RICH KIZER & GEORGANNE BENDER

THINK LIKE A BRAND, ACT LIKE A BUSINESS

Rich Kizer & Georganne Bender

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Branding is a buzzword that’s been around for a while, and with good reason. Your brand perception in your community is critical to your business’ success. But along with that buzz there is also a lot of confusion. Everyone talks about branding – there are over 50,000 branding books on Amazon.com alone – yet there are still a lot of questions about what it is and why brand equity is so important. Branding isn’t hard; it’s easy when you understand what it is, and what it is not.

So, what’s a brand?

You may have spent hours designing the perfect logo, but that’s not your brand. You know the red star that appears in every Macy’s ad? It’s a logo, not a brand. Your brand is more than your website, your blog, or your presence on Facebook and other social medias. It’s more than your ads, brochures, business cards, and everything else you use to get your b u s i n e s s ’ name out there. Your brand is even more than the name you chose to hang over your front door. Make no mistake, each of these things is critically important to your brand identity, but they are the components used to build your brand, not the brand itself.

We build brands using the 5 C’s of Branding:

1. Creation

2. Connectivity

3. Culture

4. Customer Centricity

5. Crafting Your Brand Screen

Let’s get started!

THINK LIKE A BRAND

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Step 1: Creation: Write Your Story This step sounds easy, but it’s not. It’s hard to write about the things that got you to where you are today, but you have to do it. Start by writing why you decided to open y o u r b u si n e s s . Write what’s unique about you and your business; talk about how you make a difference to your customers and your community. Make it a compelling story people will want to read.

Answer these questions:

What got you here? – write it down.

Do you and your business make a difference? – write it down.

Why should customers care? – write it down.

If you get stuck, ask your family and store associates – and maybe even customers – for help. When your story is finished, spread the word about who you are through your brochures, on your website, your Facebook fan page and other social medias, marketing, advertising – anywhere and everywhere you can.

Turn your Story into a “60 Second Elevator Commercial”

We used to kick ourselves after someone asked us what we do and we’d reply, “We’re professional speakers.” Afterward we’d think of all the things we should have said. If you’ve ever answered, “I own a retail store” when asked what you do, then you know that feeling of missed opportunity. Write a 60 second condensed version of your story and you’ll never find yourself in that position again.

Everyone associated with your business must memorize it as well. The best way to build solid brand equity is to tell the same story over and over.

Step 2: Build Emotional Connectivity

Brands live on an emotional level: “If I can make you feel about my business like I feel about my business, you will do business with me.”

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Let’s be clear: Your logo, signing, slogans, etc. are a physical representation of your brand. Your brand is how people feel when they hear or see your name. And if they like you, people join your club.

Customers are only loyal if you make them loyal, and day-to-day loyalty comes from day-to-day contact. Do you send email blasts on a regular basis? Every 15 days is a good rule to follow. Stay visible in your community?

Create unique experiences. Customers will stay close to your business if you give them a reason to stay close. We love that each Memorial Day Heritage Funeral Home and Crematory in Spokane, Washington hosts an event that’s not typically what people think of when they hear the words “funeral home”.

For three days this year Heritage Funeral Home held “Remembering a Giant of American Industry: Henry Ford”, an event that included musical entertainment celebrating the Jazz Age, pictures and automobile memorabilia, a veterans display, an aerospace display, and an antique and a classic car display featuring Ford’s finest. There was also a Tree of Remembrance, refreshments, and a family brass band concert. In the retail world that’s called Shoppertainment, that wonderful intersection where business and entertainment meet. Heritage’s Memorial Day event is an annual event people look forward to each year. What could you do?

Zero Moments of Truth happen before clients ever step foot inside your business. In the past, people let their fingers do the walking through the telephone book; today they visit your website. These days a strong website is not an option. You need a real web address as in www.thenameofyourbusiness.com – websites have become the equivalent of business cards.

Your website is also your greeter. Make sure that it’s consistent with your brand image, and a good example of what customers can expect when they walk in your front door. If you haven’t registered your domain name yet, visit GoDaddy.com and get it done now. GoDaddy.com also offers Website Tonight, an easy-to-use, and inexpensive, website builder.

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The photos and information you post on your website, blog and on social medias also represent your brand. Think about what you post before you post it. Check your spelling and test links to make sure they work.

