The Valuable Complaint

Many employees, especially those that work in customer service, find customer complaints to be a nuisance. Complaints are often looked at as a negative aspect of doing business; a component that simply needs to be addressed and dealt with on a regular basis. However, a customer complaint is an opportunity to understand what really matters to the customer, and to gain a deeper understanding of the target audience. Companies should look at complaints as a blessing in disguise, and use customer complaints to improve their products and services; helping them to achieve greater market share and customer loyalty. 

It's all smiles for Michael as he increases his number of stores, and his profits.
But when will consumers catch on? And when will it catch up with Michael Kors himself?

Lets discuss a recent experience I had at a Michael Kors store in the Eaton Centre downtown Toronto. I was gifted a Michael Kors watch that was quite large and needed to be resized. Fortunately for me, Michael Kors offers free watch resizing at any of their locations. I simply had to visit one of the locations to get my watch resized on the spot. Sounds easy right? Wrong. On my first visit to the store, the sales associate asked me to wait four hours to get my watch resized, because she was just "too busy." The next day, on my second visit, the tool that they use to do the watch resizing was apparently broken. Long story short, on my third visit to a different Michael Kors store (no longer the Eaton Centre location), I was able to get my watch resized. 

I was dissatisfied with the level of customer service I received from Michael Kors and consequently, emailed their customer service department. Unfortunately I received the typical "we value your concern" email. Needless to say, I am concerned for Michael Kors' financial health moving forward. After a recent IPO, they now have the funds and resources required to grow their number of stores to approximately 400 retail locations. If they can't appropriately manage customer complaints with their current locations, what makes them think they can maintain their level of customer service, and inherently their brand image, with 400?

Brand Ownership

"One of the most common mistakes in business is assuming that the brand is owned by marketing. Marketing owns the brand because they develop it through advertising, or promotions, or logo work, or merchandising, right? Wrong. Marketing is the quarterback, calling the plays for the brand, but every person and every department is crucial to the brand's success." - Donna Heckler, renowned brand researcher and Fortune 500 branding executive

The quote above is an excerpt from the book The Truth About Creating Brands People Love, written by Brian Till and Donna Heckler (a must read, by the way). They have a solid argument in saying that a brand message needs to be delivered consistently by all employees within an organization. Without a consistent, coherent, and impactful brand message, customers will lose sight of what the brand represents. Unfortunately, delivering a single brand message is difficult for so many large corporations.

Let's look at one company who does it right.

Walmart

Sam Walton, and his first store, located in Bentonville Arkansas. 

Sam Walton founded Walmart in 1962 with a 'no frills' mentality. This mentality helped him provide consumer packaged goods to price conscious consumers, and ultimately led to Walmart becoming the largest retail operation in the entire world. In order to provide Walmart customers with Everyday Low Prices and consequently, great value; a 'no frills' mentality still exists amongst all employees today. How is this message communicated by all facets of Walmart?

1. Merchandisers. Merchandisers at Walmart continue to select reasonably priced products for everyday people. Price is oftentimes the communication of value for a brand. Subsequently, Walmart's products are true and tested, great value brands. 

2. Marketing. Marketing passes the test through their enactment of the price match guarantee program, implemented this holiday season. If a customer found a retailer in the area offering a product for less than what Walmart does, Walmart would honour the other retailer's low price while simultaneously providing the customer with a gift card. (This is definitely marketing genius; sends a strong brand message to the consumer while encouraging another visit to one of their stores).

3. No Frills Headquarters. In Walmart Canada's head office, there are no marble floors and granite countertops. The head office is kept fairly plain and simple, but that is what makes it beautiful. Although Sam Walton has passed, his legacy lives on in the linoleum floors of the head office, and is a signal of Walmart's dedication to value.

4. Sustainable Actions. Walmart is probably greener than you think. Although the recent green movement experienced by the western world over the past ten years is deemed as trendy, Walmart has adopted it for both social and financial reasons. Through switching to renewable energy in its stores, Sam's Clubs locations, and distribution centres, Walmart has been able to decrease their operating costs and pass their savings onto customers. 

My discussion of Walmart's merchandise, marketing strategies, headquarters, and sustainability department represent only a small portion of all the departments that contribute to Walmart's strong brand message. Despite Walmart's behemoth size, they successfully continue to unite employees to communicate the following message: great value.

Comfort can be a four letter word.

