Archives for building products industry

Thank me now. Sell me later.

November 20, 2012

Thank You 

We’ve made the descent and are on approach — destination: Thanksgiving. That time of the year when our hearts and minds turn to all that we are thankful for. 

We express our gratitude to customers in various forms; phone calls, emails, cards and letters. Maybe even a ham. It’s all well and good when it’s heartfelt and genuine. But the minute it takes a nose dive into empty or salesy, the intention is lost and the opportunity to connect on a heartfelt level tailspins into a fiery explosion.

I experienced this just today. I received a message on Linkedin from a connection that I don’t know personally yet. I have admired this persons content and thought leadership and so I clicked open with great anticipation. And there it was! A sales message with a bit about Thanksgiving tucked neatly onto the end. My emotional radar just went haywire. And it didn’t help that my name was misspelled. Abort! Abort!

If you’re going to make it personal, make it personal. 

When showing gratitude, just say thank you.

Thanksgiving is a wonderful opportunity to give thanks. Thank me now. Sell me later.

P.S. Consider showing gratitude all year long. That’s how you can harness the real power of emotional connection.

 

Allison DeFord POSTED BY: Allison DeFord| Leave a comment

Where’s The Fun?

August 16, 2012

Where's The Fun?

What’s fun about your brand?

Anything?

We’re fond of saying that people don’t do business with companies, people do business with people. Its no surprise then, that successful brands are built on relationships and social interaction. What’s a great way to enhance both? Humor. 

Laughter makes everyone feel good. And the good feeling that we get when we laugh remains with us even after the laughter subsides. Humor helps us keep a positive, optimistic outlook. It attracts us to others, eases anxiety and fear, and strengthens relationships. Humor and playful communication strengthen our relationships by triggering positive feelings and fostering emotional connection. When we laugh with one another, a positive bond is created. This bond acts as a strong buffer against stress, disagreements, and disappointment.

How could humor, laughter and fun benefit your brand?

1. Humor gets people out of their heads and away from their troubles.
Humor can create a more spontaneous connection with your customers.

2. Laughter helps people forget judgments, criticisms, and doubts.
Humor can create a cooperative environment for customers, instead of a defensive one.

3. Fears of holding back and holding on are set aside.
Humor can create a safe zone for your customer relationships to grow.

4. Deeply felt emotions are allowed to rise to the surface.
Humor can create an emotional connection with customers based on transparency.

Let’s look at two companies that have tapped into the power of fun and are laughing all the way to the bank: New Pig Corporation and Big Ass Fans.

Can you imagine what could possibly be fun about “cleaning the oil and grime off tanks, equipment, walls and floors in dirty factories”? Not much, right? Sometimes finding the fun can be right in front of you, if you just open your eyes…

The New Pig Corporation’s original prototype was a 40-inch nylon sleeve filled with ground corncob. While testing its absorbency in a pool of dirty oil, someone called it a pig because it looked like it was wallowing in the stuff. The name stuck. They loved it. Their first users loved it. But when it was time to trademark it, they weren’t sure that “pig” would be the best name for an industrial product. A big-city advertising agency even advised them against it. “Your target market will never accept it,” they were warned.

New Pig trusted their customers and their instincts instead. They named the product the PIG® Absorbent Sock and co-founder Ben Stapelfeld chose the name “Pig Corporation” for their fledgling company. When he discovered it was already registered to a Pennsylvania farmer, Ben simply added the word “new” at the beginning to create “New Pig Corporation.” (http://bit.ly/NyWQLl)

What could be funnier than the study of air movement? Well, a lot of things. But that didn’t stop some dedicated big fan experts from taking a hint from their customers and capturing the humor in their brand…

Big Ass Fans started in 1999 as the HVLS Fan Company, but after 3 years in business finally bowed to the sentiments of its customers and conceded that they did, in fact, design and manufacture some Big Ass Fans. It was therefore a natural step to change their name to Big Ass Fan Company, and to “adopt” their mascot, Fanny the Donkey, shortly thereafter. (pun intended) (http://www.bigassfans.com/company/)

Their career page begins with: Work Hard and Play Hard at Big Ass Fans. That’s right, PLAY.
They note that they have “an outstanding work environment allowing employees to meet professional goals, learn new skills and most importantly, have fun.” They invite those who “like being an ass”, to don the Fanny suit for a number of charitable events they support. Fun is an essential part of their company culture. (http://www.bigassfans.com/company/play-at-big-ass-fans/)

Is there something fun lurking inside your brand? Harness the power of humor and create a deeper, more meaningful connection with your customers.