And by the way, your email address says a lot about who you are. Addresses from Yahoo, Gmail or AOL are convenient but they’re not professional. You need an email address that comes from your own domain name. You will also want to see what it being said about you on Yelp (claim your site while you are there – it’s free) and other sites consumers go to read other customers’ reviews. Google your name and your business’ name at least once a month to see what’s being said. Free sites like Mention.com and SocialMention.com will send you an email alert each time your name is mentioned online.

3. Culture: Branding is an Emotional Connection

A brand is the emotional connection – the physical reaction – customers feel when they hear your name, see your logo, visit your website or walk in your front door. It’s the concept you own in the mind of the customer, it’s the experience they can get only from you.

The best way to describe a brand was coined by Adrienne Weiss, CEO of Adrienne Weiss Corporation: “A brand as a country, complete with its own language, rituals, culture and customs.” We’re willing to bet that your business also has its own language, rituals, culture and customs. The number one, undisputable, non-debatable, absolutely cast in stone rule of branding is, it’s about the customer experience.

Zappos is known for its unique culture. If you come from out of town to interview for a higher level job, Zappos will ask the driver who picked you up at the airport how you treated him. They will talk with front desk people at your hotel, and with wait staff in the restaurant where you ate dinner. The feeling is how you treat service staff is a huge indicator of your true personality. This is important information to know when you are hiring someone to deliver outstanding customer service.

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At Zappos every, single new employee is put through an intensive four- week training program, immersing them in the company's culture, strategy, and processes. About one week in, Zappos makes what it calls "The Offer" – they say to each new hire, “If you quit today, we will pay you for the amount of time you have worked, plus a $3,000 bonus."

That sounds crazy, right? Maybe, but associates are a huge part of your culture – make sure they are on the right page. Each person on your team has to know what you expect from them. How often do you have this conversation?

4. Customer Centricity

Customer Centricity is all about the brand experience, and it's the customers’ definition that counts. Each customer encounter is a Moment Of Truth that affects the brand experience. Trust us: there are lots of them; in fact there can be 25+ per visit. We’re talking about creating and controlling the customer experience.

How often do you change how the merchandise is presented on your sales floor? If you let it stay the same for too long several things happen: The merchandise gets shop worn, displays get tired, and new merchandise begins to blend in with the old. It’s important to step back and take an objective look at your store. The parking lot is a good place to start:

Survey the Parking Lot: Is your parking lot easily accessible? Do staff members take the best spaces? Is the parking lot free of debris and brightly lit? You may not own the parking lot, but your customers think you do. If it’s a mess, encourage your landlord to make the necessary changes.

Size Up the Building Exterior: The front of your building is like the cover of a book; you know what that means? It’s a big part of the customers’ first impression. How does yours look? Does it need paint or repair? Is there clutter to be cleaned up? Have the flowers in your planters seen better days? Can customers easily see your exterior sign? Are your windows clean?

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Sales Floor Layout: Every layout is affected by the shape and size of the sales floor, but the common goal is to expose customers to product and to gain maximum traffic flow. Your sales floor is likely set using a Free Flow Layout because it allows for the most flexibility. In a Free Flow layout, there are no set aisles or straight lines; instead fixtures are placed in a way that encourages customers to easily move throughout the store , finding new merchandise displays at every turn. This layout offers many opportunities to highlight specific merchandise and create vignettes

Lake Front Property: Some areas of your sales floor are more important an others; think of them as prime real estate or lake front property. If you merchandise these areas incorrectly, it will cost you in sales. Here are the key areas that require your close attention:

Access the Decompression Zone: The Decompression Zone (DZ) is the space that’s located just inside your front door.

The size of your Decompression Zone will depend upon the size of your sales floor, but it’s generally the first 5’ to 15’ inside the door. Its purpose is to give customers a chance to transition from whatever happened before entering to the task at hand.

The Decompression Zone needs to be open, inviting and easy to navigate. Understand that customers will miss anything you place here, that’s why the DZ is not the place ideal for important product, brochures, or signing because customers will walk right by them. Instead place these items just beyond your DZ where people are more likely to see them.

Work Your Speed Bumps: Just past the Decompression Zone is where you place product displays known as Speed Bumps. These merchandise displays work much the same way as speed bumps in parking lots work – they slow customers down. They also grab their attention and introduce them to the product you want them to be sure and see.