This week the movie rental retailer Blockbuster closed its remaining 253 Canadian stores. Victimized by pay TV, online rentals by companies like Netflix, and illegal downloading, Blockbuster could no longer compete successfully. 


Why did this happen?


Blockbuster got too comfortable. They became too comfortable with their typical brick and mortar locations and were too late to innovate and adapt to the changing habits of consumers. Competitors realized there was an opportunity - an opportunity to capitalize on the convenience factor of not leaving the couch to watch the newest flick (now made possible by technology and speed of delivery). 


Another example of a company that got too 'comfortable' with their strategy was The Gap. Think back to around the 2000s. The Gap was a cool, fashionable place to shop. I remember my mother giving gift certificates to The Gap to all of my cousins for Christmas, and watching smiles spread across their faces as they opened their gift. Unfortunately The Gap became boring and continued to offer the same clothes season after season.


Why couldn't The Gap and Blockbuster alter their strategy and get back on track?


By the time a company realizes they need to change their strategy - it's already too late. I'm a true believer that if you're too comfortable in the marketplace, you're doing something wrong. 


Check out Gap's recent rebranding efforts:


http://www.youtube.com/user/Gap?blend=11&ob=5#p/u/0/ER-iKU0pntY


I like purchasing from companies who are original. As far as The Gap's rebranding goes, it's a little too 'American Apparel' for me (Helvetica bold anyone?). But you decide. Is Gap too comfortable? Or is their rebranding strategy a winner?

The Effectiveness of Traditional Mass Media

I've always thought that traditional mass media was losing it's effectiveness. More specifically, I had this preconceived notion that television commercials and newspaper advertisements are ineffective.


Why?


We as North Americans lead hectic lives. We have so much going on, so much to think about, that we tend to tune out unimportant advertisements and commercials because our brains are constantly thinking about what task we will tackle next. Not only are we busy, but we are exposed to so many advertisements that we eventually tune them out. In the world of marketing, this is referred to as "noise."

Think about this, recall three advertisements from the latest newspaper. Can't recall any? Well neither can I.


How about television commercials? Can you recall three commercials from the last show you watched? I can't either...


An article I read a few days ago from the Globe and Mail completely changed how I thought about television commercials. If television commercials are so ineffective, then why did 30 seconds of Super bowl air time sell for a record price of over three million?


I then realized I have it all wrong. I am not being specific enough about the ineffectiveness of television commercials. What I have been meaning to say, is that the effectiveness of television commercials is seriously reduced when the audience is indifferent between watching the programming live or recording the program to watch at a later date. 

The Super bowl is watched by millions of fans in real-time. Therefore, many fans are sitting there, glued to the television set, intently watching both the programming and the commercials. This is also true of the olympics, various sports programming, the news, and popular reality TV shows. 


Are television commercials still effective? Or are you simply increasing your cost per customer acquisition?

You're All Thinking It.

"Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower."

 - Steve Jobs

As you probably already know, Steve Jobs recently resigned as Apple's CEO. Pretty startling news saying that Apple is dominating in the smartphone market, and seeing major success with its Ipad.

Do leaders really determine the success or failure of a company? Or is a strong team of hardworking, dedicated employees with innovative ideas enough to maintain number one market share? 

Jobs' leadership has had significant influence over the Apple brand throughout the years. There was a time when Jobs left Apple, but later returned as CEO in 1997. Six months after his arrival, the Apple brand seemed to take off. Prior to his return Apple was struggling financially- they weren't profitable.

In 1998 Jobs was able to restore profitability and significantly increase sales through launching a marketing campaign around the slogan 'Think Different.' This campaign spread the idea that people who used Macs were "dreamers that could change the world." While Microsoft was focusing on selling the attributes of it's products, Jobs was focusing on the feelings associated with the purchase and use of his products. (As I blogged about before, if you can tie an emotional feeling to your product, you have a winner).

        How does this tie into leadership? 

This summer I read the book Onward, written by Howard Schultz, CEO of Starbucks. He spoke about how Starbucks lost its way after he resigned as CEO. It was not until his return as CEO that the company started to see the same successes they had once been familiar with. I'm wondering if the same will happen with Apple. We've seen a strong correlation between Apple's success and the return and resignation of Jobs as CEO. 

        Will Apple continue to 'Think Different'? Or will they slowly creep into the status  
        quo? 

