Does Anyone Else Hear Rushing Water?
There are times in a career when things hum along smoothly. The machine is well-oiled, the team works together like a veteran kitchen staff, customers are happy (enough), and management is looking towards the future and not the back end of the current quarter.
I'm not here to talk about times like these. I want to talk about those 'other' times, when a slight course correction isn't enough. Times when you hear the roaring of the waterfall and see what looks like the end of the earth appear a stone's throw from the bow of your brand.
Let's take a moment and talk about what happens just after you stand up and say, "We Need to Turn the Ship Around. Now."
Suffice it to say that brand resets are serious heavy lifting, not just for you but for your extended team, partners, customers, and management. Without everyone actively acknowledging their communal ownership of not just the inputs but their responsibility for the outputs, the boat doesn't turn.
This leads to your name being etched in the halls of the 'honored departed', who disappeared over the falls.
How Do You Steer a Ship?
Starting Right.
In my experience, which spans a few companies that needed course correction, I've seen a number of processes that have worked to some degree. All, however, have certain characteristics.
It will seem redundant at this early stage, but it bears repeating. Again. You can't do this alone. You don't "solo" a re-branding effort. Your management, your board, your peers, your team -- everyone -- needs to get it, understand why this is the most important thing on their plate, and what they're expected to do before, during and after this task is presented.
Your inputs will come from the four key constituent groups that define who you are (and who you aren't):
1. Your Customers
2. Your Company
3. Your Channel and Influencers
4. Your Competitors
Let's define what these needed inputs are, one by one.
It will seem redundant at this early stage, but it bears repeating. Again. You can't do this alone. You don't "solo" a re-branding effort. Your management, your board, your peers, your team -- everyone -- needs to get it, understand why this is the most important thing on their plate, and what they're expected to do before, during and after this task is presented.
Your inputs will come from the four key constituent groups that define who you are (and who you aren't):
1. Your Customers
2. Your Company
3. Your Channel and Influencers
4. Your Competitors
Let's define what these needed inputs are, one by one.
Customers
Let's Hear From the People Who Buy and Use Your Stuff
Any redirect needs to start with customers -- the people who buy and use your stuff. They pull inventory off shelves, talk to friends, and even blog once in a while.
Market Segmentation, Definition, Size, Growth:
Do meaningful segmentation here -- too often, companies short cut this step and substitute stereotypes like "soccer moms" and "road warriors". Segment your market based on unique variables specific to your industry. Do a cluster analysis based on real product usage data, wants and needs. Define them, name them, measure them, and over time you can see how fast they're growing.
Market Segment "Archetype" Development
Each segment has a story. Write the story. Better yet, have them write the story for you. Who are they, what do they look like, how do they interact with your stuff, how do they dress, what do they do for fun. Branding is story telling.
Market Segment Usage and Buying Patterns:
How do they use your stuff? Where do they buy? When do they buy? Do they buy and use, or buy and give away? Which segment does what and where? Draw out the maps.
Enthnography & Netnography
I can't jump on this bandwagon fast enough. Don't ask people what they think -- watch them and know what they do, instead. Ethnography, cultural anthropology, any scientific discipline that employs observing and measuring activity should be part of your toolkit. Netnography is a term coined by Dr. Robert Kozinets up at York University in Toronto, refering to the anthropology of online communities.
Brand Personality and Equity: What Do Our Customers Think We (and Competition) Stand For?
What do your customers think you're all about? Do they think you're cool? Authentic? Boring? What about Brand X? Add all the customer satisfaction data you've got here. Are they happy? Or could they care less?
Consumer Trend Research and Reporting Impact Analysis
What scanning are you doing to see over the horizon? How are you sniffing out the next YouTube in your business? And how does this impact your segments, their stories, and their usage patterns?
You've just collected a war room full of data about your users. You're 25% finished. With the data collection part. Let's move on to your own company and see what you think.
Market Segmentation, Definition, Size, Growth:
Do meaningful segmentation here -- too often, companies short cut this step and substitute stereotypes like "soccer moms" and "road warriors". Segment your market based on unique variables specific to your industry. Do a cluster analysis based on real product usage data, wants and needs. Define them, name them, measure them, and over time you can see how fast they're growing.