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Specialty fixturing, such slat board 4-ways and small tables, make great Speed Bumps. Use Speed Bumps to feature new items, and to tell product stories. Be sure to change the product on your Speed Bump display at least once a month, whether it needs it or not.

Attention: Right turn ahead! American’s shop the way they drive: we have a tendency to turn look or right when we enter a store. 90% of customers will do this, so it’s important to merchandise this area with care.

Walk past your Decompression Zone and look to the right. The first wall you see is called a Power Wall and it’s another key part of your lake front property. And because it’s one of the first things customers see first after looking or turning right, it’s a perception builder.

Use your Power Wall(s) to house important departments, display new items, to create vignettes, tell product stories, and to feature high demand and high profit items. (Note: Your sales floor may have more than one Power Wall. Stand in various places throughout the room and look around, the walls that stand out are your Power Walls.)

Review Your Signing: In retail, 70 percent of purchase decisions are made in the store. Your signs must be professional, they must represent your brand, and the style of your décor. Choose a font that’s easy to read, and print the message in both upper and lower case letters. Never use all capital letters because all caps are hard for older eyes to read; never hand write a sign, and never tape a sign to a wall or fixture.

Follow this rule: Take the average age of your oldest customers and divide it in half. This is the smallest font size you can use for your signs. It’s better to err on the large size, so don’t utilize a font that’s smaller than 30 points.

Survey Your Merchandise Presentation: Are your displays fresh? Do they encourage customers to stop and look, and entice them to buy? Are there empty spots on the shelves that need to be restocked? Is the product “faced” (brought to the front of the shelf or hook)?

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Do our No-Fail Perception Exercise™ at least once a month: 1. Grab a pad of paper and a pen and start at the front door. (Note: Do this exercise throughout the entire s t o r e .

2. Don’t fix, move or adjust anything before you do this exercise. You want a clear vision of what it really looks like on a typical day.

3. Survey your business during regular business hours – not before opening or after closing.

4. Dress in the same attire as a typical customer. If it’s cold outside, put on a winter coat. If customers sometimes arrive with children, take a stroller and diaper bag with you. If they visit using wheel chairs or mobility scooters you need to do that, too.

5. Make a list of things to do; you can prioritize your list later and make changes as necessary. You might even want to ask an associate to do the same exercise – you can compare notes later.

5. Craft Your Brand Screen

Branding requires discipline and it requires consistency. Every, single thing – the smallest details, from the color of the walls to the type font used on your stationery, need to be screened to ensure each one properly tells your brand story. So, think of who you are, and what you want representing your business. If the item or service you are considering is in alignment with your story then go ahead and use it.

Here are some of the things you need to put through your personal brand screen:

Choose a signature color(s) and use it everywhere. If, for example, you chose a particular shade of blue as your signature color, then this is the color to be used in everything that represents your brand. Starbucks signature color is green, Ace Hardware’s is red, Home Depot’s is orange, and McDonald’s has the golden arches. Any other color in each of these examples would be unacceptable – they’d never make it through each company’s respective screening process.

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We once met a retailer whose signature color was red; she was well known for her bright red shopping bags. People saved them and carried them around town – they became walking billboards for her store. One Christmas she decided it would be fun to try silver shopping bags. Big mistake. She had to rebuild that part of her brand identity. The moral of the story is this: even if you are offered a good deal on something in a color that’s not your signature color, walk away.

Choose your type font carefully. Use both upper and lower case letters and make sure that your font is easy to read. Here’s the thing: Some fonts that look great in a 14 point become hard to read when blown up on your exterior sign.

Bring your brand to each area of your business. Your store (or office) is your largest brand-building piece. There isn’t a single part of your physical property (restrooms included) that’s not part of your brand identity. Take an objective look around each customer area. Have you included your signature colors? Are you using quality fixtures? Does your signing utilize your brand’s font? Are your associates easily recognizable? Each element plays a big part in defining your brand culture. If your brand story isn’t clearly evident in your business, then it’s time to make some changes.