Pita Put Off

I love the Pita Pit. I think they have a lot of good things going for them. They have capitalized on the healthy eating trend and established their retail locations when this trend was exponentially gaining popularity. Not only have they capitalized on the biggest nutritional phenomenon of the decade, but they have a slogan that says it all:

"Fresh Thinking, Healthy Eating."

Well yes... Their ingredients are fresh and their product offerings are healthy; but I'm not sure about the "fresh thinking" aspect when it comes to their advertising efforts. Below is a picture that I snapped with my camera phone during my weekly visit to my local Pita Pit.  

I've been visiting the same location all summer on lunch hour, and this sign has been bothering me for the past four months. Well, it's not just one sign, there are actually ten of these signs. 

So what's wrong with them?

These signs are located in front of Pita Pit parking spaces. By the time I see the sign, I've already made the decision that I'm going to Pita Pit to devour delicious food. These signs aren't compelling me to buy more pitas, and they're not driving me to visit Pita Pit when I wouldn't have otherwise. Therefore, I see these signs as a waste of Pita Pit's advertising budget.

Assuming that each sign costs ten dollars, that means that this location spent approximately 100 dollars on these signs. I know it doesn't sound like a lot, and in the scheme of things, it isn't. However, this 100 dollars could have been used effectively. For example, Pita pit could have given away ten free pitas spontaneously throughout the year. Imagine walking into Pita Pit, ordering your pita, reaching for your money, and the cashier saying "Don't worry, this one's on us." I think that this approach would evoke one of the two following emotions from customers:

1. The customer would insist on paying, and think that it's absurd that they are trying to give you a free pita. 

Or

2. The customer would be more than grateful to accept the offer, and enjoy the delicious, free food.

Regardless of what reaction the customer has to this offering, they would most likely tell a friend, family member, or colleague about it; therefore helping to spread positive word of mouth about Pita Pit, and achieve more than a 12" x 12" vinyl sign ever would.

Fix Or Repair... A Toyota?

Brand association is anything which is deep seeded in the customer's mind about a brand; whether it be positive or negative. Brand association can really help improve the image of a business, or drastically hinder it. For example, Donald Trump licenses his name to numerous different business projects. In one case, he had licensed his name to a real estate development in the states. The real estate development ultimately failed, and investors in this development were outraged- 'I thought Trump was behind this, how could it fail?' When in reality he had nothing to do with the development, rather than the name "Trump" falsely backing up a poor business venture. Poor judgement calls (like this one on Trump's part) can seriously devalue a brand. 


Enter Toyota and Ford. They recently signed a deal to jointly develop gas-electric hybrid trucks and sports utility vehicles (SUVs).  To me, this sounds like a great partnership!... For Ford, and not Toyota. Is this a poor judgement call on Toyota's part?

Here are the details of the deal:

• Ford and Toyota will share development costs in order to make the technology more affordable for customers and bring it to market faster [than if they had both pursued this development independently].
• Will help both companies meet more stringent fuel economy and pollution standards in the U.S.
• Toyota gas-electric trucks/SUVs will have same engine as Ford gas-electric hybrid trucks/SUVs

Areas for concern:

• Ford has many negative brand associations. There are numerous acronyms for Ford, such as: Fix Or Repair Daily, Found On Road Dead, Fast Only Rolling Downhill, and Fork Over Repair Dough, just to name a few. (Visit http://www.abbreviations.com/FORD for more acronyms).
• Toyota has a strong brand image; an image of reliable and well built automobiles. Toyota has engineered it's operations to produce quality products, and as a result, they have seen huge financial success. Ford on the other hand, has not seen the financial success of its Japanese competitor. 

I believe that Toyota doesn't need Ford, but Ford needs Toyota. The only benefits that Toyota is receiving from this business partnership (in my opinion) is the increased speed to market and reduced costs. But in the end, if you have number one market share and are producing the best product, who cares about reduced costs in the longterm? 

Happy Cab 15

I currently work as VP Marketing for my family business, Cambridge Label. Cambridge Label is a wholesale manufacturer of pressure sensitive labels, whose customers are advertising agencies, label brokers, and print suppliers. Prior to this summer, Cambridge Label really hadn't done any marketing. Once I started working, it was overwhelming for me to choose a place to start; when our logo, advertisements, promotional giveaways, website design, packaging, and other projects needed to be redone, or re-examined. 