Make your presence felt.

 

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Lori Sallee POSTED BY: Lori Sallee| Leave a comment

Creating Wild Anticipation

August 15, 2012

Create Wild Anticipation
There’s a famous story about two shoe salesmen – each visiting a developing country to begin selling shoes. The first salesman gets off the plane and quickly notices that no one is wearing shoes. Downtrodden, he calls the home office and laments, “No one wears shoes here. Please book a return flight for me as quickly as possible.” The second salesman gets off the plane and notices the same thing. He quickly calls the home office and with uncontrollable excitement exclaims, “NO ONE WEARS SHOES HERE! Get ready for our inventory to fly off the shelves! ”

Perspective is everything.

People often talk about how quickly business is changing – some see it as a dirge and others see it as the door opening to an unlimited future. How do you see it?

In a recent Forbes article, Will Burns wrote an article entitled, “Beck ‘Produces’ A Genius Innovation That Appeals To The User-Generated Generation”. The article focuses on the possibilities of releasing an “album in an almost-forgotten form” and simultaneously creating limitless possibilities. The form: an “album” of sheet music – unrecorded in a beautiful, full-color package.

Simplicity. Nostalgia. Innovation. Seemingly disparate, opposite ends of the spectrum inviting and cultivating user-collaboration.

As the author speculates, “We will see Facebook albums, YouTube videos, web sites Tweeted. Anyone who takes a stab at producing these songs will pick up where Beck left off and promote the album for free. These songs will be everywhere. Touring bands may find new life if they can bill their act as “THE” interpretation of Beck’s album. It’s endless.”

This creative invitation for user collaboration, interpretation and sharing will inspire fans to create a new Beck community before he ever records the new album, coincidentally inspiring “wild anticipation” for his next concert.

My question: hasn’t there always been a “user-generation”? We call them “customers”. Its the people who use our products – either the way we designed them to be used, or “off label”, inspiring innovation. Is there a way to bring back something in your business to inspire wild anticipation for your brand?

Change your perspective. Make your presence felt.

 

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Lori Sallee POSTED BY: Lori Sallee| Leave a comment

Why We Love the Building Products Industry

August 3, 2012

Big Love 

Ever ask yourself why you do what you do? We talk about it all the time. Why we chose to be designers. Why we chose to specialize in one industry over all others. This is why we love the building products industry:

1. People  :  genuine, down-to-earth and smart

2. Longevity  :  this entire industry is steeped in tradition and long-lasting relationships

3. Loyalty  :  always going the extra mile because you want to

4. Surprising  :  we never cease to be surprised or to surprise those around us

5. Products  :  the smell of wood, the power of a tool, and what they create

6. Fun  :  every day is an adventure

Why do you love it?

 

Allison DeFord POSTED BY: Allison DeFord| Leave a comment

This is Your Brand on Pinterest

August 2, 2012

How Building Products Brands Can Benefit from Pinterest 

If you went to your CEO and said, “I want to allocate time to a website that is primarily used by furniture restoration geeks and women designing their dream wedding,” what kind of response would you expect?

Now, if you went to that same CEO and said, “I want to investigate a new social platform that’s driving more referrals than Google+, LinkedIn and YouTube combined,” how do you think that would go over? (Jesse Noyes, Eloqua)

You know the old saying, “A picture is worth a thousand words?” That’s the power of Pinterest. It’s the epitome of that expression. On a daily basis over 20 million people use Pinterest to discover, share and get inspired by people with similar interests. Marketing Profs recently reported, “Pinterest is arguably the hottest social media site on the Internet—user traffic to the online social catalog has skyrocketed since mid-2011—but the website also boasts strong audience engagement, retention, and virality among its core demographic.”

So, how can a brand in the building products industry benefit from Pinterest?

