steps to surviving today’s information overloaded society.10

HOW ARE YOU PLANNING TO CUT THROUGH THE PHENOMENAL AMOUNT OF COMPETING NOISE VYING FOR YOUR CUSTOMERS’ ATTENTION?

ARE YOU LEAVING IT TO CHANCE?

Information Overload is a fact, not a slogan. In 2012 there were:

2.4 billion Internet users worldwide

1.2 trillion searches on Google

634 million websites

59.4 million WordPress sites around the world

87.8 million Tumblr blogs

1 billion monthly active users on Facebook

2.7 billion ‘likes’ on Facebook every day

175 million tweets published every day

4 billion hours of video watched on YouTube

per month

1.1 billion smartphone users

source: newstex.com

WE LIVE IN A CHANGING WORLD.

The biggest question for every

business is – how do we generate

more connections and sales?

What can we say that resonates with

customers when they are ready to buy?

Businesses must be very aware of

today’s consumer, who is very savvy

when it comes to engaging with their

message.

Few of us have any way of gauging the

relative value of the information our

website, blog or LinkedIn disperses. Is it

helpful, effective and valuable, what is

ignored and wasting everybody’s time;

and how do you tell the difference?

START WITH AN ACTION.

Before reading any further, make a

commitment to yourself to act on

something you learn in this edited

report. Reflect on your competition or

the companies that impress you, begin

by using at least one strategy that

resonates and build from there.

IT’S YOUR CALL.

Many entrepreneurs I see simply start

a business: they rarely plan one. So

if you’re feeling lucky, your survival

strategy is an endless bag of money and

you don’t plan on using “The Ultimate

Brand Survival Kit” to improve your

chances, stop reading now.

Pass it on to someone who will put

it to better use.

WINNING THE WAR.

To prosper you need to be seen as a

leader and as the business that solves

your customers’ needs, rather than

pesters them to buy.

Stand out by delivering a far better

experience than your competitors,

creating brand distinction through

differentiation.

Yes, it’s a long-term play but there are no

halfway measures if you’re planning to

win the war.

“Luck is a dividend of sweat. The more you sweat, the luckier you get.” – Ray Kroc

When you have a vision, everybody wants to help you. They want to work for you. Put simply, a cause inspires.

In a six-year landmark project at the

Stanford University, James C. Collins

and Jerry I. Porras studied 18

exceptional companies. The authors asked: “What makes truly

exceptional companies different from

their competitors and what common

practices have these great companies

followed throughout their history?”

They determined that the primary

driver for a successful company is

theability to nurture a vision.

ACT NOW - If your business needs better traction for your marketing and you want to feel stronger leading your team, articulate your passions, desires and dreams. Belief in yourself will ignite trust in people who can see your passion and believe in your dreams.

Jerry Pooras and Jim Collins They discovered that companies who preserved and acted on their ideals outperformed the stock market by a factor of 12 since 1925.

Following the leader only clears the path. A vision enables you to truly lead.

SURVIVAL TACTIC NO. 1

Without realizing it, playing sport as kids was probably our first experience with branding. The coach placed each team member in a position that reflected their noticeable strengths.

We quickly learnt how to get recognised

for the things we were naturally best at.

Yes, that’s branding at its most innocent.

Just playing the game’ would not lead

to the recognition we deserved. To stand

out we improved our natural skills.

Supporting our team (think staff) meant

being clear on what we could offer.

Whether it’s on the playing field or in the

corporate marketplace Being different

gaves us an identity.

ACT NOW – My best advice for achieving meaningful differentiation is to never use your competition as a benchmark. Make the competition irrelevant and challenge the status quo. Just because “we’ve always done it that way” doesn’t mean you have to keep doing it that way.

Everyone is trying to accomplish something big, not realising that life is made up of little things. FRANK A. CLARK

In branding as in life “if you accept anything but the best, you often get it”. Being average is the hurdle to overcome as you build your brand.

SURVIVAL TACTIC NO. 2

The world is full of mediocrity and boring stuff. Worse still is the fact that boring stuff quickly becomes invisible.

Conversely, something remarkable is

worth talking about and worth paying

attention to.

You can’t sell a lemon no matter how

many marketing dollars you throw at it.

Creating and selling something

remarkable requires passion, guts, and

awesome ideas.

