Branding for referrals

People refer others to a particular company, product, service or event so they will look good in the eyes of the referee.

That's it. That's their motivation. Period.

We know this intuitively, but now there's statistically-derived data to back that up. It's all in Scott Degraffenreid's new book, The New Art and Science of Referral Marketing - Embracing the N.U.D.E. Model. This modestly-sized volume is based on Scott's observations and sophisticated statistical analysis of large databases derived from research performed in the medical and pharmaceutical fields. You will find this book modestly-priced as well. Just click over to www.docmurdock.com.

So here's the question: what will it take for you to refer me to a friend of yours?

From a branding standpoint, the most important consideration is this: It must be easy for you to explain my offering to your associate. I need to make you appear authoritative. I want you to look good and be thanked (even praised) for your astuteness and benevolence in referring me.

So as the brander, I must make the offering crystal clear in explaining how this offering is different and better. My brand message must be memorable enough so referrers can quote with confidence.

Then I must deliver on my promises. If I don't, no more referrals and plenty of bad vibes.

So, make it easy for people to refer you, and make them feel good about doing so by delivering an outstanding experience.

I hope you all have a fun but save Fourth!

Martin Jelsema
Signature Strategies
Helping smaller businesses profit from the power of branding.

www.signaturestrategies.biz

Tension creates buzz - Vol. 2

I promised I'd continue talking about the NUDE model (novelty, utility, dependability and economy) developed by Scott Degraffenreid and described in his book, The New Art and Science of Referral Marketing (available at www.DocMurdock.com ).

I'll discuss the second pair, dependability and economy, today. Scott believes, based on the vast statistical evidence he and his team have amassed and analyzed, that people see a big distinction between dependability and economy, and believe they cannot co-exist. Cheap can't be dependable, and conversely, a really dependable product must cost more.

Now dependable does not necessarily mean high quality and life-long durability. It just means a product will perform as expected. Nor does economical always mean the least expensive. If a longer-lasting product can demand a premium price and still be known as the "value leader". So a product can provide both in equal measure.

But if this is the way you differentiate your product or service, there will be tension. And though tension will create buzz, it must be tempered. Rather than attempting to claim both dependability and economy as dual differentiators, it is wiser to position the brand with emphasis on one of them, or on the product's novelty.

It is likely you will lose some credibility by claiming both attributes for the same product.

Martin Jelsema
Signature Strategies
Helping smaller companies profit from the power of branding.

www.signaturestrategies.biz

Creative tension creates buzzworthy brands

There's a guy I know who's a "Social Network Architect". He used to be a "Social Network Analyst" until he wrote a book. Now he's an architect. His given name is Scott Degraffenreid. His book is The New Art and Science of Referral Marketing: Embracing the N.U.D.E. Model. It can be purchased at www.DocMurdock.com if you're interested.

Anyway, he makes sense, and then backs it up with solid statistical manipulation of very large databases. His NUDE model speaks to four attributes of a business or brand that generate almost all referrals: Novelty and Utility, Dependability and Economy. Tension exists in each of those pairs.

Scott believes a balance of all four are required to establish a "Tipping Point" ( a score of 315 out of 400), and that the tension of the paired attributes are important to establish high scores. (Don’t ask me how these scores are derived - Scott doesn't even attempt explanations of the statistical processes involved, thank goodness.) For instance: If all you offer is utility, no one will spontaneously refer your business to a friend. Too mundane. Not buzzworthy.

But if your product or service is all novelty (think Pet Rock) someone might mention it but probably wouldn't recommend it. It becomes a joke, or at the very best, a fad.

So it's really the tension between novelty and utility that will generate legitimate referrals.

If referrals are your objective, I recommend branding on the side of novelty, and them making sure your messaging contains strong benefit-oriented copy that people can remember and pass along to reinforce the novelty of the brand with utility.

More about Scott's findings about referrals in the next blog.