While I was working this summer, I realized that B2B marketing for pressure sensitive labels is more difficult than it seems. It's a very specialized and heavily manufacturing based industry. I haven't had much exposure to this type of marketing before because it's so different than the advertisements found on television, in the newspaper, and magazines; the advertisements we encounter on a daily basis.


While I was thinking about my challenges and how I should go about branding Cambridge Label, I encountered "Happy Cab 15." Happy Cab Fifteen is a cab in Guelph Ontario, driven by a man who speaks philosophically about life, and channels positivity into his customers. He provided me with inspiration- if you can create a name for yourself and spread word of mouth as a cab driver in Guelph Ontario, you should be able to successfully brand a pressure sensitive label manufacturer. Not only does he lift your spirits, but he also has a quirky aspect to him. He listens to Abba, and has a spinning disco ball hanging from the ceiling of his cab (which does light up). Although this might sound strange, it helps to spread word of mouth, and it gets people talking. You can find Happy Cab 15 on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2235773885&v=wall), where his customers speak positively about their experiences in his cab. He also has shirts that you can purchase (and yes, he did try to sell me one):

Not only does this cab have an online presence, but Happy Cab 15 has also travelled across Canada and the United States with a mission to spread word about himself, and promote his life values. Always with a positive mentality, he said to me:


"The 'happy disco ball' is like your spirit that lives on." 


My point here is that branding is difficult regardless of what field of business you're operating in. There are no excuses for not reaching your target market, or creating a positive image for your company; or in this case, your cab!

First Impressions

It's funny how they say "never judge a book by its cover," when a large majority of the population does (myself included). I've been thinking a lot about first impressions these days. What is the best way I can make a good first impression at a networking event? How can I look as professional and polished as possible? Since first impressions are on the forefront of my mind, I couldn't help but develop an opinion on the following book:

What do you think of when you see this book? Would you purchase it? 


I certainly wouldn't. I find the front cover difficult to read. You think that a book on presentation skills wouldn't have a hyphenated word on its cover. Why would I want to take advice from a book that looks so sloppy? Especially when presentations need to be organized and easy to follow. 


I'm not trying to sound pessimistic; I'm simply stating the facts. Consumers make decisions about products based on their aesthetics, packaging, and branding everyday. I'm a living example of this. I'm sure T.J. Walker has some good content in this book, but unfortunately his branding efforts don't measure up. 

McDonalds- Product offerings aligned with branding strategy?

I volunteer as a marketing assistant for a local business (momstown KW, check it out!). In my most recent meeting with the owner, she expressed concern about McDonald's iced coffees. Unfortunately, McDonald's iced coffees are made with milk. 

So what? 

This means that those who are lactose intolerant cannot enjoy a delicious $2 iced coffee from McDonalds (unless you take lactaid pills of course, but who really likes drugging their body...). After contacting McDonalds numerous times informing them that they should provide soy milk, a healthy, lactose free alternative, my colleague has still yet to receive any feedback.

I decided to do some investigating of my own, and see if McDonald's product offerings are aligned with their overall business strategy. In particular, I decided to investigate the possibility of McDonald's providing iced coffees made with soy milk as opposed to regular milk.

• 308,745,538: U.S. Population as of 2010
• 72.4%: The number of caucasian people living in America
• 13,411,906 - 33,529,766: The number of lactose intolerant caucasian Americans. 

This means that McDonald's is ignoring at least 13 million consumers by providing their iced coffees made with normal milk.  

I then looked to McDonald's website in order to see what they had to say about their menu choices, and strategy.

"We have to be customer-centric and follow trends and the way people are eating. We have to be careful we don't forget about taste and fun, and we need to offer a choice... How we approach it at McDonald's is to make sure there's a balance on our menu, a wide range of items to suit a wide range of needs."

        -Chef Dan Coudreaut, Executive Chef and Director of Culinary Innovation, McDonalds

If there is a consumer trend that is prominent today, it's healthy living. Isn't soy extremely healthy for you? Is McDonald's really catering to a "wide range of needs" by ignoring those who are lactose intolerant? Thoughts?

Resources:

http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/00000.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lactose_intolerance

http://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en/food/food_quality/trends_innovation/chef_dan_coudreaut.html

Get at me.

I also forgot to mention this in my last post...

If you would like a customized business card, I'd be more than happy to help you. (For free, of course). 


I'm new to designing, and would like as much practice as I can get. Feel free to contact me via email (Dsinclair.HBA2012@ivey.ca).

