, I look forward to hearing from you, as always, have a great day!.

Brand Identity

 What is your brand identity? Can people identify your brand? Hi there, I'm Jeffrey Bernhard and welcome back. I wanted to make this quick video and talk about your brand identity and how you can improve it. We all have different thoughts and ideas about who we are or what are products represent. Think about it this way. If I were to ask you "who are you" as opposed to your wife, husband, kids, john q public, I am certain we would have much different answers. Are you still thinking about who you are or what your product represents? Yes, no? It's not important right this minute but its essential that you figure this out before you spend another penny advertising or trying to get the word out about your product. You see, many people or companies feel that if the product is good, people will just come and buy it, and maybe they will. They wont however return to purchase it unless they feel that it has benefited them on several different levels. Think about starting a new power bar line. Would you just buy a power bar because you need energy or because it tastes good? Maybe, but you would still continue to search until you found one that fit everything you were looking for. Think about what Clif Bar is doing right now. They are a lifestyle food. They are not looking for people to casually purchase these and put them in briefcases and lunchboxes. They want you to make them part of your life. When I say part of your life, I mean that on every level of the word. They don't want to be some treat you reach for when you have hunger, they want to be the food that inspires you to do great things. They want to participate in your greatness as a person. They want to be part of your inspirational story. Step by step and bite by bite they want to be there with you every step and shortfall of the way. They want to earn the glory and the fame with you and that's why they are on fire. So I know your thinking, wow, Jeffrey that's a lot for a energy bar company and that commands an incredible budget right? Wrong! They have had this stance since the beginning and you're the one who is just now becoming hip to it. There target has been pretty tight and now they are executing it perfectly. Now that I have given you a great example, I'll ask you again. Who are you? Who is your product? Does it just taste good? If so, you need serious help in this area if you plan on competing on this level. Now I only used Clif as an example, there are a million others like Disney, Campbell's Soup, Oreo cookies, Oakley sunglasses, Starbucks coffee, Apple Computer, Haagen-Dazs Ice Cream, Butterfinger, Ramen Noodles, even Duracell has a great brand identity! Now think about your brand identity. Where do you fit in amongst the competition? Do you need help with your brand or identity? If so I will leave some helpful links down below. As always if you have any questions feel free to leave them on one of my blogs. If you would like my help, send me a message on LinkedIn. As always, take care and have a great day!

Product Launch Pitching

Lets talk for a minute about product launching. What type of product are you considering? Have you thought about what's actually easier to build? Liquid, solid, or service?  The point is this, maybe your product is more cost effective by using a dry form instead of a liquid form.  I like to use this as an easy example so that you can begin to think about what the difference in shipping weight would be.
A better example would be a dry soup next to a jar of soup.  We know that the dry soup is so much cheaper to deal with but the wet soup might be an easier sell.
Consider the ease to startup. Is your product easy to pitch? Can the people understand your business model? These are all good questions that you should think about.  If you have the cure for a disease but can't sell it, what good is it?  Think about how you are going to focus your pitch.  We are always selling so keep this in mind.  You need to organize your main key points and focus on 3 major points.
1.  What is my product?
2. What problem will it solve?
3. What is my value proposition?
4. What do I need at this time?
Okay so that's 4. The fourth one is really important though.  Think about asking the people watching for what you need the most. Whether its money, technology, or social media marketing.  Ask for some help.  This will open doors for you.
Selecting a product or type of product is a very difficult process.  You will experience several pitfalls and will need to keep moving forward.  Don't fall short!

Branding and product image

Sensory Marketing

Sensory Marketing

Have you ever noticed the smell of lemongrass at your favorite hotel chain? Or do you remember hearing chimes when you were on hold? Yes, no? Hi I’m Jeffrey Bernhard and welcome back.  I want to talk to you today about sensory marketing and how companies use your senses to sell.  This is part of my consumer behavior research and there are several books on this topic and like anyone else, I have my favorites that I read on the subject.  So let’s jump right into it.

As incomes rise, people want their experiences to rise with it. A great example is a young entrepreneurial team that created a product called Method cleaning products.  Now what made Method different? They marketed cleaning solutions in exotic scents such as cucumber, lavender, and clementine.   Then Target picked them up to sell on the shelves.  The rest is history.

Omni Hotels did a similar thing in sensory marketing.  If you go to their website to reserve a room, they play soft wind chimes in the background to put you at ease and make you feel relaxed, the smell of lemongrass and green tea is pumped throughout the lobby.  In the room you will find eucalyptus bath salts and sensation bars, the minibars have mojito flavored jellybeans, and miniature Zen gardens. 

