Brand Development for the Left Brainer

Back to brand development…. this afternoon we invite a team from an advertising agency simply to share what they make have done for previous weeks after our briefing. We aim for maintain loyalty of our customers by developing comunity events and since the customer base we have is customer with middle-low income level thus we think we would balance what we can give and what we demand from them. Simply we would make them loyal but also maintaining their expectation slightly higher than competitor only… loyal not because what we give, but loyalty which means they ready to sacrifice for the brand.

And the recommendation is very standard from marketing science perspective although wrap-up with sophisticated and foreign axioms, phrase, picture and so on: ensure we target the right customer by exploring segments might be available and their potencies – jump to what might be their needs – jump again to core value and position we should establish on the mind and heart of those customers.

The problem.. and this is very big and often is that they make a presentation just by introducing brand buzz word, and jumping from one concept to another without data basis. Since they are the creative people they perhaps ignoring the fact that imagination without ratioale is just another day dreaming….

Unfortunately books about brand also make similar approach, lack of scientific background… at least from behavioral science. From left brain dominance perspective, brand development should be justifiable by hard fact, any initiatives should able to answer following (minimum) questions:

1. Brand is a name, so what is a natural thought generally emerge when people see and experience the product? If we have a donout like bread, what’s pop out in the mind of people who see it? a donout, a tart, or what?? When we can understand the natural thought we can determine how far we can differ? Remember that very small difference make the name not even remembered, but to overwhelming such as naming a chinese little dumb face dog with “Mozart” also make an iritation.

2. If we develop the value behind the brand, is it raise expectation unnecessarily? Do we actually doing suicide by setting high expectation without preparing operations just because we want someday our operations be there? If this happen thus the end of brand development is not brand loyalty but just stuck in brand awareness and activation. .. people should remember again the matrix of Kano, or motivational theory from Herzberg.

3. Does the return on investment can satisfy us? Many brand becoming very popular but popular just for the unpotential market. What’s the benefit is a Mercedes popular to youngster of middle low income level? Preparing when they become tycon if the economy boom again? Remember the brand trust concept,… I’m being remembered again by fellow blogger on this case.

4, Is there any measure to navigate the company dealing with brand management? or we just have survey on attitude which probably never proven to be a behavior?

So I am waiting for a local brand or creative agency which not only creative but also rational. A marketing consultant which not only very conceptual but also have a ground breaking creativity….

Other task to do of job seeker: Uncovering Corporate Culture

As we generally more concern about salary, benefits and position; we generally taken for granted about culture of the new company we applied for. We tend to forget that productivity, the key of career and salary increase, is a result of job satisfaction. We tend to run for higher pay-check and position without even glimpse on respect, “accountable flexibility”, atmosphere, support/ friendship, and challenge. Worse scenario is when we enter a new company with pay-check increase, but actually the position is a temp, or without understanding that the belief and value of ourselves is incompatible to what company value and belief in.

How actually corporate culture affects its employee?
The essence of culture is what company belief and value –in. These 2 will reflected to more tangible aspect of culture, namely expressed value and artifacts. Example of expressed value is “HP Way”, an employee guidance for working at Hewlett Packard. Example of artifacts is office layout, and dress code –remember how IBM called Big Blue, since the employee always wear blue suit which reflects it’s belief in professionalism, and hard work (value of IBM).

What will effect employees most, is artifacts such as:
· Working hour. Is it tight to schedule just like an army, of flexible just like an artist?
· Dress code. Do company has uniform or casual, which suggest creativity and personal responsibility?
· The office space / layout. Private space or open space which suggest openness, interaction, and teamwork.
· Extra office events for socialization. Is it strictly business or also invites personal interaction?
· Working atmosphere. Is it teamwork or individual and hostile environment?
All of these surely influence your heart and head, which in turn determine your performance, expectation and job satisfaction.

