“Sell the sizzle, not the steak” is the number-one lesson in sales. It means emphasize benefits rather than product. While this is great advice to follow, with branding strategy, things are somewhat more sophisticated. The answer to “What are you really selling?” should be: “Whatever they (customers) are really buying.” The problem, however, is that 90% of purchasing decisions are made subconsciously, with people having little idea why they really buy a particular product or service. Pinpointing why customers really buy, however, is imperative for developing your brand’s identity. A research technique called “laddering” allows us to do just this.
Here’s how it works:
Just as a ladder is made up of multiple rungs, and ascending each rung brings you one step closer to your goal, laddering is the process of digging deeper and deeper into the consumer’s psyche, to discover his underlying motivations for buying. The “ladder” used in laddering consists of four basic rungs: attributes, benefits, consequences and personal values.
Laddering research is accomplished by asking the simple question: “Why?”
For example, a parent tries to put his child to sleep at night, but the child refuses to cooperate.
Parent: Please go to bed.
Child: Why?
Parent: You need a full night’s sleep.
Child: Why?
Parent: So you will be well rested for tomorrow morning.
Child: Why?
Parent: So that you can pay attention in class.
Child: Why?
Parent: So you’ll do well in school.
Child: Why?
Parent: So that you can grow up to be the best you can be.
Child: Why?...
As you can see, with each passing swap the child takes at his parent’s request, the parent goes one-step deeper into revealing an underlying motivation for wanting the child to go to sleep.
Now, suppose we were able to sell the parent a device that is inserted into a pillow and plays soothing music to relax children, putting them into a deep sleep. Our target audience is parents of children that have difficulty getting to sleep on time. Utilizing the information obtained from the above conversation makes it possible to sell this device on any level of the ladder. The basic attributes can be its selling point by describing it as “a device that is inserted into a pillow and plays soothing music.” We can sell the benefits by calling it “a device that gives your child an extra deep sleep.” We can sell the consequences by saying, it’s “a device that will help your child pay attention better in class,” or, alternatively, “a device that will help your child do better in school.” Lastly, we can sell the personal values: it “gives your child the opportunity to be the best he can be.”
Once we understand the target customers "ladder" for your particular product, we will need to determine which rung on that ladder most compels them to buy. This will become your brand’s sales position.
Here are a few examples of famous slogans and catchphrases of brand name businesses, cast on different rungs of the ladder:
Attributes:
eBay – The World’s Online Marketplace; De Beers – A diamond is forever.
Benefits:
Staples – easy!; Verizon – Can you hear me now? Good!; Geico – Geico saves you money; Energizer batteries – It keeps going and going and going.
Consequences:
Rockport – Rockports make you feel like walking; Yellow Pages – Let your fingers do the walking; IKEA – live unboring.
Personal Values:
Apple Computer – Think different; Nike – Just do it; US Army – Be all you can be; Obama – Yes you can; Tug Branding – Stand out and lead!
Yaacov Weiss is a brand strategist and founder of Tug branding and marketing, based in Lakewood, NJ. If you’d like Yaacov to position your business, call 732-276-6432. You may also email Yaacov at yaacov@tugbranding.com.
Friday, June 19, 2009
Friday, June 5, 2009
Own the Category
There is a very powerful technique that not only makes your business stand out from the competition, it literally eliminates it. More than the ORDO we spoke about in last article, it will place your sales offering in a class of its own. To explain, I will first need to introduce you to the following important brand theory:
Similar to file systems, people automatically and subconsciously classify their purchasing needs into categories. For example, if you need to do a large grocery shopping, what you really need is a “supermarket.” “Supermarket” therefore is a category. By extension, retailers are also placed into the very same categories. So, when you realize you need to do a large grocery shopping, first you categorize your need as a “supermarket” need and only then, by feeling around within the “supermarket” category will you land upon a specific retailer, such as ShopRite. The purchasing decision process therefore is essentially one of first choosing a category and then feeling around within the chosen category for a supplier that best answers your need. Consequently, from the moment your mind first selects the “Supermarket” category, you already excluded any offering outside that category, including the corner grocery store. In the event you can’t get to the “supermarket,” you will, out of necessity, re-categorize your need (possibly compartmentalizing your shopping list into smaller sub-categories such as bakery, butcher, fruit store etc.) and consider options within second tiered categories.