Tis the season for recruiting

School is fast approaching, and so is full-time recruitment season at the Richard Ivey School of Business. In order to prepare myself for the chaotic months that are approaching, I'm spending all my spare time preparing cover letters, brushing up on interview skills, and strengthening my personal brand. 


Last year I received business cards from school. The business cards displayed my name, contact information, and the Ivey logo in the upper right-hand corner. The Ivey logo is recognizable, and symbolizes one of the best business schools in Canada. However, there is a downfall to using this card; all of my peers have them! A business card is something that you can be remembered by. Unfortunately this statement doesn't hold true if 525 other students have the exact same card design, and attend all the same events that you do.


I want to stand out a little, so I decided to ditch the Ivey business cards and design my own. The only problem I'm facing now is which one to choose. 


Option #1: Clean and simple.

Option #2: Seth Godin, my inspiration.

I strongly prefer one over the other, but don't want to sway your decision. (Please ignore the thick border around each of the images, this is formatting that remains consistent throughout my blog).


Thanks for reading, your feedback, and for helping me stand out.

Skinny Scoop. Skinny Consumer. Happy Girl.

If you haven't heard of the company Skinny Cow (www.skinnycow.com), I highly recommend that you check it out. Ice cream is a pleasure to enjoy, but what isn't so pleasurable is the calories and the high fat content that accompany it. Fortunately there is Skinny Cow, a company that supplies the market with lower cal, lower fat content dessert products. 

On a recent family vacation to Florida, I visited an ice cream shoppe The Royal Scoop that I have been visiting ever since I can remember. The Royal Scoop have branded themselves seamlessly. They've created an experience around attending their store- a retro diner ambience, 60s rock music, and delicious homemade ice cream. 


So how does Skinny Cow tie into The Royal Scoop? 


Now that I'm more health conscious than I've ever been, I realize that The Royal Scoop gives you way too much high fat content ice cream for $3.49. One scoop costs $3.49, but they really give you 2.5 scoops for this price. I truly think that they should start selling "The Skinny Scoop" (inspired by Skinny Cow) which is one regular sized scoop of ice cream for $2.99. (Another thing to keep in mind is that The Royal Scoop is situated in an area where the average home is worth 1.8 million US dollars, so I'm making the assumption that consumers aren't price sensitive for small-ticket items.)


I'd certainly like to pay slightly less for considerably less ice cream. I'd visit The Royal Scoop more often if each time I visited I didn't feel so guilty afterwards. I emailed The Royal Scoop with my idea and have yet to hear anything back from them. Am I the only one who thinks this is a good business idea?

Always Fresh, Always Tim Hortons.

After returning from a fun, yet tiresome vacation I was greeted with the following advertisement situated above the baggage claim belt in the Toronto airport:

What was my reaction to this advertisement?

I'm sure I wasn't the only Tim Horton's deprived Canadian who reacted by hopping in the car and driving to the nearest location. Tim Horton's has done a great job associating themselves with one's home. When I think of home, a few words come to mind; comfort, belonging, welcoming, family, love, and warmth, (to name a few). It's safe to say that a consumer is compelled to make a purchase when that specific purchase evokes positive emotions. Not only did this advertisement bring to mind the feelings of home, but it also made me proud to be Canadian. The feeling of Canadian culture coupled with the comforts of home I had been missing for the previous two weeks, made my Tim Horton's purchase inevitable.

My point: Find a way to associate a positive emotion to your product. It's effective.

Imsorry.com

I have no excuse for not writing over the past two months. I apologize to my few blog readers. I gathered inspiration for this post from Imsorry.com, a website that allows people to send apologetic letters, emails, and gifts. 


Here is an example of a "real apology" from a user, Cody, of Imsorry.com. Im my opinion, Cody screwed up...


"I'm so sorry that they used a picture of you in the paper. It is a very pretty picture of you... but there are very few that aren't pretty. :) All My Love- Cody"


And I screwed up as well, by not blogging for ages; for creating this blog and not committing to it. As soon as I'm back from vacation (1 week) I will re-commit myself to blogging again.


Until then... I'll leave you with this. Liz Murray's life was full of apologies- apologies from her mother, her father, and almost everyone that she ever grew to love. Her book, Breaking Night tells her story of how she went from being homeless, to graduating from Harvard. Although this book is not directly about business, I think aspiring leaders can learn a lot from Liz. In Breaking Night, Liz exhibits great perseverance in stressful and ambiguous situations. Similarly, CEOs, entrepreneurs, small business owners, and anyone else that is an aspiring business leader face stressful and ambiguous situations on a daily basis. 