How we can detect corporate culture (belief & value, expressed value and artifacts)?
The truth is that you will never really know the corporate culture until you have worked at the company for a number of months, but you can get close to it through research and observation. Research, before you are interviewed and observe during your interview.
During interview, observe how employees interacts, how they are dressed, also observe their level of courtesy and professionalism. Furthermore you can ask questions to gain information:
· How are decisions made – and how are those decisions communicated to the staff?
· What role does the person who gets this position play in decision-making?
· Does the organization emphasize working in teams?
· What are the organization’s priorities for the next few years?
· Are there established career paths for employees in this position?

If you get a chance to meet with other employees, you can ask one or more of these questions to try and get a handle on an organization’s corporate culture:
· What 10 words would you use to describe your company?
· What’s it really like to work here? Do you like it here?
· Around here what’s is really important?
· How are employees valued around here?
· What skills and characteristics does the company value?
· Do you feel as though you know what is expected of you?
· How do people from different departments interact?
· Are there opportunities for further training and education?
· How do people get promoted around here?
· Around here what behaviors get rewarded?
· Do you feel as though you know what’s going on?
· How effectively does the company communicate to its employees?

Productivity Improvement: from technical to social phenomenon

F.W. Taylor’s scientific management (1911) is a rigorous analysis of input, output & cost aim to improve productivity by harmonize management & labor. He concerned about company’s health showed by productivity, and harmony showed by distribution of income. Although his aim is workers’ goodness, but his mechanical approach of company and worker made him see there is only ‘one best method’. It makes him enemy of the workers.

Taylor’s division of work is principal of scientific management, which leads to ergonomics, specialization and efficiency, but also leads to monotonous work & workers’ dissatisfaction since workers unable to see the end product & directly associated himself to the creation. Taylor’s one best method is a quest for Frank & Lilian Gilbert’ time & motion study. They introduce Work Cycle, Work Simplification & Systematization, and Process Flow Chart.

Elton Mayo through Hawthorne investigation found that productivity is a social phenomenon, not only technical / methodology problem. Fellowship of management & worker, cooperation & teamwork, self respect, sense of belonging, task identification & recognition are important to workers’ productivity. Further, Hawthorne study leads to the emergence of Participative Management & Leadership promoted by Robert Owen (called as 1st Enlighted Manager) & Mary Follet.

She found that Laissez-faire & Directive Management bring less productivity compared to Participative Management. Participative approach which essentially democratic, success simply because it provide what is needed in productive social environment and worker’s personality.

Profit & Growth: the meaning of working

Many put profit & growth as objectives in their life. Objective of accumulating profit or money even suffer people, making the idea that working is a torture.
Money according to humorist Ambrose Bierce is ‘a blessing that is of no advantage to us excepting when we part with it’. Obviously money is not an objective; a means, not an end. When we could see this, we won’t see accumulating money as something more worthy than the act of giving.
Work is no more dictated by money. Work is also a mean to actualize one’s potency and serving others.
Growth also empty without understanding the purpose of living itself, like growing into adulthood without mission in life.
Then what’s the end? I think it is to develop into wellness in its wholeness. It could means being wealthy, healthy and happy.

Aesthetic of Work

Ancient Greek philosophers identified 3 ideals: truth, good, and beauty. Chinese add in the 4th: abundance.

Science is dedicated to pursuit of truth, and technology to its application. Ethics and morality, to pursuit of the good, Aesthetic to beauty, and Economics to abundance.

Although management or economics mainly to pursue abundance, working without truth, good & beauty would be suffering.

Management should embrace technology, guided by ethical values, & in aesthetic way. How?

Aesthetic is related to creation & re-creation. Work should be creative to innovate something new. This could happen when company re-fresh mind, heart & body of her employees, it is promoting fun & enjoyment.