Martin Jelsema
Signature Strategies
Helping smaller companies profit from the power of branding. www.signaturestrategies.biz

Tension: required for effective brand

Two recent experiences have started me thinking again about brand uniqueness and familiarity.

Both clients resorted to an informal "market research" poll to determine if a unique brand concept was "meaningful".

In both cases, the results were obvious: friends and associates went with the familiar rather than the unique.

This type of research is usually instigated because the entrepreneurs are not comfortable with a fresh  concept. They, too are seeking comfort just as intensely as they are novelty. Comfort often wins out at the expense of a differentiated brand, so the brand never raises above the static. But one unstated goal is met:no one is offended or challenged.

Commonality has never generated buzz.

Novelty in face of conformity produces tension, and if there's anything that produces buzz it's tension.

So a little discomfort in the branding process is both healthy and effective. Go for it!

Martin Jelsema

Signature Strategies
Helping smaller companies profit from the power of branding.

www.signaturestrategies.biz

Effective names don't describe the offering.

Most business owners want to adopt a name that describes the product or service they're offering. But when you do this, you've named a product category, and your name becomes a generic, undifferentiated name.

An effective and relevant name can suggest the product's major attribute or benefit. It can evoke positive associations surrounding the product. It can promise a solution to a problem or the fulfillment of a desire. But an effective name, one that differentiates and will be remembered, will not define the offering.

Martin Jelsema
Signature Strategies
Helping smaller companies profit from the power of branding

www.signaturestrategies.biz

Consistent and conscious messaging helps build differentiated brands

Recently, the term "messaging" has become linked with Branding. And they should be associated. They always have been, but we just didn't use the term messaging.

The essence of a brand, especially a corporate brand, is the communication of the company's positive and unique attributes expressed through the company's"personality" to significant stakeholders .

Messaging - using words and graphics and any other sensory stimuli available - is the verb used to convey the action of developing the integrated communication of brand. It is also the process of crystalizing the essence of the brand, of developing the "brand story" and expressing it uniquely.

Now you may get some direction from a corporate mission statement, but that document is not a brand message. Usually the mission statement begins with a phrase like; "XYZ Inc. will become the leader in every market segment we ever wish to compete in..." That's an internal goal or vision. For a small business in particular, the brand message should speak to customer concerns - solving a critical problem or fulfilling a compelling desire.

The messaging may contain specific language you hope customers will adapt - like ordering a "Grande" instead of a small cup of coffee at Starbucks.

It may be the adoption and consistent use of a particular color to arouse a particular emotion. (Even though I never understood why you'd want to do business with "Brown").

It could include a guarantee, a customer bill of rights, a tagline, hang tags, icons and images, an unusual type face and other elements that help covey the spirit and purpose of the organization.

But each of the elements must be part of an integrated team to create and maintain a strong impression that leads to the positive and particular perception you want your customers to acquire and maintain.

So I suggest starting the branding process by establishing your message. Then integrate the message carriers to develop a clear and impactful identity.

Martin Jelsema
SignatureStrategies
Helping smaller companies profit from the power of branding

www.signaturestrategies.biz

lphabet soup - branding for convenience?

Back in the 70's, one computer magazine facetiously published a chart designed for naming hi-tech companies. It looked something like this:

Modifier             Descriptor            Type               

Advanced          Communication  Systems

Responsive        Spectrography   Alliance

Rapid                Delivery             Engineering

Creative             Computer          Solutions

|                       |                      |

12 more            12 more            12 more

You were then instructed to take one word from each column to create your very own hi-tech name. I'm afraid many computer entrepreneurs took them seriously.

Names comprised of three words are still popular  even though they make the absolute worst names on the planet - except for four-word names.

Why? Let me count the ways:

1) They strive to describe the product, thus they describe the "species" so there's no differentiation from their like-minded, three-word-named competitors.

2) They're difficult to remember.

3) They don't lend themselves to good graphic presentation.

4) And here's the greatest flaw - inevitably, people shorten the name to three initials.

