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By Peggy & Arthur Winters, November 29, 2012 8:24 am

As businesses and consumer groups grapple with the effects of global marketing, we are observing how various fashion designers adjust their marketing strategies to suit this uncertain new world. Some fashion designers are re-thinking creative design as a foundation for marketing. They are concentrating on how to bring a sense of personal involvement in self-styling for the consumer as a fundamental marketing strategy. When the world gets more confusing, either we pull in the reins and go to our strengths — or we go all out and cast a wider net.

Designers are focused less on “The Look,” in their seasonal collections. They are busy researching and creating a line that can satisfy more than one demo/psycho-graphic market. While staying true to their core target audience, they are also reaching beyond that to a broader range of ages and body shapes with a wider selection of fabrics, colors, styles, …. Looking to connect to “What is their world,” the new wave of fashion designer wants to create a brand story that will stimulate or revive consumer emotions and aspirations. More than ever, it is important that a style and the brand have relevance to the consumer.

A good example could be the current repercussions of the world’s poor economies. What kind of choices will be made with this in mind? When so many things look bleak for so many people, how can one’s personal styling make the consumer more optimistic? A designer may think back and design forward to create different styles that reactivate pleasurable emotions. It may be time to extend beyond the security of the “I can wear it anywhere” black dress, exploring the brighter, fun colors, patterns, and styles, offered at more reasonable, affordable prices.

What we are saying here is largely attributed to singular Lanvin designer, Alber Elbaz. Elbaz fashions are being created to resurrect one’s own “golden age,” and also to make one aware of their fashion self-actualization.

An example of “fashion self-actualization” could be one interpretation of “tomboy” style in a woman’s wardrobe. It may be a woman’s answer to not being obviously sexy. The tomboy may want to demonstrate that she has no present desire to arouse a man’s sex drive. It may signal her desire for freedom from flirting, as well as freedom from high heels, classic dresses and full-on makeup. Or it could be a desire to be trendy, yet casually elegant?

Note the following possible interpretations of the “Tomboy” fashion style. Let’s see how you react to the possibilities, as we need to find comfort in our currently uncomfortable world…

http://tomboystyle.blogspot.com/

Photo on the right is of one of Ann Mashburn’s famous mood boards — by F.E. Castleberry of Unabashedly Prep.

 As we stated above: designers look back to design forward…

The mood, the lifestyle, the “fashion self-actualization” of “The Tomboy”

Drawing by Arthur A. Winters

The designer who thinks “What is their world now?” —

is more likely to attract more customers.

Arthur & Peggy Winters co-teach SXB 200 Brand Marketing Communications for Image & Meaning and SXR 050 Intro to Branding: The Art of Customer Bonding.

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By Sandra Holtzman, November 17, 2012 8:11 am

The two shining examples of running with the pack come from the pharma world (just look at all those ads with happy smiling faces…the only thing that differentiates the ad and product category is the demographic of the happy smiling face).

A short while back, I did some primary research into about 50 law firms in the metro NY area – each firm had about 60 attorneys.  Almost half the firms I looked at, had bought the exact same website template – or one so close that differentiation was essentially non-existent.  And that’s before I got to the messaging – which was almost identical. The graphics were equally ho-hum.

As many of you have figured out by now, I’m a crusader for customer-focused market research and marketing.  Almost all legal websites talk about what’s important to the law firm and NOT what’s important to the potential client. It’s all about features and the benefits are almost never there.  Well, chest-beating does wonders for the ego, but does it bring in business?  In this environment, it doesn’t.  With so many me-toos (and very cheap off-shore solutions knocking on your customers’ doors), the only way to differentiate yourself from a myriad of other lawyers and law firms is to do primary research – that’s right – ask your customers’ what they want in a lawyer or law firm.  Listen to their answers.  And only then, with a trusted marketing or PR resource, should you start your website, and other messaging.

Fashion falls into its own category however the same rules of differentiation apply. Why look like everyone else when you can make yourself and your brand just as memorable as the product you’re selling?

