| Martha, Target and You- How To Build Brand Recognition By Anne M. Obarski I wonder what Martha is doing today? You see, it's December and almost Christmas and the diva of making the holidays look so easy is in prison. Maybe she is teaching a class on napkin folding or icing holiday cookies. I read in my local paper that she is the most popular person to have lunch with! I guess that shouldn't surprise me. I am sure she has been asked every possible question from the women in that prison. Right or wrong and no matter what you think about her, when I said, "I wonder what Martha is doing today?", you knew exactly who I meant and what she is known for. How many of us would like to have that kind of business recognition? My feeling is that Martha is using this "quiet time" to come back stronger than ever. I noticed the new Target ads on television this holiday season and realized that we know subconsciously exactly what company it is no matter what color they make that "target". I also realized that the logo is so streamlined that it is really just a dot and a bold circle around it. If you go to their website, you'll see that they have a subliminal selling strategy that says, "Get (target logo)" which means, "Get Target" right in the middle of the screen. I could put a 3 year old in front of that screen and they would know exactly what that meant. I want my business to have just a smidgeon of that type of recognition! I also realize that building that type of recognition requires the following: a. Be compelling b. Be consistent c. Be convenient Those three words were used in the following quote in "The Empowered Store Benchmark Report" by the AberdeenGroup, September, 2004; "The key to success for today's retailer's lies in creating a more compelling, convenient, and consistent in-store experience for consumers." If you take that a step further, those three words should be the groundwork for any business. a. Be compelling What makes you the business of choice in the mind of your customers? Another favorite quote from this study was the following; "Impeccable execution of in-store initiatives does drive retail results." I believe "impeccable execution" daily, of everything the company stands for is the goal. Do your ads, logos, merchandise, location, website and people make your business compelling? The dictionary defines the word compelling as "to drive or urge forcefully or irresistibly". I want to have an irresistible business. A business that my customers believe is the only one they would consider using. b. Be consistent Target is now able to change the color of their logo because they were so consistent for so long with using only red and white that they cemented in our mind what that logo stood for. You could be standing at the North Pole and see that logo and say, "Hmm, Santa did his Christmas shopping at Target this year." It's impeccable execution of consistency. Is everything you do to market your company done on a consistent basis? Are you consistent at changing your website, signing, updating your location, your training, even down to your voice mail message. Are you so consistent that you cement your business image into the mind of your customer's? They expect it, yet do you deliver it? c. Be convenient The AberdeenGroup report states," Customer satisfaction needs to be continually measured to insure that today's buyers don't become tomorrow's dissatisfied customers. One sure way to create customer dissatisfaction is to remove staff from the sales floor when customers have grown accustomed to finding help easily." Impeccable execution of always being there for the customer should be the goal of every business owner! It doesn't have to be an "in store" experience either! Is your website a convenient place to go and to browse? Is your phone system designed that you always have a pleasant person to answer the phone, or at least a pleasant sounding voice mail message? Do you return voice mail messages as a priority rather than a duty? Does your company look at their buying customers differently than they do their customers with problems to be solved? How convenient are you to do business with? Maybe there should be a fourth "c" and that is communication. Business is built on relationships. Relationships are built on impeccably executing great communication skills. If my company and my employees don't tell my customers and potential customers how compelling, how convenient and how consistently we run our business, on a daily basis, how will they know we are out there? And if when my customers see one of my employees outside of the business, or go to our website or hear our voice on a voice mail message, are we totally and completely married to representing our business impeccably every hour of the day? It's like running an errand and you say to yourself, "Gosh, I hope I don't run into anyone I know", and invariably you do, and then how many of us end up apologizing about our appearance? How many times do we in business apologize because the store isn't as perfect as it should be, or someone called in sick or we haven't received our shipment yet or that business is terrible? What we may have communicated is that we have let our priorities slide. I don't live that far from Alderson, West Virginia and was actually in that little town one summer on a "college road trip". It is quaint and quiet town and in a weird way it fits Martha. I imagine that her business brain is working over time on new ideas for the business. Those who think she is going to curl up and die better think again. And her business ideas and her communication skills will have impeccable execution. Well at least for now on! Happy Holidays, Martha. Anne M. Obarski, is the Executive Director of Merchandise Concepts, a retail consulting service that works with organizations who want to measure their customer service with leaders who want more repeat business. She is the contributing author of the new book, "Confessions of a Shameless Self Promoter", and energizes retail groups. Across the country with her keynotes, and breakout sessions. Her "retail snoops" secret shopper program helps retailers discover the clues to improving their businesses through their customers eyes. Reach her at: anne@merchandiseconcepts.com For more info go to: Click here http://www.merchandiseconcepts.com/speaking.html |
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