Chances are Liz will inspire you, motivate you, or at least shed a different perspective on the daily problems we face. 


Write in a week. Imsorry.com

Daredevil. Opportunist. Entrepreneur.

"Everything that can be invented has been invented." 

-Charles H. Duell, 1899, U.S. Commissioner of Patents

Don't you always think that everything that can be invented, has been? I find myself thinking of this on the regular. It seems that Charles and I are similar in this aspect. But boy, was Charles H. Duell wrong. He probably couldn't've been more wrong. The Model T wasn't even a thought in 1899. Cars, computers, medical science advances... 

I sat in on a presentation on Entrepreneurship today, given by Jeff Greenspoon, CEO of Spoke Agency in Toronto. At the age of 25, he has already successfully started 13 ventures. His presentation focused on the things he's learned along the way, and I'm here to provide you with his knowledge. This is what I took away from his presentation.

1. Surround yourself with great people, and know when something isn't right. 

• If you hire someone and you feel that they aren't a great fit with your company, address the situation when it occurs. Don't let someone in your organization work for you that isn't what you had imagined them to be. Being an entrepreneur isn't about coping, but getting things done the way you had envisioned. 

 2. Lead ideas with business logic.

• You may have a great idea, but is it feasible? Meatcards.com had a great idea, but it wasn't feasible. Use business logic to guide your strategies.

3. Say yes to every opportunity you get. 

• Participating in whatever you can will only enhance your knowledge and experience, making you a well-rounded individual.

4. Know your numbers inside and out. 

• Is this client making us money? What about that client? Or that client?

5. The final two percent means the most.

• The end of the project is where you can really shine through as an entrepreneur. 

6. Passion and energy.

• Show passion and energy in everything that you do. 

7. Businesses may come and go, but your network and insights last forever.

• Leverage your network to the best of your ability. Take in as much wisdom as you can from those around you. 

Entrepreneurs are constantly developing great ideas, but it's the execution that makes an entrepreneur successful. Without great execution, great ideas cease to exist. I hope that you can learn from Jeff Greenspoon as I have, and apply his key learning points to your business. 

Your Brand.

"Your premium brand had better be delivering something special,

 or it's not going to get the business." - Warren Buffet

It's difficult to make your product stand out in a crowded marketplace. I'm dealing with a different battle- my personal brand. It's difficult to make myself stand out from other highly intelligent students fighting for top jobs. First impressions are everything, but what good are they if you're not remembered? I'm not here to tell you how you can make yourself stand out. That's impossible. But you can use a unique and innovative business card that will make you remembered with recruiters. Try something different, something innovative, and you're more likely to leave a lasting impression. 

Unique Business Card #1- The Peanut business card.

A Japanese company named Arigatou is using laser engraving technology to print logos, names and telephone numbers on organic materials like beans, rice and peanuts. Although this is very creative, I'm not sure how well this would be received in North America. With a large number of peanut allergies, handing this out at a networking event when the top executive has a serious nut allergy may not go over too well. Nonetheless, this is really cool.

Unique Business Card #2- The Meat business card. 

Just like Arigatou, a company called Meatcards uses high powered lasers. These high powered lasers burn your contact information into a dried piece of meat. 

Unique Business Card #3- The Scratch business card. 

Just like a lotto ticket, scratch the card to unveil your contact information. 

From my research, those were the three business cards that I found to be the most unique. Imagine yourself handing a recruiter a piece of meat instead of a traditional business card. Don't you think you'd stand out? Obviously a unique business card is just the first step in brand building. A business card really has nothing to do with building your brand, it has to do with gaining the attention of others so you can show them what your brand is. Otherwise, you may not have the opportunity to show them what you've got. 

Word of Mouth.

"If you do build a great experience, customers tell each other about that. 

Word of mouth is very powerful."- Jeff Bezos

The power of word-of-mouth is exemplified in something that my father once told me. "Do something great for your customers, and they'll tell one person. Do something wrong for your customers, and they'll tell ten." I'm unsure of the accuracy of those statistics. Regardless, the point is communicated- Word of mouth can work positively, or negatively for your company. If you screw up, it's huge. If you do good, it potentially goes unheard. 