It’s such a simple solution that it’s a wonder no one does it.  Of course, the result will separate you from the pack. Which is what you want. Because when you stand out, business finds its way to your door. However, standing out like this takes courage.  Every single company that has used customer-focused market research (my methodology is called Rapid Development http://www.holtzmancom.com/Rade/rade.php and the market research session itself is called OpenMind® http://www.holtzmancom.com/teamwork_openmind.php has had remarkable results. From Fortune 500 clients  to startups to the sole practitioner – in every sector. From pharma companies, to nano-tech companies to a Rabbi (yes a Rabbi  http://www.rabbibleefeld.com/).   Oh yes, attorneys and law firms as well.

Sandra Holtzman teaches CEO 035: Licensing.
She is the author of Lies Startups Tell Themselves to Avoid Marketing.

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By Peggy & Arthur Winters, October 25, 2012 11:22 am

by Peggy and Arthur Winters

We recently came across a quote from John Norman, CCO of The Martin Agency, which struck a familiar cord:

“We used to tell stories through campaigns. Now we build stories.”

As we mentioned in our August 2012 blog post, some companies communicate their Brand Stories better than others.

Telling a story is based more on a one-way communication and Building a story is based more on today’s demand for two-way communications between the brand and the customer and among many of the brand’s customers.

A good example of building a brand story is The Martin Agency’s “GEICO” campaign. How many companies have invested so much in a campaign, with a series of different ads to keep everyone entertained and informed on what the brand story is and does? This strategy is much more than the Gecko avatar, but he is its star no doubt. The campaign continues to live up to The Martin Agency’s philosophy to surprise, delight and break through the clutter with creativity.

Tying in with “You Know the Lyrics,” on a radio station’s website – Always in tune?

Looking at a brand or company, its personality and its projected image is how consumers take that first step to becoming one of the brand’s customers. When the brand weaves a believable, relevant, entertaining or useful story about what it offers, the consumer is ready to connect and build a long-term relationship. The attraction was strong and the brand delivers on its brand promises, a longer relationship will hopefully develop and last over time.

Take for example the new TV and YouTube ads for CHICO’S: vibrant, enthusiastic, romantic dancing, cheeky, stylish for their target customer:  fashion savvy women of 30 years and older, enjoying the joy of fashion, friendship, and life…

Or their sister brand, White House/Black Market, another spirited brand — building their story through an image that offers: “WORK IT, The Other Side of Work Wear.”
Connecting with another TV commercial and YouTube video presenting their dancing spirit with style and a fashion show. They are “dedicated to helping their customers feel that every place they go is more beautiful… simply because they are there.”

Both TV Commercials (YouTube links below) are strategically running during the popular TV show, “Dancing With The Stars.”  A smart alignment of message and audience, wouldn’t you say?

The challenge for every brand in this fractious, chaotic media world, is to take a fresh look at and deeply know who is their audience. What are their new media habits? How can the brand’s biography, history, and interesting/relevant anecdotes resonate across media formats to this more well-understood audience?

So it may be time to ask: When was the last time you took a fresh look at your audience and your Brand Story? And moreover, have you built a relationship with your customers? Are they looking for you and connecting with the brand?

Arthur & Peggy Winters co-teach SXB 200 Brand Marketing Communications for Image & Meaning and SXR 050 Intro to Branding: The Art of Customer Bonding.

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By Sandra Holtzman, October 20, 2012 11:21 am

This past summer I had the great pleasure of being a judge for the Chase Manhattan and Living Social “Mission Small Business” contest.  During that one week, I (and other judges each) reviewed about 600 business plan concepts. (About 70,000 responded.) There were 12 winners each receiving $250K.

First, almost all the plans fell into the middle range meaning they were good solid plans but didn’t stand out in some special way.  There were a few that were just plain confusing so much so that in some cases the name of the business was never mentioned, or I was left guessing what exactly the business was/did.

The ones that stood out, however, made sure that they answered all the questions asked in the entry information.  One of the key points that separated the winners was their passion which came across into the written word.  Another was their story…storytelling is very important because it draws the reader into your world and let’s them experience it.  Also important, and part of their stories, was how they overcame or were overcoming obstacles and their strength and tenacity to keep going no matter what.  One of the requirements was how the business contributed to the betterment of their community…and by that I mean not just writing a check to the local charity but actually having a positive impact on their local community. This included  job creation, another  very important factor.  Each of the 12 winners had all of these elements.