The more intransigent and crowded your

marketplace, the busier your customers

are, the more remarkable you have to be.

ACT NOW Never accept average. Start by looking at one aspect of your business and brainstorm how to make it remarkable. Look for ideas and inspiration that you can learn from. Go to sleep and wake up thinking outside the box: “what if we ...?”

Children are remarkable for their intelligence and ardor, for their curiosity, their intolerance of shams, the clarity and ruthlessness of their vision.ALDOUS HUXLEY

In life (and business) promises are promises but performance is reality.

SURVIVAL TACTIC NO. 3

To gain the attention of potential customers today, your brand must be supported by a cause, an emotional reason for being that people will relate to.

People buy BMWs because of two simple

words, ‘luxury sports’. Nike celebrates

the ‘inner olympian’.

Yes, international brands spend more

money than you or I have to secure

their inspired footprint, but that’s no

excuse. Australia’s Solargain strives to

be ‘Solar energy specialists’. Not heating,

not industrial, not systems and not hot

water. By being energy specialists they

gain instant and broad credibility. They

do, however, have to live up to the claim!

ACT NOW – Reach out to your team or a professional and work on uncovering your cause/passion. Then promote it endlessly. Weave it onto the front page of your website, use it in your email sign off, plaster it onto the company cars and shout it from the rooftops.

Only one who devotes himself to a cause with his whole strength and soul can be a true master.ALBERT EINSTEIN

A cause inspires, it’s as simple as that!

SURVIVAL TACTIC NO. 4

Business is not fought in the jungle so ditch the camouflage. When you determine what is truly distinctive and unique about your company you need to get the news out through every channel you can.

BUT be careful not to just add to the

clutter of useless information cluttering

cyber space. As globalism removes

barriers, people are erecting new ones.

Our brains are very clever at filtering out

irrelevant information, letting in only

what’s different and above all useful.

You must focus on why your product

matters. Continually reinforce what you

do differently to your competition in a

meaningful way. By being clear, it will

help you find the customers who ‘get’

what you say and want to listen.

ACT NOW – Study the activities you perform that your rivals don’t, or the similar activities you perform in different ways. Then shout about it. Use design to show it. Use content to explain it. Use media to get it heard. And use your team to reinforce it.

“What you say in advertising is more important than how you say it.” David Ogilvy, Confessions of an Advertising Man

Be clear on your product or service’s point of difference and be sure to ramp up the contrast!

SURVIVAL TACTIC NO. 5

The rapid pace of technology is introducing a mind-numbing number of what are essentially marketing platforms. As human beings we are attracted to shiny new things like bees to flowers.

Where once we connected via a letter,

fax or phone, we now have an endless

supply of platforms. Websites, Blogs,

Pinterest, Quora, Google+, Tumblr,

Slideshare, Facebook. And now we have

MySpace re-launching.

Focus on your message, not the

messenger. What is a Facebook post that

ignores its audience’s demographic?

What’s a Twitter post if it’s not timely?

What is a Slideshare presentation unless

it tells the audience something they

didn’t already know?

ACT NOW – Consumers are information rich and time poor. Your brand grows hinges on how easily customers ‘get’ what you’re offering. They decide which platform they like. Your task is to find out where that is and then use the right language and messages that fit with that platform.

The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well the product or service fits him and sells itself.PETER F. DRUCKER

Don’t confuse the growing number of channels with your brand’s voice. The channels are simply tools, your content is your voice.

SURVIVAL TACTIC NO. 6

Media today is not limited to newspapers, tv, radio and the internet. Broaden your thinking and see media as any and all means of communication.

Then treat each touch point as an

opportunity to strengthen your brand

and communicate your essence.

There are everyday touch points that you

shouldn’t ignore. Why not use your email

sign-off to tell more of your brand story

or think of a “thank you” note as media?

Why can’t a PDF form be interactive. Why

does a parcel have to arrive in a generic

box instead of a branded one?

What is your impression of a company

who sends a generic Christmas card?

ACT NOW – Write a list of every point of contact your business has with customers; in person, online, through mail, forms etc. Now think how you could turn each into a better experience with your customer. What will leave them with a better impression of your business? Why don’t you start with your company Christmas card?

Because it is its purpose to create a customer, any business enterprise has two – and only these two – basic functions: marketing and innovation.