A few more things…

Become a Shameless Self-Promoter. Other than word-of-mouth, the cheapest way to build your brand is through public relations. That’s why you should send out a press release for everything of interest that that you do. The media wants – needs – your input! Did you know that the majority of stories that appear in your local medias came from a one-page press release sent by someone like you who had a story to tell? You can build brand equity for the cost of a single stamp, a 30-second fax, or a quicker than you can hit “send” email. We’ve included our easy-to-follow “How to Write a Press Release” instruction sheet at the end of this eBook.

If you’re too busy to handle PR by yourself, then promote someone to the exalted position of “Director of Public Relations”. Get your new director business cards printed with his name and this important title. This person will be your media contact who will collect the names of local editors and reporters, write and distribute your press releases, be your ambassador at local functions and Chamber of Commerce events, and more.

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Appoint an Official “Keeper of the Brand” and give that person ultimate control over what’s purchased and what’s not. Before anything that represents the store can be implemented it must be approved by the Keeper of the Brand. If it’s cool with the Keeper, it’s okay to move forward.

Here’s the thing: You are likely to get sick and tired of everything that physically represents your brand before it begins to automatically register with your customers. Resist the urge to change your logo, colors, and slogan – anything that is considered part of your brand identity. Or as we like to say, marry your brand.

How to Write a Press Release:

1. Create an inverted pyramid:

Use a good headline! Ideally, the first paragraph is the entire story, so

pack as much information into the first sentence and first paragraph as you can, then get more detailed throughout the release.

2. The first sentence of the first paragraph should always contain the Four W’s”: Who, What, Where and When.

3. Place your information in the best light, but avoid unnecessary hype. Editors have advertising antennas, so make it sound like the important information that it is, and not an advertisement.

4. Write it as you would write it for publication in a professional newspaper or magazine.

5. Make sure the format you choose is neat:

Double-space your press release so that editors can make their notes

in-between the lines. Consider sending it on a disk, as well as a hard copy. 6. Use your own letterhead:

Type the words “PRESS RELEASE” or “FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE” in

capital letters, across the top of the document. If you use “FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE” the event must be ready to happen, not one that is in the future.

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7. Be sure to include the following information:

The release date and the time or date you would like the story to be published. Include this information: “Please run before” and “Don’t run after.” This will help insure that your release gets run on time. Also add the name and telephone number of the person to contact for more information.

8. Be concise.

9. Try to include quotations, even if you have to quote yourself.

10. Remember that if the press is hungry for stories, they are starving for

pictures! Include photos whenever you can. 11. Find out the name of the person at the publication who handles your

type of event. Send the press release to that specific person. 12. End every press release with “###” or “-30-” centered at the

bottom of the page. This indicates the end of the document.

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© RICH KIZER & GEORGANNE BENDER 2014 | ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

RICH KIZER & GEORGANNE BENDER Rich Kizer & Georganne Bender are professional speakers, authors and consultants whose client

list reads like a "Who's Who" in business. Companies internationally depend upon them for timely

advice on consumers and the changing retail market place.

KIZER & BENDER recently made Meetings & Conventions Magazine's list of Meeting

Planners Favorite Keynote Speakers; they've also been named "Two of Retailing's Most Influential

People." And with good reason: Rich and Georganne are experts on generational

diversity, consumer trends, marketing and promotion, and everything retail. They are widely

referred to as consumer anthropologists because they stalk and study that most elusive of mammals:

today's consumer.

KIZER & BENDER are well known for their unique and intensive consumer research. Any speaker can talk about customers, but Georganne and Rich actually become them. In addition to yearly focus groups, one-on-one interviews, and intensive on-site studies, their research includes posing as every kind of customer you can imagine; and maybe even a few that you can't. The results of their research is literally straight from the customers' mouth: solid, ground level intelligence you can use to better serve your own customers,

KIZER & BENDER's observations are widely featured in the

medias, including the ABC News special report "How Stores Hook

You." Their books Champagne Strategies on a Beer

Budget! and Jingle Bells... Christmas Sells" have helped thousands

of retailers improve their bottom line, their by-lined column,

Georganne & Rich on the Road was twice honored with The

American Society of Business Publication Editors Award of Excellence

(ASBPE), and their Retail Adventures blog was just named the

number one retail blog by PR Newswire Media.

KIZER & BENDER's presentations blend brilliant

content with colorful examples, humor and insight.

You'll learn while you laugh! And you'll come away with inspiration,

strategies, tactics, tips and techniques you can use the

second you return to your business!

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