A word of caution…no funder wants to hear that your use of proceeds will go to retiring debt.  Unfortunately, no one cares about your past…they are funding your future.

When you’re asked or tasked with submitting a business plan, make sure to include all these aspects – they will help you stand out from the pack.

For details of the plan, names of the winners, and interviews with two final judges, one of whom was a sponsor, please visit the links below.

http://www.thestreet.com/story/11669958/1/chase-and-livingsocial-award-12-small-businesses-250000-grants-totalling-3m-through-the-mission-small-business-program.html

http://foundationcenter.org/pnd/news/story.jhtml?id=389700003

Sandra Holtzman teaches CEO 035: Licensing.
She is the author of Lies Startups Tell Themselves to Avoid Marketing.

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By Sandra Holtzman, October 13, 2012 9:54 am

Image provided by Shutterstock http://www.shutterstock.com

In a recent blog post by a PR firm, their primary research determined that the top three reasons a company’s PR efforts fail are:

1.       The budget was too small
2.       The client had no significant point of differentiation from their competitors
3.       The client or their contacts weren’t available or were uncooperative

I’m sure whether you’re a PR or marketing firm or a client, you’re able to identify with at least one of these situations.
Kudos for Bridge Buzz for their valuable research and articulating the problems.

Here’s what my team does to try and avoid these situations (with the caveat that PR is not foolproof and sometimes efforts fail):

1.       We warn the client upfront that there is only so much we can do for any particular budget.  If they want a particular result, and they are not budgeted for it, we state that upfront and clearly.  In some cases we have the client sign off on the statement to make sure that when the effort “fails” they understand that they contributed to their own failure.

2.       We tell the client immediately if their story is newsworthy and how newsworthy it is.  We perform our customer-focused primary research which gets all representatives of the customer stakeholders into a room at once and we find out what messages will be successful for all of them. The issues  of value proposition and competitive differentiation can be solved in the research as well.    The bottom line of customer-focused market research and marketing is that the messaging speaks to the customer in their own words which will have an immediate emotional impact on them.  I have never seen it not work.

3.       In Lies Startups Tell Themselves to Avoid Marketing (pp 63-64) we talk about a local hospital that hired a PR firm to get press. The firm  convinced a feature editor of a large local paper to write a story that focused on this organization. The PR person told the marketing person to be on the alert for a call from the paper.  The editor called the manager repeatedly.  The manager never returned the calls.  Guess what? The PR firm had done such a good job of selling the story, that the editor ran the story anyway, only he featured the hospital’s largest competitor because that marketing person made themselves available. So here’s a perfect example of shooting yourself in the foot by paying for PR for the other company.

http://bridgebuzz.bridgeny.com/

Sandra Holtzman teaches CEO 035: Licensing.
She is the author of Lies Startups Tell Themselves to Avoid Marketing.

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By Peggy & Arthur Winters, September 27, 2012 12:15 pm

by Peggy and Arthur Winters

Net Promoter Score (NPS) has been defined as a management tool that can be used to investigate the degrees of loyalty in a firm’s customers’ experiences. It serves as an additional tool to traditional customer satisfaction research. The Net Promoter Score is obtained by asking customers a single question on a 0 to 10 rating scale. “How likely is it that you would recommend our company to a friend or colleague?” Based on their responses, customers are categorized into one of three groups: Promoters – extremely likely to recommend (9-10 rating), Passives – likely (7-8 rating), and Detractors – not at all likely (0-6 rating). Subtracting the proportion of detractors from the proportion of promoters and converting it to a percent gives a Net Promoter Score.

Any analysis of NPS reveals that it is being employed as a useful form of market research that can present companies with an understandable way to measure customer satisfaction without getting lost in deep data. It gets companies to think about their customers’ experiences and loyalty from the customers’ point of view. NPS and CX should serve as a matrix or model for how customers see their interactions with a brand / designer / store and/or website and how the brand should work to improve these experiences.

But answers to only one question will not reveal the whole story of WHY a customer might or might not recommend the brand. To improve one’s loyalty NPS, one must look for the root cause. These interactions include individual stages in the customer’s exploration, discovery, purchase, satisfied use and services rendered.

