brand expression

Jul 21, 2016

In Touch with the Female Side of Branding

 

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My esteemed business partner, Ken Tencer, is a thought leading advocate of innovation.  He recently published an article in the Globe & Mail urging entrepreneurs to get in touch with their feminine side in order “… to remain relevant in this age of empathetic opportunity and emotion-driven entrepreneurship.”  I started to wonder if the same advice might also apply to male marketers.  Wouldn’t our brands benefit if we listened better, asked for directions more often and acknowledged how much we appreciate our customers?

In his Globe article, Ken quotes psychologist Dan Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence, who says, “Women tend to be better at emotional empathy than men.”  Given that emotional empathy is one of the bedrocks of successful relationships, maybe it really is time for male marketers to get in touch with our feminine sides.

I’ve made the point in the past that building brands has a lot of similarities with tending personal relationships. 

I also believe that how much energy you put into it determines how successful you’ll be.  Getting in touch with our feminine side may tell us where to invest that energy and how to crystallize our relationship-building priorities.  It may also give us some additional insights into what facets of our brand are most appealing to women.

Business Insider had an informative piece by Kate Taylor about Kat Cole, the group president of billion dollar consumer corporation Focus Brands and a bit of a media darling because she used to be a server at Hooters.  Focus Brands is the parent company of Cinnabon, Auntie Anne’s, and Moe’s Southwest Grill.  Ms. Cole revealed her three top business tips.

1. Be honest, authentic, and confident in what you stand for.

According to Cole, your values and transparency are what differentiates you in the marketplace.

2. Stay incredibly close to the customer.

Cole responds to every single person who tweets at her, as just one small way to stay close to the consumer.

3. Do the right thing for the right reasons.

This golden rule should guide your partnerships, product launches, and funding decisions.

It seems to me that these tips are not only valuable for brand building… but also for life in general.

And while we’re on the subject of gender, should more of our brands intensify their focus on women?  Should traditionally male or gender neutral brands make a greater effort to develop relationships with women?  As a brand strategist and designer, my concern is not the politics of gender, but rather the purchasing power of gender.  And when it comes to making purchasing decisions, it is pretty clear that women are not the weaker sex.  They are goliath and their influence has the clout to make or break brands.

Ken originally published this on July 5, 2016 as a Guest Column in The Globe and Mail: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/small-business/sb-managing/why-getting-in-touch-with-your-feminine-side-is-good-for-business/article30675493/

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Feb 5, 2016

Creating Lasting Relationships is the Key to Brand Success

Successful branding is all about creating strong and lasting relationships.  In a volatile industry like retail where the ground can move every day, effective branding is critical.  The quality of the customer relationship must be the one constant.  Creating relationships is what drives sales; and ultimately, a retailer’s fate.  We saw what happened when Target entered Canada – it didn’t have existing relationships in Canada and it failed to build positive new relationships with customers, which quickly lead to the company’s Canadian demise.

The Canadian retail market is unique, competitive, and constantly evolving.  In order to succeed, retailers entering Canada must know how to shape their products and services to fit the Canadian market; and most importantly, they must know how to build and maintain strong relationships with their Canadian customers.

Adding to the already competitive Canadian retail market is the fact that buying patterns are significantly changing.  One of the biggest trends impacting the retail industry is the drastic rise and popularity of e-commerce, which has resulted in many consumers steering away from in-store purchases.  This makes it even harder to meet and engage customers on any kind of a relationship level… transactional level yes, but not any deeper than that.

According to a recent article written by Walter Loeb in Forbes’ magazine, he cautions that in order for retailers to survive in 2016, they must restructure their organizations: “a new industry culture needs to emerge; one that empowers associates by creating a team spirit that will be rewarding for customers, employees, and management.”  The question is: are retailers in Canada ready to restructure and change their culture? And, will new retailers entering Canada have a structure adaptive enough to satisfy and sway Canadian consumers?

Just recently, Japanese clothing retailer Uniqlo announced that it will soon be opening two flagship stores in Toronto in the fall (one at the Eaton Centre and the other at Yorkdale Shopping Centre) with plans to expand the brand to Vancouver and other Canadian cities.  The international retailer sells fashionable and affordable clothing and accessories for all genders and ages, free of logos.

With a global presence that spans 1,500 stores in Asia, Europe, Australia, and the U.S., it will be interesting to see how Uniqlo fares in Canada.  How will it create positive and enduring relationships with Canadian consumers?

Uniqlo’s CEO, Larry Meyer, believes the brand will be successful where Target was not since they it is a vastly different retailer entering the market on a much smaller scale.  Meyer says that his past has shown that Canadians are “open people and very willing to welcome new brands.”  He believes Uniqlo has unique products and that the company is not just another mass merchandiser of branded goods: “our products are our brand,” he states.

Meyer is correct in that Canadians are very open and willing to welcome new brands.  There have been several international retail brands that have made the successful and effective transition to the Canadian market.  But this notion should be treated with caution, as this is exactly what Target was thinking when it decided to enter Canada.  There was so much hype and excitement for Target’s Canadian arrival, but the retailer failed to live up to expectations and build positive relationships with Canadian customers.  It’s one thing to have a strong brand identity (like Target), but it’s absolutely critical to satisfy consumers and build strong relationships with them.  The best way to do this is by understanding consumers’ unmet needs and addressing them effectively – whether they come in the form of prices, the shopping experience, merchandise, or unique product offerings.

The Uniqlo brand may well be a great addition to the Canadian retail market, but its long-term success will depend on the brand’s ability to create, grow and sustain positive relationships with its Canadian customers.

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Oct 22, 2015

Your brand should add something to consumers’ lives

The Canadian Business Top 25 Best Brands in Canada list for 2016 says to me that it takes more than size and huge resources to win loyal customers.  I admit to being surprised and heartened that brands like Imax, Saputo, Lululemon, Cirque de Soleil and Mountain Equipment Co-op have earned recognition.  Movies, cheese, yoga, mountain climbing and the circus… all of them friendly lifestyle brands.

It made me ask myself, ‘What do good brands and good friends have in common?’  They are both honest with you.  You can count on both of them to be consistent.    They’re available when you need them.  They make you believe that you matter.  And maybe most significant of all: spending time with them leaves you feeling better for the experience.  They add something to your life.

We know, as consumers, that our bank, our gas station, our grocery store and our internet provider are not our friends.  They are businesses who are beholden to their investors.  But we do have relationships with them and they can strengthen those relationships with us by modelling their ‘behaviour’ on the same qualities we look for in our friends.

As you develop or re-invent your corporate brand, you will be well served by surrounding your customer transactions with honest, reliable, supportive experiences for them.  If your customers can count on your brand and trust your brand, the chances are much increased that they will come back and also tell their friends.  In the end, a brand relationship is a people relationship forged between your people and your customers.  The rules of engagement aren’t really that much different than friendships.

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