Lead Generation – The Spices

As the essence of lead generation is an understanding the right person to be targeted, the tactic is also important – just the same as STP is nothing without differentiation and 4P. The tactical level of lead generation, at least consist of:

First, valid and ‘enough’ database. For contact data, you must have at least 3 deep and 3 wide. This means you must have 3 level contacts and 3 peers for each contact, for instance to reach executive corporate Director, you must familiar by GM and his/ her secretary; while to contact a retail end customer, you need to familiar with the spouse and friend. If those deep and wide are not available, then contacting customer is risking money and time. So how to enrich our database? Buy it, or populate it through social networking and social event; both now even available on-line.

Second you need permission and an offer, generally by mail or e-mail. This permission open-up communication and create awareness and need of targeted customer. Common practice is using combination of media to bring customer deeper into relationship, for instance a mail as i) permission, and ii) information or survey to reveal his/ her need then enclosed with iii) a statement of an offering relevant to the need then a statement that the firm will contact customer a week after to follow-up. Without a permission, for instance the firm contact customer by phone directly, customer usually will feel invaded or/ and unprepared thus will result in negativity. Without a ‘bridge’ to reveal need, any offering will useless. Without offering, a contact will loose its essence, what’s in it for me (customer).

As the first is a fertile soil, the second is food for the seed (fertilizer, water, etc), then the third is irrigation; not irritation. At this level the firm need to contact customer with rich media/ channel to develop a positive experience. The media is considered rich if able to deliver and capture verbal and non-verbal message, for instance face-to-face meeting conducted by Sales person. If the firm needs an indirect media, then a phone call is the most appropriate – once again if direct contact is not available. To develop a positive experience, the firm need to communicate at head and heart level; not only communicate the competitive benefit to solve customer need but also to communicate that the firm understand and a partner for customer. The aim of head communication is positioning, the aim of heart communication is acceptance. Positioning says that our product is different and better than competitors, while acceptance grows from feeling that we are in the same side with customer.

Managing Migration Not Only Loyalty

Customer loyalty across industry is declining, driving a new paradigm of managing customer. Instead of pushing loyalty to certain product, you needs to realize that customer’s need is growing thus migration must be managed to the way profitable for the firm. In managing customer migration, you need to understand the indication of migration, and redevelop value.

But before you manage migration, you must sure whether customer migrate or defect. Defection is occurred when customer value (what value customer seek for) is remain the same but competitor offering is better. Migration is occurred when customer value is changes because:
1) customer need is changing due to changes in lifecycle and/ or social status, for instance mini sedan buyer migrate to buy medium sedan
2) customer seek variety due to active competitor, for instance apparel buyer who buy from new designer who do promotion. Based on above reason then we understand indications whether customer will migrate or not.

Value redevelopment can be conducted by many ways, from the most essential to the most superficial: 1) product re-design, 2) enhance delivery channel and 3) developing marketing program –after understanding why customer see existing offering is not relevant anymore, and whether customer will come back.
Product redesign commonly happened when the product status is decreasing, for instance Volvo is considered as vehicle chosen for executives, but as Volvo maintaining its value proposition, corporate executive nowadays changes to be younger, and casual thus making BMW more relevant. To gain back his position, then Volvo design is changing to be more casual and feminism.
Delivery channel enhancement can be conducted by enhancing frontline’s service skills, adding augmented value in delivery such as tracking system. Developing marketing program includes developing loyalty rewards, and ways to enable cross loyalty.

What Measure a Leader ?

An old book about leadership (1999), authored by Dave Ulrich, Jack Zenger and Norm Smallwood, titled Result Based Leadership states that leadership success should be measured based on 2 variables, no more no less. Interestingly, although the book title is about leadership based on result, the first measure of leadership success is not business result, but leadership attribute. Further, the book describe what’s the meaning of leadership attributes.

First is what leader’s do. This includes what s/he do, and what style of leadership s/he apply on. Second, is what s/he knows, including skill, knowledge and ability. Then the third, the foundation, is who is s/he.