Additional ways to employ NPS as an indicator of customer loyalty could include:

ACE – Actual Customer Experiences and referrals – using point of sale, call center and billing data that signifies exactly what customer interactions have occurred…

SPA – Superior Perception of Attributes that are revealed through customer conversations that inquire how satisfying were their experiences with the good old 4 Ps — Product, Price, Place and Promotion.

APS – Analysis of Promoter Score through further evaluations of customer interactions asking what they did as a result of interactions with the brand (designer, product, store, website, or experience). Specifically: “Have you recommended this brand?” These evaluations are calculated to define customer perceptions, future intentions for purchasing, and importantly, recommendations and referrals.

NPS can be an effective predictor of whether, how, and when a customer might, and actually has recommended the brand to a friend, family or colleague.

Above all, NPS can also be an analysis of Customer Experiences (CX) that serves as a reference for a company’s Internal Branding. NPS can be infused as a metric for evaluating a company’s systems for creating related Customer Experiences (CX).

How would this recommendation affect “STAYSEXY™’s” NPS Net Promoter Score? Drawing by Arthur A. Winters.

Arthur & Peggy Winters co-teach SXB 200 Brand Marketing Communications for Image & Meaning and SXR 050 Intro to Branding: The Art of Customer Bonding.

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By Sandra Holtzman, September 22, 2012 11:30 am

Make your product and services easy to find, easy for visitors to your website to stay a while, learn about you and follow through.  That’s what a medical cosmetics physician did and it worked for him (see link below).  The bottom line is he  got specific about what his customers wanted and gave it to them.  This included adding before and after photos of people who had used his services (this is equivalent to a demonstration of your product/services – one of the best way to get a customer). He also put a “Call to action” (what you want the customer to do for next steps) up front and center (ok to the right hand side of the home page but you catch my drift). And response improved.  He decided not to use a form because that would slow down and discourage follow-through.  While this worked for this particular physician and his customer population, another  physician who specializes in the treatment of pain did exactly the opposite.  He had a long form on his website in order to weed out patients who didn’t live in the immediate area (thousands of people have pain and he would have had to hire additional full time help just to deal with the inquires coming from his website), who had the kind of insurance he takes, and who had the kind of pain he could treat.

Image provided by Shutterstock http://www.shutterstock.com

The bottom line is you have to customize your messaging in whatever format you deliver it, to your customer’s habits and wishes. This means you have to reach out to your customer base and find out how they want to be “told and sold”. What’s the single or couple of most important messages that they need to hear in order to move them from a visitor to your website?  Then give it to them.

If you’re in retail like dungarees.net (see link below) then you might want to solicit customer reviews.   Find the issue that, when solved, will not only keep customers on your site (or reading your materials) longer,  but also convert them from a visitor to a customer.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/13/business/smallbusiness/three-keys-to-converting-web-visitors-into-buyers.html?smid=pl-share

Sandra Holtzman teaches CEO 035: Licensing.
She is the author of Lies Startups Tell Themselves to Avoid Marketing.

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By Peggy & Arthur Winters, August 30, 2012 10:47 am

Drawing by Arthur Winters

For today’s fashion marketing, original visual content is vital.  The marketing communications strategy is how to make it effective. We’re still seeing some fashion brands using old-style fashion model poses in their visualizations of their new styles or products. But, we appreciate and recommend fashion brands that are creating better visual stories, which provide customers with answers and suggestions. These brands tell a visual story of what they can do for the customer, not just what items they make that only create awareness by projecting their brand image.

Visual Content — yes …

Visual — but NO story …

Fashion marketing needs better communications that connect with the customer’s branding of self. Marketers could now look at their products for visual content and the story that generates its facility for self-styling. And in this multi-media, social media world, visualization in all its forms is pre-eminent.

“Power to the She” –self-styling visual and verbal story

A significant brand mark for fashion marketers is to see visual content that covers all aspects of customer/consumer experience. For example, a fashion firm might even introduce their customers to a fly-on-the-wall look at their design team at work. There is no doubt that fashion may be a most visual product that offers ever-flowing fountains of ideas for visual content – and desire, especially with the use of social media and web sites.

Fashion brand positioning can be more inspiring by showing the customer real life style and life-stage happenings instead of static, mannequin-posed model photos with their logo.