This "shorthand" begins with the first memo to employees announcing the new name, and from then on, those initials "stand for" the company name. If the company stays in business for very long, those in charge will begin to believe that those initials in and of themselves mean something and will change the ackward name to initials.

Now those initials will have significance to employees, investors and a core group of loyal customers. But to most of the world, three initials are just that: three initials. Without meaning. Without personality. Without associations.

The solution: a name of no more than two words. And make sure those two are anglo-saxon action words - none of those Latin-ending words steeped in passivity (-ion, -ive, -ment.)

Martin Jelsema

Signature Strategies

Helping smaller companies profit from the power of branding.

www.signaturestrategies.biz

Branding strategy from a copywriter? Why not?

Significant branding value can be provided from an outstanding copywriter.

An experienced, big-picture copywriter (as opposed to a wordsmithing hack) may identify an undiscovered differentiator within the product, organization or business practice.  She'll ask the right questions. Provide insight and perspective. Have an empathy and understanding of your prospects and their "triggers". Then, he'll connect strategy with effective tactics.

Many of the best-known marketing/branding strategists, particularly those in the direct-response arena, are first and foremost copywriters: Jay Abraham, Don Kennedy, Ted Nichols, Jay Levinson, and more recently, my ducttapemarketing blogging channel associate, Troy White.

If you discover a copywriter of this caliber, immediately place her/him on your strategic team.

He or she will be an idea source, a sounding board and a customer ombudsman.

And she'll also provide attention-getting and persuasive copy.

Martin Jelsema

Signature Strategies

helping smaller companies profit from the power of branding.

www.signaturestrategies.biz

Differentiate by the Book?

When speaking of differentiation in relation to branding, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention a book by one of the founders of the concept of "positioning", Jack Trout. The book is called Differentiate or Die. The title may smack of hyperbole, but it makes his point: differentiation is a critical component - no, not just a component but the very foundation of a viable brand.

Mr.Trout classifies a dozen types of differentiators, and makes a point that most of those we would think of as significant are really weak - differentiators like price, quality and customer service just don't cut it. Why? Because they are easily duplicated, or they can't really be substantiated.

Just being creative in your presentation isn't a good differentiator, either (ad agencies, eat your hearts out). This is a credibility issue.

But having a truly unique service, or a specialty product, or a totally new type of event can differentiate you.

So can other attributes that are difficult to achieve because of circumstance. Those include having a heritage, being the first or being the latest.

Another class of differentiator can be deliberately achieved if accompanied by good timing and a modicum of luck. These include being preferred by authorities, being on the leading edge of a hot trend, or being an industry (or neighborhood) leader.

Then there are the differentiators that a company can create deliberately through core competencies. It may be in the way a product is made (materials, process, patent), or the way in which a service is performed. It might have to do with the way you concentrate your attention on particular design aspects (like safety, ergonomics, or customization). Another differentiator might be the commitment you make to a particular market or market segment. It is possible to become a leader in certain segments through a concentration of resources.

Note that all these differentiators are derived from a strategic commitment to them. They are not marketing/advertising tactics. Unless they emanate from the business's very core, they will be, rightly, viewed as so much hype.

So look inside, not to an ad campaign, to differentiate your brand.

Martin Jelsema

Signature Strategies

Helping smaller companies profit from the power of branding

www.signaturestrategies.biz

There's value in coined names

After performing a dozen or so name preference studies since 2000, we know people get exasperated with coined word names.

They don't like them because they're unfamiliar. They resent the fact that you are imposing yet another word they'll need to make room for in their memories.

As with everything unfamiliar, the coined name is suspect - until it has accumulated a "history". Once people get used to pronouncing the new word and get comfortable with its "surroundings", it becomes okay.

It may take a little time, but once established a coined name will carve its own notch. It's usually worth a period of adjustment to have a unique name. Because without one, there's little to convey the difference between your offering and the next guy’s.

Martin Jelsema

Signature Strategies

Helping smaller companies profit from the power of branding

martin@signaturestrategies.biz

www.signaturestrategies.biz