Now back to leadership attribute and business result. To make this two clear, consider Bill Clinton. He can be considered as an American President delivering good business result, while his attribute as womanizer is considered as weakness but forgiven by face it blatantly, supposing nothing wrong happened. Yes that’s reality, American public forgive him, while no guilty feeling appear in his face even once. Jimmy Carter in contrary, considered as a good leader based on Christian righteousness but ‘fail’ to deliver result, expected by many businessman at the era. From this two, which one you choose?

Our choice reflects our value in life: business result or righteousness, something we do, or the really who we are. Christianity and I believe all other religion teach that at the end of the day we must choose to do what God wants or not. What God’s want is our transformation, someone who wants all the earth to be someone who wants nothing but God (including not wanting heaven as well).

So, whatever we do, success or not – we should think whether by doing many thing, we are closer to God or not. In proverb we are teach that it is better to stay poor but satisfying God rather than be rich but without God in our side.

The Basic of Qualifying Leads

According to a survey of sales managers conducted by CSI Insight, 70% of Sales Leaders are not satisfied with their lead generation process.

Since Sales Dept believes that the best way to get higher sales volume is to have sales team call on as many prospects as possible then Marketing Dept tends to generate as many leads as possible. When the target is quantity then Marketing Dept tend to forget the quality. To do this, Marketing need to:

1. Segment & targeting to natural buyers first, for instance the natural buyer of statistical software is Faculty of Statistics, Underwriter, Claim & Risk Management. The natural buyer of a can of beer is a blue-collar worker – as you see it is depends on the position of the product in the culture and social settings.
2. When there is no natural customer, try deeper segmentation & targeting both using a-priori and post-hoc approach. For instance to sell a SUV Blazer, do preliminary segmentation study to understand who naturally buy this product. See, Blazer generally bough or popular among macho executive who has American education background. Other example is segmenting a ‘common’ product such as a tire, which more difficult to segment using a-priori approach, in this case we can use segmentation based on loyalty, usage or other behavior variables (post-hoc approach). Sometimes segmentation variables is very subtle, just like a case above, so ask your Sales Reps.
3. Remember when doing post-hoc approach, sometimes customers or prospects’ behavior depends on the situation and product offered. For instance for a rally, customer buy special tire, but for off-road hobby he buy mud tire, and for everyday use he buy medium class radial tire. Other example is customer who buys an expensive candle for a special event, but just ordinary candle for everyday usage.
4. Profile each ‘natural’ segment for future improvement. When market is not segmented there is few variables significant as differentiators but after segmentation hopefully many will emerge.
5. Make sure the leads can be served competitively than competitors, in other word we truly have something compelling to the leads.

Technology can be bad

Technology by itself does not make anybody more productive. The idea is that technology sometime adds complexity to work environment, and every ounce of complexity dropping productivity. Secondly technology as a tool could not solve problem in people, structure and strategy.

These simple ideas, more often fail to understand by management. For instance installing a new prospecting software replacing the old manual report of daily prospecting activities at Sales Dept. The software will require special time of Salesman to input into the system, more time for Supervisor to monitor individual Salesman’s performance. Other example is how management thinks installing new technology can solve bureaucratic corporate culture; the result is from an hour of time required to write a simple letter to more than a day to do the same thing.

The funny but insightful story is how USA and Russia solve a problem of writing a note in the International Space Station: because there is no gravity thus conventional pen fails to work. Russia provide simple solution, a pencil instead of a pen developed by USA which required more money and time in development.

In Sales Dept, installation of new technology usually to ‘help’ following process: sales lead generation, sales contact, sales tracking, sales record, and sales retention. All of these process can be improved by technology, as long as giving Salesman flexibility in place and time –as well as the nature of the work, and giving Salesman more but practical support. In these 2 requirements, Japanese is more sophisticated by using work tools which is observable and always available, such as simple board using colors, and plate.