Here are some interesting stats:

• 16,000- The number of words spoken a day by an average person. (University of Arizona)
• 200 Million- the number of word of mouth recommendations made everyday in Canada. (Agent Wildfire)
• 93%- Percentage of consumer purchase decisions primarily influenced by word of mouth. (NOP World)
• The average consumer mentions specific brands over 90 times per week in conversations with friends, family, and co-workers. (Keller Fay, WOMMA, 2010)
• 90% of consumers online trust recommendations from people they know; 70% trust opinions of unknown users. (Econsultancy, July 2009)
• Recommendations from family and friends trump all other consumer touchpoints when it comes to influencing purchases, according to ZenithOptimedia. (AdAge, April, 2008)
• 4%- Estimated recall of TV advertisements from the last show we watched, down from 34% in 1965.(Newspaper Bureau Association)

Word of mouth is more powerful than ever, and it's imperative that companies use this to their advantage. Create something worth talking about- deliver exceptionally in one area, be it customer service, quality, product customization, and leverage that to your best ability. Get people talking.

Marketing to Females.

Mark Gungor captures the difference between males and females in a comedic way. He's right though, women can easily make an emotional connection between a product, and that connection will keep them coming back for more. 


Take Page Premium Denim for example. I recently purchased a pair of Paige jeans and I found an insert in the back pocket, and the insert told me this:

"I want you to love your body. 

Feel comfortable in your skin. 

Be comfortable in your genes!

Thanks for believing in our product.

                                        Paige"

Not only does this memo connect with me on a personal level, it makes me feel good. It makes me feel so good that I want to spread the word about Paige denim, so I did. I showed some of my friends. I received nothing but positive responses. Although it may not have compelled them to go purchase Paige premium denim, the next time they see it in-store they may be willing to try on a pair, who knows.

Another example? Sanctuary Clothing. Sanctuary Clothing is a company founded in 1997 out of Los Angeles (www.sanctuaryclothing.com) that includes a small bracelet and charm with every purchase of their apparel. The bracelet comes with a cardboard cutout that says "Look for the Sanctuary symbol- Your Quality Guarantee." The charm is their logo, a small bird with the words sanctuary engraved along the back. Although this is a small effort, it helps to communicate to customers that they truly care about them because they are going above and beyond what is required. They make high quality products- and they're going the extra mile to communicate this. Not only do they care, but they're doing something innovative that will help spread word of mouth. I won't be surprised if Sanctuary experiences high growth over the next few years as North America emerges from the recession.

Paige Premium Denim and Sanctuary Clothing are just two companies that successfully market to women. They're establishing an emotional connection with their consumers, therefore creating brand loyalty, and spreading the word at the same time. 

CD Baby is a Purple Cow.

I just finished reading Seth Godin's Book- Purple Cow. Seth Godin stresses that in order to be successful in a crowded marketplace, you need to create a Purple Cow. So what is a "Purple Cow"? Put simply, a Purple Cow is a remarkable product. The product is so remarkable that it sells itself to a specific target market, without a large marketing budget. For example, Starbucks was remarkable in offering superior customer service to coffee enthusiasts. The word spread amongst coffee enthusiasts and eventually spread to the general public. Now Starbucks has a huge marketing budget, since it takes a mass market approach. However, when Starbucks was first getting started they relied primarily on word of mouth. They relied on the hype of their purple cow to generate their sales. 


CD Baby is a Purple Cow. They are the largest online distributor of independent music. They have created a website where they hope you will find your new favourite artist. So what is so remarkable about CD Baby?


1. They provide advice to aspiring musicians through their blog The DIY Musician (http://diymusician.cdbaby.com/). Their blog illustrates that CD Baby doesn't exist solely to make a profit, but instead to offer assistance to those who share their passion. How refreshing is it to do business with someone who is so passionate about what they do? Don't you think lack of passion in one's career is too common of an occurrence? 


2. They truly care about the well-being of their artists. In a major record deal, artists typically make $1-2 for every album that they sell. At CD Baby, artists make $6-12 per album. 


3. They pride themselves as a website that is run by artists FOR artists. The employees at CD Baby can easily relate to aspiring musicians, and this makes doing business more enjoyable for both parties. 


CD Baby has taken something boring (buying music) and made it remarkable. I encourage you to visit their website if you haven't already (www.cdbaby.com), and maybe you'll find your new favourite artist.