Master the Art of Saying ‘No’ as a Brand Marketer

March 29, 2011 Leave a comment

Warren Buffett - The Oracle of Omaha

Legendary investor Warren Buffet once said, “The difference between successful people and very successful people is that very successful people say ‘no’ to almost everything.”

The same can be said for very successful brands and brand marketers—they have mastered the art of saying no.

Today, more than ever, there is enormous pressure on marketers to grow sales and market share. This means the temptation of new opportunities:

  • Targeting new market segments
  • Adding new products and line extensions
  • Abandoning tried and true methods for the latest ‘flavor of the week’

But wise is the marketer who adheres to the wisdom of the Oracle of Omaha. Sure, saying yes to these new opportunities could increase brand revenue in the short term, but are the long-term consequences really worth it?

What happens when you take a child the grocery store? They always find something they can’t live without. Would it be wise to continuously say yes and give into their every request? It would avoid the kicking and screaming in the short term, but doing so would reap the long term result of a child who is spoiled and undisciplined.

Please don’t misinterpret my post as an excuse to stay where you are, saying no to each and every new opportunity that comes your way. (Just ask Kodak how this worked out)

This is about saying no much, much more often. No to new opportunities. And no current business activities that are futile. Most importantly, it’s about making the right choices for your brand in the long run.

Filed under Branding, Focus Tagged with ,

Brand Focus: Why is McDonald’s All Things to All People?

July 8, 2010 2 Comments

Last Friday, as I sat down with my coffee and my latest edition of Ad Age, I was quickly drawn to an article titled “The (Burger) World Is Not Enough For McDonald’s”. The article takes a look at McD’s push to become a beverage destination in order to get a bigger slice of the $153 billion U.S. beverage market. In 2006, they launched their premium coffee, followed by espresso, frappe’s, iced tea, hot chocolate, and smoothies (launches this month) in the following years.

This has really had me thinking over the last week, how can McDonald’s sell everything (breakfast, burgers, chicken, salads, coffee, smoothies, etc.) and still remain a strong brand? How is it that such a strategy has kept McD’s at the top, but been the downfall of so many others (i.e. Boston Market). That is, how can McDonald’s be all things to all people?

On the surface, McDonald’s looks like the very anti-thesis of focus.

» They offer healthy options such as salads, but they also have French fries if you care to indulge.

» They have cheap hamburgers, but they also sell their premium Angus burgers.

» They target children with happy meals and playgrounds, but they also target adults with free WiFi and frozen espresso beverages.

Based on that evidence, McDonald’s sure doesn’t look like a very focused brand. But (as I wrote about here) the best brands in the world focus on one big thing. For McDonald’s that one big thing is being the world’s favorite place to eat.

Like other “focused” brands such as Apple or Nike, you can’t really pinpoint the focus of the McDonald’s brand. That’s because the great brands are increasingly becoming a bundle of meanings, not a single idea.

To the naked eye this bundle of benefits looks like a strategy to be all things to all people, but looking through a different lens you can see that it is actually focus at its best.

Filed under Branding, Focus, Marketing, Positioning Tagged with , ,

Focus on One Big Thing

June 7, 2010 Leave a comment

“The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing.”

In his book, Good to Great, Jim Collins tells a story about the fox and the hedgehog. Day in and day out, the fox is always scheming up new ways to attack the hedgehog; however, the fox is always met with the hedgehog’s simple defense of rolling up into a ball of sharp spikes. And no matter how hard he tries, the fox can never overcome this.

Out of this story, Jim Collins developed what he calls The Hedgehog Concept. As Jim explains, “A Hedgehog Concept is not a goal to be the best, a strategy to be the best, an intention to be the best, a plan to be the best. It is an understanding of what you can be the best at.”

But it’s rare that a brand has this level of understanding and pinpoint focus.  It’s even more rare that a brand has the discipline to stay committed to this focus.

Original Focus Lost Focus
Market: Businesses 1997: Began taking aim at consumers
Product: Personal Computer 2003: Jumped into the consumer electronics
Distribution System: Direct 2007: Began selling in retail stores

Original Focus Lost Focus
Retail, specifically durable goods 1981: Purchased Dean Witter (financial services) and Coldwell Banker (real estate)
1984: Started Prodigy (internet services)
1985: Introduced Discover (credit card)

Original Focus Lost Focus
Rotisserie Chicken 1995: Expanded its menu to include turkey, meatloaf, ham, and sandwiches

What is the result of remaining focused on what you can be best at? Greatness. Just look at Crayola.

Founded in 1864, Binney & Smith (Crayola’s parent company)was originally produced items such as carbon black for automobile tires and red pigments for barn paints. Though they made various chemical compound products, their focus was always on the customer. Their primary method of product development was to ask customers about their needs and then develop products to meet those needs.

In 1900 the company began making slate pencils for the educational market. And by listening and responding to teachers’ requests for better materials, the fledgling company eased its way into the children’s art field. When teachers complained about poor quality chalk, the company produced a superior, dustless variety. When teachers complained that they couldn’t buy a decent crayon, the company developed the Crayola crayon.

Since finding its niche in the children’s art market over 100 years ago, the company has been incredibly focused. Even in the face of the digital revolution, Crayola has remained focused on doing one this better than everyone else, manufacturing superior art supplies for children. And because of this focus, Crayola continues to thrive.

Filed under Branding, Focus, Positioning, Strategy Tagged with , ,

Take the Blinder’s Off Your Brand

May 21, 2010 Leave a comment

When you are fighting for your brands survival out there on the battlefield, it’s so easy to put the blinders on and focus solely on your opponents. You are so focused on out-thinking, out-flanking, and out-executing your competition that you completely lose sight of what your fighting for —the customer.

Sure, paying attention to the competitive landscape is important, but that alone is not going to lead to success for your brand. Is there any brand that has become a success solely because they are eco-friendly or offer product varieties for the latest fad diet?

Of course not! But you wouldn’t know it by looking at many brands who have been putting all of their resources into trying to keep up with the competition and the latest fads. However, the fact is this…the great brands focus very little on competition and very much on the consumer.

Starbucks: Thrived at a time when competition thought that coffee café’s were dead; focused on creating a experience for the customer.

Nintendo Wii: Became a sensation by appealing to the “non-gamer” market, instead of continuing in a technology focused war with Microsoft and Sony.

Hyundai: With a consumer-centric marketing program, the carmaker’s sales increased by 47% from August 2008 to 2009 — even though total industry sales were up only 1%.

Filed under Branding, Competition, Focus, Strategy Tagged with , ,

Are You Polishing Your Gold or Copper?

April 14, 2010 Leave a comment

Drew McLellon posted a great article titled “Stop Trying to be a Liger Brand”. This is a great follow up to my last post about focus. Drew stresses that your brand must be either a lion or a tiger – but you can’t be both. Your brand becomes seriously compromised the moment you try to be a mix of lion and tiger.

The lesson is that you must focus on your strengths (what you’re good at), not your weaknesses (what you’re not good at). Focusing on weaknesses instead of strengths is a mistake. John Maxwell explains it best:

[It’s] like having a handful of coins – a few made of pure gold and the rest of tarnished copper – and setting aside the gold coins to spend all your time cleaning and shining the copper ones in the hopes of making them look more valuable. No matter how long you spend on them, they will never be worth what the gold ones are.

Focus on your strengths and stop wasting your time on all the other stuff.

Filed under Focus, Positioning, Strategy Tagged with , , ,

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