PETER F. DRUCKER

If a customer touches or sees it, it’s media. Go ahead and paint every canvas!

SURVIVAL TACTIC NO. 7

A century ago we shopped at the local corner store and the ever-cheerful local butcher.

An intimate relationship the level of trust

grew, leading us to clearly understand their

unique offering.

In today’s commercial marketplace, building

relationships so you can clearly communicate

your point of difference and your values has

lost none of its significance. Establishing

trust you will spend less time telling them

why your product or service is so good, and

competing on price will become less of an

issue.

ACT NOW – Positive interaction with business hinges on shared interests and values. If you believed in saving the planet would you pay a small premium to use a green dry cleaner? Think about what is different about your business and what a customer will actually care about. If you don’t find one, create one.

I’m not upset that you lied to me, I’m upset that from now on I can’t believe you.FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE

Your customers are very judgmental: tell them why you matter before they decide for you.

SURVIVAL TACTIC NO. 8

In today’s world of megaplexes & superstores, business needs to take a small-town retailer’s perspective when it comes to their customers. Your customers are not dependent on you – you are dependent on them.

Marketing is all about their needs, ideals,

wants and desires. You must forget about

messages that talk about you do and

focus on the problem that your product/

service solves for your customers.

Apple don’t sell computers, they market

technology their customers love. Nike

don’t just sell shoes and clothes, they

sell the dream of athletic achievement.

And Bunnings sell more than paint: they

sell the widest choice at the lowest price

because they have determined that is

what their customers want above all else.

ACT NOW – Adopt the ‘customer-first’ mentality. Examine the emotional reasons your customers buy your products or services. What problem have you fixed for them or how have you made them feel better?

In the end, the customer doesn’t know, or care, if you are a small or large organisation. She or he only focuses on the garment hanging on the rail in the store.

GIORGIO ARMANI

It’s not about you; it’s all about your customer.

SURVIVAL TACTIC NO. 9

From engaging with customers to marketing products, information technology rules our actions. This presents new opportunities and demands new approaches to how we go about managing our brands.

Print is declining. Everything can be

updated, modified, and adapted. News

is released through Facebook pages.

Mobile apps add to the brand experience.

Manufacturing processes are rapidly

evolving through 3D printing, just-in-time

manufacturing etc. Activities from HR to

finance all operate in the cloud. If there is

a problem, chances are IT will fix it.

Marketing employs the materials and

production of the time, so we need to be

agile and adaptable when we do it.

ACT NOW – IT can be an expensive resource. Look at what functions and expertise you can bring inhouse. Every leading brand has a unique difference so think of ways to use IT to reinforce yours. Focus on customer experience and customer service first.

IT and marketing are merging, so get closer to your inner geek.

SURVIVAL TACTIC NO. 10

Information technology and business are becoming inextricably interwoven. I don’t think anybody can talk meaningfully about one without talking about the other.

BILL GATES

The ideas outlined on the previous pages have helped many of our clients earn leadership status and top of mind presence at the crucial moment of purchase.

To survive today your brand must have,

at a minimum, unique attributes,

functions or features. If your brand

can claim unique benefits as well your

chances of survival increase, but if your

brand stands for something that shares

a set of values with its customers – then

you’re bullet proof.

So make sure you’re impossible to

ignore, differentiate your brand, tell your

story, embrace technology and break

some rules.

If your brand stands for something that shares a set of values with its customers – then you’re bullet proof.

Creative Brew focus on branding & marketing for small and medium sized firms.

We believe in:

• Helping our clients build their

competitive positioning – Clearly

understanding and articulating your

point of difference should be the

foundation of all your marketing

activities.

• Providing the right brand strategy

– we place great importance on using

strategies that bring your competitive

positioning to life, by defining you as a

certain “something” in the mind of your

market.

• Planning and building the right

brand drivers – today, marketing is so

complicated, it’s impossible for mid-

size enterprises to master current or

emerging new media ontop of their

traditional media activities.

Our journey is not dissimilar to yours.

We are growing and learning every day.

To help us make this guide even better

we want to hear from you. Please drop

us a line: info@creativebrew.com.au

Thank you! The Creative Brew Team

creativebrew.com.au

blog.creativebrew.com.au

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