I know what your thinking, wow Jeffrey that’s pretty amazing stuff.  I know, but it doesn’t stop there, people will also pay extra for sleek styling such as Apple products.  Apple taps into your visual channel through color, size, and styling. 

Now I know that colors can influence your emotions and thought processes.  I covered that in an earlier blog about a week ago or so.  Did you know that men rate women more attractive when they wear red as opposed to blue? Same woman.  Just a higher rating because of the color.  I know it sounds crazy, but it’s the truth.

Now odors and scents are becoming more mainstream. The country of Lithuania has started a new fragrance called what else “Lithuania.”  They are pumping this smell in government buildings and hotels around the country. Students are smelling this scent in their dorms and libraries this is to convey the countries image.  Folgers found that for many people, the smell of coffee brings back memories of childhood and capitalized on this by featuring a son returning from the military and as he arrives home early one morning, he turns on the coffee machine.  The mother who is upstairs in bed smells this aroma and simply says “he’s home!”  Do you remember this commercial? I can provide a link to it down below.  It’s great stuff to consider if you have a product out there or looking to launch a product soon. 

If you want these tips or facts to come right to you, subscribe and I can send them to you as I put them up on my blog or channel.  If you would like to send me a question, just leave it on my blog or connect with me on LinkedIn.  I look forward to talking with you soon. As always, take care and have a great day!

Bartering with your product or service

Bartering with your product or service allows you to open up the doors to many customers or consumers that you have would have passed on you otherwise. Now I don't want to just state the obvious where they tell others that bring in more customers. This is not the only benefit. You see, most of these people had zero intention of purchasing your product or service in the first place. You could possibly have a homerun of a customer that never knew your product or service was out there. Once they find you, they could turn into a regular customer who requires all types of services. The customers that you gain from bartering can really boost your sales if you can turn them into longterm customers. The difference between a customer and a client is that the customer comes in once and the client comes all the time. They use your services different. The more customers that you turn into clients means more money in your pocket. The more money in your pocket means that you can concentrate your efforts into making more money somewhere else yourself. Okay so what are some good examples of where should I barter? If you sell a product think about door prizes. If you can get into a gift basket thats a door prize at a function, this will help you tremendously. If you provide a service, such as a carpet cleaning business, give a free one away to someone who has contact with several people. This can help you tremendously in the long run. I am sure he can distribute your business card especially if you help him or her out. The can pay off several times over. I did this constantly as you can tell by the video. Just watch the video to hear of a couple examples of how I did just this in the past.

Branding and Co-branding your product

Video on co-branding

Your brand and community involvement

Is the community involved in your brand? Do you have other people in the community that are helping you spread the word?  Hi I’m Jeffrey Bernhard and welcome back! I wanted to share a 3-minute video with you about your brand and ask if you have the backing of your community?  This is a very important question that will most certainly affect your success. 

Most companies have great marketing plans, budgets, consumer research, social media, but they don’t consider community involvement until they have been established for some time.  By then, the community can only help in certain ways like social media and word of mouth.  When you involve the community from the start of your project, you open up a world of opportunities for all of those around you.  Think about hiring local people who can really help you not only in selling your new product, but getting the word out and about in their social areas.  I would hire local kids from the high school to come and work for me on various levels.  This did a number of things from getting them involved, to bringing in their parents.  This sends a great message to other parents and students.

If you are trying to push your new product in the community why not think about sponsoring the local boy scout troop, the towns 5 and 10k, or how about a local YMCA sports team?  These are all good ideas that have worked for several companies. Now if you’re thinking that this type of planning is too small for you, it worked for Red Bull.  This is how they broke in to the adventure sports arena.  They were sponsoring local adventure sports and venues and now they own them all!  They sold over 2 billion cans last year.  The playing field on the community level for them was wide open.  We know that communities love to support a local person.  Tap into this resource and see where it takes you.  Don’t forget the five most successful companies all started in garages.  Apple, Amazon, Disney, Google, and Mattel all started in a garage.  Now every person in this country has something in his or her garage from one of these companies. How ironic is that?  So the point is, never discount the importance of resources in your community. Tap into them and use them for your projects, they can help you on several different levels. 

We all know that communities stand together and help each other.  They can help you with sales, marketing,  and can bring a wonderful set of new avenues and ideas that you have never considered. The people can open up all types of new doors for your business and your products.  Remember that success is really never far from where you suspected it was.  It’s never exactly where you look, but when you find it, you were always close.  You just never thought about it in that way before.  This is one of the things that makes business so exciting.

If you would like to speak with me, reach out to me on LinkedIn or send me a message at the bottom of one of my blogs.  I would be happy to come out and take a look at your product and help you increase your sales, distribution channel, and give you an evaluation of what your product needs to make it.  I hope to speak to you soon.  As always, take care, and have a great day!