Market Segment "Archetype" Development
Each segment has a story. Write the story. Better yet, have them write the story for you. Who are they, what do they look like, how do they interact with your stuff, how do they dress, what do they do for fun. Branding is story telling.
Market Segment Usage and Buying Patterns:
How do they use your stuff? Where do they buy? When do they buy? Do they buy and use, or buy and give away? Which segment does what and where? Draw out the maps.
Enthnography & Netnography
I can't jump on this bandwagon fast enough. Don't ask people what they think -- watch them and know what they do, instead. Ethnography, cultural anthropology, any scientific discipline that employs observing and measuring activity should be part of your toolkit. Netnography is a term coined by Dr. Robert Kozinets up at York University in Toronto, refering to the anthropology of online communities.
Brand Personality and Equity: What Do Our Customers Think We (and Competition) Stand For?
What do your customers think you're all about? Do they think you're cool? Authentic? Boring? What about Brand X? Add all the customer satisfaction data you've got here. Are they happy? Or could they care less?
Consumer Trend Research and Reporting Impact Analysis
What scanning are you doing to see over the horizon? How are you sniffing out the next YouTube in your business? And how does this impact your segments, their stories, and their usage patterns?
You've just collected a war room full of data about your users. You're 25% finished. With the data collection part. Let's move on to your own company and see what you think.
Company
So What Do WE Think?
Understanding what you think of yourself helps define two important things: first, whether you're out of sync -- or in sync -- with what your market thinks, and second, it helps define who you want to be. Equally important.
Internal Vision & Scorecard: Internal SWOT, Match Up vs. Best Practices
What does the rank and file think about how things are going? You versus competition, versus alternatives, versus best practices? What does your SWOT analysis look like? Be brutally frank with yourself. Don't shortchange yourself in this important exercise.
Your strengths are core competencies. What do you do that no one else can do? If you're Apple or Sony, you understand industrial design. If you're Plantronics, you understand how to hang wearable consumer technology off of a human being's ear, comfortably. What is it you do that is truly unique?
Your weaknesses are are the gaps in your strategic capacity. You may have a great plan, but can the company deliver? You may find that your competitors' strategic Achillies Heel is a lack of direct C-Level enterprise penetration -- but are your sales people up to the task, or are they just too junior to call on higher ups? Be brutally frank with yourself.
Positioning and Messaging: Top Level, Brand Level and How They Fit Together
What does your current branding and messaging look like? How does your brand level positioning fit within your corporate positioning? Does this all fit together? Is Zip more important than Iomega? Is the duck more important than AFLAC?
Internal Vision & Scorecard: Internal SWOT, Match Up vs. Best Practices
What does the rank and file think about how things are going? You versus competition, versus alternatives, versus best practices? What does your SWOT analysis look like? Be brutally frank with yourself. Don't shortchange yourself in this important exercise.
Your strengths are core competencies. What do you do that no one else can do? If you're Apple or Sony, you understand industrial design. If you're Plantronics, you understand how to hang wearable consumer technology off of a human being's ear, comfortably. What is it you do that is truly unique?
Your weaknesses are are the gaps in your strategic capacity. You may have a great plan, but can the company deliver? You may find that your competitors' strategic Achillies Heel is a lack of direct C-Level enterprise penetration -- but are your sales people up to the task, or are they just too junior to call on higher ups? Be brutally frank with yourself.
Positioning and Messaging: Top Level, Brand Level and How They Fit Together
What does your current branding and messaging look like? How does your brand level positioning fit within your corporate positioning? Does this all fit together? Is Zip more important than Iomega? Is the duck more important than AFLAC?
Channels and Influencers
Are the Gatekeepers on Your Side?
Benchmark yourself against competitors and alternatives with the people who can help, or hurt, a lot: the people in the channel and in the press. How do your channel merchants feel you stack you up against Brand X? Who do they recommend? What do your analysts say about you? Your industry watchers? Their perspective is different than what you'll often hear.
External Partner Scorecard: OEM's and Retailers Front Line Reporting
Ask your key partners in the channel -- your buyers, re-buyers, and other key players what they think of you in a standardized manner. A questionnaire or a discussion guide, as long as you've fleshed out your brand strength, your competitors' brand strengths, a respective SWOT type analysis, and a host of other scorecard level diagnostics. Find out if you're #1 or dead last.