Starbucks visualizes it is the customer’s lifestyle…

Those brand managers who have a sense of the visual in communications may be the new Rembrands of fashion marketing!

What’s your story?

.

Arthur & Peggy Winters co-teach SXB 200 Brand Marketing Communications for Image & Meaning and SXR 050 Intro to Branding: The Art of Customer Bonding.

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By Sandra Holtzman, August 4, 2012 9:09 am

A New York Times article about two FIT grads who started a shoe company, sold it, and then wound up in court over several different issues – see link to story below – is, unfortunately, all too common. I’ve warned, as has one of my guest bloggers, to do nothing without having a lawyer review the contract – and after this story, maybe two lawyers, one a business lawyer and the other an intellectual property lawyer. This is such a sad story and, unfortunately, a common occurrence. And I hear it in all industries although fashion seems to be particularly vulnerable.

Image provided by Shutterstock http://www.shutterstock.com

You need a solid contract. Nothing is perfect, but a good lawyer will point out the most obvious potential problems in a contract and make sure you are protected. Two really important issues are protecting your name and the use of it (trademark, brand, etc.) and making sure that if you have to leave the company, that you are compensated appropriately. Even within these two issues, there are a multitude of options and potential circumstances that must be covered.  Every opportunity/contract should be viewed by you as a pre-nup. What will happen in the worst case scenario? Prepare for it and then hope it doesn’t happen.

I recently turned down a potential money making deal because my lawyer smelled a rip-off. A document was presented to me as a non-disclosure agreement (NDA), however, there was this little irksome clause that said I would not be paid for, nor receive any profits from, work I did.  That clause didn’t even belong in an NDA. When my lawyer adjusted the agreement to amend that statement, the other party killed the deal.

It’s a well repeated adage in fundraising that money does not come cheaply.   This adage applies to all business transactions.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/02/fashion/taking-a-hard-spill-in-designer-shoes.html?smid=pl-share

Sandra Holtzman teaches CEO 035: Licensing.
She is the author of Lies Startups Tell Themselves to Avoid Marketing.

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By Peggy & Arthur Winters, June 28, 2012 3:35 pm

Segmented Marketing has been rapidly replacing, or at least collaborating as part of,what we have known as Mass Marketing. So why would any brand, U.S. or “other world,” not customize their communications about their product, service or experience? With a rising local diversity in our domestic market, and an increasing mix of different global cultures throughout the world, a brand needs to continue to create strategies and communications for glocal brand marketing.

Some brands are trying multicultural marketing that attempts to create communications for more than one market segment. The brands that seem to do the job best do forms of Integrated Marketing that go beyond running traditional ads, doing outdoor advertising or going on-line. They are developing innovative Consumer-Centric Promotions (CCP) and Customer Experiences (CX). And they are considering cross-over life-style psychographics to identify “cross-across” target markets.

Today’s Brand Management has to recognize that cross-over segmented markets require more glocal strategies and multicultural communications than ever before.

One to watch is what a retail giant like The GAP is doing. GAP Inc. has products available to customers in over 90 countries worldwide. Their global expansion formula is to enter a country with brand-building flagship stores, after which outlets and smaller franchise stores can be added beyond the main cities, in addition to building an online web presence for each country/region/language and offering international shipping.  This plan goes on even with the news that they will be closing a number of stores in NYC, the USA and Canada.

In the Gap Inc.’s case, they are promoting their image of Americana and it’s fun, family, fashion and value appeals across the globe. They integrate or “glocalize” their promotions with the local customers as seen on their international web pages:
www.gap.cn   www.gap.eu

https://m.gap.co.jp

• 12.06.07

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Gapお得意のサーフグラフィックのTシャツは、POPなカラーパンツをチョイスして今年流に♪

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The Gap is approaching each segmented market with its brand story and brand image, while welcoming each target market in their own language and giving them the opportunity to adapt this American brand in their own “glocal” way.  In today’s global economy world, we need to develop our own global perspectives as we choose which ideas or products to include in our company brands and our personal customer lifestyles.

Arthur & Peggy Winters co-teach SXB 200 Brand Marketing Communications for Image & Meaning and SXR 050 Intro to Branding: The Art of Customer Bonding.