It follows that if there was a way to create an entirely new category and make you the only provider within that category, there would be no (direct) competition! Many of the well-known brands expertly do just this. There are a number of different techniques to accomplishing this; I will share one of them with you today. We will label it “subcategorizing.” First, I’ll describe the technique, then follow up with an example.
“Subcategorizing” is the process of divide, conquer and name. 1) Divide- We explore broader categories that already exist (such as a supermarket) and find a section within it that has the ability to become a successful category in its own right. 2) Conquer- We position this new (sub) category to offer it in a way that’s substantially superior to its current offering within the broader category. 3) Name-We name the new category and let the world know it exists.
For example: Before Starbucks came around, brewed coffee was generally offered only as an ancillary part of larger menus, through diners, cafes and the like. Starbucks essentially “subcategorized” by 1) slicing off (or dividing) coffee from the larger menus; 2) it conquered it by offering a huge variety of coffees. 3) It named the new category “Coffee”. As a result, Starbucks became the only provider within its newly invented niche category.
Consider this: If all things were equal and there’s a choice between getting a coffee at a regular Cafe or at Starbucks, would you choose the Café, look for the beverage menu and drill down to the limited 2-3 coffee options they may offer, or would you rather reach directly for Starbucks, that is all about coffee? Chances are you’d opt for Starbucks.
Let me end with a disclaimer: When the world notices your new category doing well, direct competition is likely to crop up within the very category you created. It is therefore imperative that we immediately name the category and brand your business as its creator. If people realize you were first, they will usually consider you the “category leader.” After category owner, that’s the next best position to be in.
Yaacov Weiss is a brand strategist and founder of Tug, a branding and marketing firm based in Lakewood, NJ. If you’d like Yaacov to position your business, call 732-276-6432. You may also email Yaacov at yaacov@tugbranding.com or www.tugbranding.com
Similar to file systems, people automatically and subconsciously classify their purchasing needs into categories. For example, if you need to do a large grocery shopping, what you really need is a “supermarket.” “Supermarket” therefore is a category. By extension, retailers are also placed into the very same categories. So, when you realize you need to do a large grocery shopping, first you categorize your need as a “supermarket” need and only then, by feeling around within the “supermarket” category will you land upon a specific retailer, such as ShopRite. The purchasing decision process therefore is essentially one of first choosing a category and then feeling around within the chosen category for a supplier that best answers your need. Consequently, from the moment your mind first selects the “Supermarket” category, you already excluded any offering outside that category, including the corner grocery store. In the event you can’t get to the “supermarket,” you will, out of necessity, re-categorize your need (possibly compartmentalizing your shopping list into smaller sub-categories such as bakery, butcher, fruit store etc.) and consider options within second tiered categories.
It follows that if there was a way to create an entirely new category and make you the only provider within that category, there would be no (direct) competition! Many of the well-known brands expertly do just this. There are a number of different techniques to accomplishing this; I will share one of them with you today. We will label it “subcategorizing.” First, I’ll describe the technique, then follow up with an example.
“Subcategorizing” is the process of divide, conquer and name. 1) Divide- We explore broader categories that already exist (such as a supermarket) and find a section within it that has the ability to become a successful category in its own right. 2) Conquer- We position this new (sub) category to offer it in a way that’s substantially superior to its current offering within the broader category. 3) Name-We name the new category and let the world know it exists.
For example: Before Starbucks came around, brewed coffee was generally offered only as an ancillary part of larger menus, through diners, cafes and the like. Starbucks essentially “subcategorized” by 1) slicing off (or dividing) coffee from the larger menus; 2) it conquered it by offering a huge variety of coffees. 3) It named the new category “Coffee”. As a result, Starbucks became the only provider within its newly invented niche category.
Consider this: If all things were equal and there’s a choice between getting a coffee at a regular Cafe or at Starbucks, would you choose the Café, look for the beverage menu and drill down to the limited 2-3 coffee options they may offer, or would you rather reach directly for Starbucks, that is all about coffee? Chances are you’d opt for Starbucks.
Let me end with a disclaimer: When the world notices your new category doing well, direct competition is likely to crop up within the very category you created. It is therefore imperative that we immediately name the category and brand your business as its creator. If people realize you were first, they will usually consider you the “category leader.” After category owner, that’s the next best position to be in.
Yaacov Weiss is a brand strategist and founder of Tug, a branding and marketing firm based in Lakewood, NJ. If you’d like Yaacov to position your business, call 732-276-6432. You may also email Yaacov at yaacov@tugbranding.com or www.tugbranding.com
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