Street / Store Level Influencers: Benchmarking vs. Competitors
A good catch here is to get a street level understanding of where you stack up. Talk to the channel sales people in the stores -- the people who sell face to face to your consumers. What do they think? Are they seeing returns of your (or your competition's) products? Which ones have the most problems? Do they know how to sell it? Is the competition stealing customers at the point of influence? Find out.
Channel Characteristic Needs Matching & Benchmarking vs. Competitors
Do you do business the way they expect you to do business? Do you speak the same language? Or are you forcing your version of reality on them? Does someone else do this better than you do?
Influencer External Vision & Benchmarking
What do the key figures in the press think about you? Your competition? Alternatives? They'll be very frank with you.
Key External Executive Feedback: Complementary Partners (OEM's, retailers, etc)
External Partner Scorecard: OEM's and Retailers Front Line Reporting
Ask your key partners in the channel -- your buyers, re-buyers, and other key players what they think of you in a standardized manner. A questionnaire or a discussion guide, as long as you've fleshed out your brand strength, your competitors' brand strengths, a respective SWOT type analysis, and a host of other scorecard level diagnostics. Find out if you're #1 or dead last.
Street / Store Level Influencers: Benchmarking vs. Competitors
A good catch here is to get a street level understanding of where you stack up. Talk to the channel sales people in the stores -- the people who sell face to face to your consumers. What do they think? Are they seeing returns of your (or your competition's) products? Which ones have the most problems? Do they know how to sell it? Is the competition stealing customers at the point of influence? Find out.
Channel Characteristic Needs Matching & Benchmarking vs. Competitors
Do you do business the way they expect you to do business? Do you speak the same language? Or are you forcing your version of reality on them? Does someone else do this better than you do?
Influencer External Vision & Benchmarking
What do the key figures in the press think about you? Your competition? Alternatives? They'll be very frank with you.
Key External Executive Feedback: Complementary Partners (OEM's, retailers, etc)
Competition
Giving Brand X Their Due
Being extremely thorough, being as unbiased as humanly possible, and looking at problems from external perspectives will all help you flush out the truth from this process. Do not let mental fatigue weigh you down here; just because you would like to think Brand X is weak in mass merchants doesn't mean they are -- they may just be looking at specialty retailers as a higher priority. Look at the market through their eyes.
How do you evaluate your competition? Let's start with the following.
Competitive Set: Direct Competitor Stack Rankings by Revenue, Units, Growth Rates, Competitive Spending, Channel Programs.
Do the basics. This is probably available from industry and public sources. Do your secondary research.
Competitive Set: SWOT Analysis for both Direct and Indirect/Alternative Players
As mentioned up top, spend time on this SWOT analysis. It shouldn't fit on one power point slide, if you get my drift.
Competitive Brand Positioning, Personality, and Messaging
How do they portray themselves? What are their metaphors? How do they message themselves? What are they saying about YOU in their competitive materials?
Extended relationship maps - who competes where, who has what.
An interesting exercise is to map out who competes where and with what. Your direct competitor may also make products that have nothing to do with you; who competes with them in the other side of their business? Is there a discussion you two should be having about your common foe?
Competitive Intelligence
Do yourself a favor here. If you're going down this path, be very careful. Do your homework before you pick a competitive intelligence agency to start working with you. If you're going to go under cover, find a highly reputable agency that is a member of SCIP, and be very clear about methods. Make sure management and legal understand what is about to happen. Then sit back and enjoy the best data you'll ever see in your life.
How do you evaluate your competition? Let's start with the following.
Competitive Set: Direct Competitor Stack Rankings by Revenue, Units, Growth Rates, Competitive Spending, Channel Programs.
Do the basics. This is probably available from industry and public sources. Do your secondary research.
Competitive Set: SWOT Analysis for both Direct and Indirect/Alternative Players
As mentioned up top, spend time on this SWOT analysis. It shouldn't fit on one power point slide, if you get my drift.
Competitive Brand Positioning, Personality, and Messaging
How do they portray themselves? What are their metaphors? How do they message themselves? What are they saying about YOU in their competitive materials?
