How well do you know the value of your best consumer? I ask this question a lot and rarely do I get anything but a generic answer. While it may be true that your best customer is female, 32-45, and has 2.3 kids, this is not enough to help you build trust and authenticity. [...]
The real strength of any leader is their ability to find the answers. However, you can’t find the answers if you are not asking the right questions. Think about it. This is a subtle but huge distinction. We have more information at our fingertips today than at any time prior and yet words on [...]
In every story, we look for the hero’s journey for inspiration, guidance, and wisdom. Behind every story’s hero is the guide. The hero’s guide is their Yoda - someone who has already slain the dragon, summited the mountain, or rescued the princess. The hero’s guide is the unsung mentor that helps the hero stay [...]
I talk a lot about what makes natural natural. The cornerstone of natural is authenticity. Authenticity resonates with your shoppers turning occasional customers into loyal evangelists. In order for authenticity to be effective, it needs to convey empathy and it needs to touch our hearts and our souls. The effectiveness of your brand selling [...]
Your packaging is the first thing shoppers see. It is the first impression they have of your brand. You’ve heard me say that “you never get a second opportunity to disappoint a customer”. Your packaging needs to stand out against competitors, it needs to tell a compelling story about your brand that resonates with [...]
It’s been said that our emotions guide our decision making and that we justify our decision with logic afterwards. The power of story is frequently overlooked by brands. This has been the primary focus of the conversations I’ve had with brands. Stories that resonate with shoppers build loyalty that extends well beyond any retail [...]
I keep hearing mainstream brands, retailers, and solution providers talk about transparency as if they coined the term or as if they identified the magic formula to increase sales. The problem with that is, as we all know, that those words ring hollow in the absence of authenticity. They use it like a cheap [...]
Promotions are necessary to build your brand but few result in any measurable longterm sales gains. The power of purpose needs to be included in all of your brand building strategies and especially in your promotional campaigns. Most brands use the tired “strategy” rinse and repeat – which is not a strategy. You’ve worked [...]
Most promotional spending is wasted or ineffective. The goal of every promotion should be to introduce your product to new customers. Current strategies do little to drive sustainable growth. Brands need to do more than “rinse and repeat” previous promotions to stand out in a crowded category. Trade spending includes everything needed to get [...]
Digital strategies can exponentially explode your sales, broaden your audience, and help you build a robust and loyal community. Natural brands are at a competitive disadvantage compared to their mainstream counterparts. Digital strategies change this equation in your favor and at a fraction of the price of traditional strategies. Brands need to OWN their [...]