Let’s take a closer look. The Huffington Post recently published an infographic with these amazing Pinterest user insights:

  1. Pinterest users spend an average of almost 16 minutes on the site per visit (12.1 for Facebook).
  2. 50% of Pinterest users have children.
  3. Almost 70% of Pinterest users are female.
  4. 97% of Pinterest’s Facebook fans are women.
  5. As of January 2012, Pinterest had received just under 12 million unique visits.
  6. Pinterest receives almost 1.5 million visitors each day.
  7. Pinterest provides more referral traffic to other sites than Google+, YouTube and LinkedIn combined.

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Your customers aren’t even on Pinterest yet, or are they?
Take a minute, go to Pinterest and do a search for contractors (hold on to your hat). Wow, there are so many. You’re in disbelief. You’ve been talking about reaching out to architects and designers too, to drive awareness and sales through that segment. Guess how many of them you can listen to, follow and talk to on Pinterest? I’ll give you a hint….it’s a number with at least 5 zeros. Bazinga!

So, how does all this relate to you and your brand?
In order to be interesting to decision-makers, you need to be interested in what they like and why they like it. 97% of users on Pinterest are women. Research shows that they make the majority of purchasing decisions. They are on Pinterest for an average of 15 minutes a day. Looking for ideas. Researching products. Making purchasing decisions. Sharing their finds and opinions with everyone. Word-of-mouth is a powerful byproduct!

Your Brand on Pinterest
There are so many reasons for your brand to become Pinteresting, but what’s the real value? Can it help you leverage your brands position in the marketplace? The answer is yes! Start with these:

  1. Interact with specific audience segments more intimately
  2. Garner awareness and participation through conversation and visual stimulation
  3. Showcase new products
  4. Idea Gallery – “How To’s” for using products creatively and more efficiently
  5. User Gallery – Customers showcase success stories
  6. Drive traffic to your site
  7. Influence purchasing decisions

Pre-pinning Strategy
Before deciding whether Pinterest is right for you, consider four things:

  1. What marketing goal can it influence?
  2. How do we measure the results?
  3. Who will manage it?
  4. What added value does it provide to our current marketing mix?

Pinterest may be new, but it’s no novelty. Your brand can benefit from becoming Pinteresting. Happy pinning! Here’s to making your presence felt!

P.S. Don’t look now, but more opportunities are just around the corner. Manteresting is in beta…I’ll keep you posted!

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Allison DeFord POSTED BY: Allison DeFord| Leave a comment

The Power of Positioning

June 28, 2012




When you’re thirsty for a cold one, what brand do you grab off the shelf? There are so many. Which one do you pick? Do you decide based on taste? Price? Quality? Packaging? Beer makers know you have thousands of choices, so how do they persuade you to choose their brand? They differentiate themselves, that’s how.

What does beer have to do with positioning your brand anyway?! Consider this…Have you ever seen the ad or billboard for Stella Artois® that simply says:

“It’s a chalice, not a glass!”

One powerful sentence that sets Stella® apart from every other beer maker in the world. This single distinction starts a conversation…”Such an extraordinary drinking vessel requires an equally extraordinary crafting process.” This equates to “High quality beer in a very cool glass and you’re a cool person every time you enjoy some.” Who doesn’t want that?!

Then, there’s our favorite beer from Mexico that tastes best with a lime. How’s Corona® different?

Corona is relaxation.

“…Nothing else seems to set the same mood. Nothing else lets the conversation flow so easily between friends. Nothing else brings such a natural energy to an occasion.” No other beer owns tropical and relaxation, like Corona. Just drinking it makes you feel relaxed, right?!

Now, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the first light beer, Miller Light®. “Tastes great. Less filling.” How many times have you heard that? They’ve stayed true to their positioning since their debut in 1975. Lighter beer that actually tastes good.

They all have one thing in common—positioning. They’re leading with an emotion. An experience. A promise. Drink this and you’ll be cool, relaxed, less full (aka: magically thinner). That’s what branding is—a promise. They’re also telling a story. People are drawn in by the story and they buy the promise.

Now consider your positioning. What is your differentiator? Are you leading with something unique that only you own? What’s your brand promise? These successful beer makers realize that everyone can say their beer is a “quality” product, but only one brand can say “relaxation” or “extraordinary” or “less filling”. It’s never too late to promise a chalice instead of a glass or a vacation instead of a Monday.

Stay thirsty, my friends…

Allison DeFord POSTED BY: Allison DeFord| Leave a comment