Extended relationship maps - who competes where, who has what.
An interesting exercise is to map out who competes where and with what. Your direct competitor may also make products that have nothing to do with you; who competes with them in the other side of their business? Is there a discussion you two should be having about your common foe?
Competitive Intelligence
Do yourself a favor here. If you're going down this path, be very careful. Do your homework before you pick a competitive intelligence agency to start working with you. If you're going to go under cover, find a highly reputable agency that is a member of SCIP, and be very clear about methods. Make sure management and legal understand what is about to happen. Then sit back and enjoy the best data you'll ever see in your life.
Aftermath: What You Do with Your Inputs
Closing the Loop with Stakeholders and Making Sense of It All.
What I've described above are all inputs to rebranding your company. All require serious thought, execution level planning, questionnaire or discussion guide development, lots of emails and face to face meetings.
It also means weeks of synthesis, extracting hidden meanings, and connecting dots that don't look like they fit together. More on that elsewhere.
Sorry, but for the purposes of this lens, I can't actually give you specifics into how you'd best construct all of this stuff -- that's your role here. You know your industry, your competitors, the hot buttons of your channel partners, and everything else you need to do a great job here.
Your next role is packing all of this together into something that makes sense.
What insights have jumped out at you?
What major disconnects have appeared between your self-image and those described by your customers? Your channel partners? Your influencers? Do your competitors agree with you on what your strengths are? Your threats? Look for gaps here.
Are your core competencies lining up with future industry trends? Does your strategic capacity fit in here, too? Or is something amiss in this troika of important future-portending factors? Spend a lot of time here. This is important.
Squint at this mass of data. Read consumer interviews line by line. Dig into your channel scorecard and understand why things are as they are.
Then, report out to your organization. If the news is good, be glad that it's good, and point the way for ever greater opportunities. Make sure they know that there's a way to go, but we're doing the right things.
If the news isn't so great, be honest. Houston, we have a problem. The good news is we see we have a problem and we now have a roadmap to get out of this mess. And your whole cadre of peers and management will be standing shoulder to shoulder with you in front of the room to show their support. Everyone should have a speaking role here. We need everyone's help, everyone's best thinking, and most of all, everyone's willingness to act like a team. The good news is we have more focus now than we've ever had and we know which way we need to go. So let's go. (Can I have an amen?)
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
If things aren't going right, it isn't about firing the agency. Do the heavy lifting instead.
And listen for the sound of rushing water.
It also means weeks of synthesis, extracting hidden meanings, and connecting dots that don't look like they fit together. More on that elsewhere.
Sorry, but for the purposes of this lens, I can't actually give you specifics into how you'd best construct all of this stuff -- that's your role here. You know your industry, your competitors, the hot buttons of your channel partners, and everything else you need to do a great job here.
Your next role is packing all of this together into something that makes sense.
What insights have jumped out at you?
What major disconnects have appeared between your self-image and those described by your customers? Your channel partners? Your influencers? Do your competitors agree with you on what your strengths are? Your threats? Look for gaps here.
Are your core competencies lining up with future industry trends? Does your strategic capacity fit in here, too? Or is something amiss in this troika of important future-portending factors? Spend a lot of time here. This is important.
Squint at this mass of data. Read consumer interviews line by line. Dig into your channel scorecard and understand why things are as they are.
Then, report out to your organization. If the news is good, be glad that it's good, and point the way for ever greater opportunities. Make sure they know that there's a way to go, but we're doing the right things.
If the news isn't so great, be honest. Houston, we have a problem. The good news is we see we have a problem and we now have a roadmap to get out of this mess. And your whole cadre of peers and management will be standing shoulder to shoulder with you in front of the room to show their support. Everyone should have a speaking role here. We need everyone's help, everyone's best thinking, and most of all, everyone's willingness to act like a team. The good news is we have more focus now than we've ever had and we know which way we need to go. So let's go. (Can I have an amen?)
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
If things aren't going right, it isn't about firing the agency. Do the heavy lifting instead.
And listen for the sound of rushing water.
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by shdenny
I've spent twenty years connecting brands to the wants and needs of technology users, managing the people, strategy and budgets at brand name companie...
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