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Growth Acceleration through Customer Experience Superiority
Posted by: admin In: Insight 15 Aug 2013 0 comments

CX to Brand v1.004

When companies find their growth falling behind goals or, worse yet, investor expectations, executives frequently turn to rebranding as a possible solution. If what leaders mean by rebranding is something more than a new advertisement or refreshed logo, they are on the right track. Messaging initiatives are only one component of how a customer comes to know a company. Often, leading with messaging is the tale wagging the dog.

Take, for instance, Yahoo.

The company’s “30 Days of Change” campaign is, despite the headlines, not “rebranding.” Referring to it in this way misunderstands what a a brand is. Simply put, a brand in not what you SAY about yourself, it is what a large group of customers collectively FEEL about you. Individuals collect over time a very broad range of inputs about what a company or a product stand for. The sum of these Customer Experiences (“Cx”) inform an individual’s gut feeling. And when those gut feelings are widely held, you have a brand– for better, or worse.

Yahoo’s brand isn’t mainly about its logo (which is a form of messaging– a component of Cx). It’s about it’s services and their relevance, whether personal or social. Interestingly, it may be the case that the sum of Yahoo’s parts– it’s non-Yahoo branded investments like Alibaba and Tumblr– may be more powerful than the whole under a Yahoo banner. What the 30-day campaign is about is setting the stage for a conversation around the brand Yahoo which, from all indications, will be founded on new substance– in particular, a dramatically refocused set of mobile offerings. In the end, a new logo is quite unlikely to revive Yahoo’s growth. Yahoo is simply hoping to warm the audience to a “new” Yahoo that will emerge as, they hope, more appealing products are introduced over the next 24 months.

There are three key questions any company must ask when examining their customers’ experiences and their brand impact:

1. Who are we?
2. What do we do?
3. Why do we matter?

Think of these questions from the outside in. Who do OUR CUSTOMERS think we are? What do OUR CUSTOMERS think we do for them (this is often something quite different than simply the sale of product or service)? And, most importantly, if you were to disappear overnight, what would OUR CUSTOMERS feel? What would they miss? Anything at all?

If Yahoo was gone overnight, what would you miss? How would you replace the services from Yahoo you now utilize? For many core (and dated) Yahoo services, legions of substitutes exist. But if you run a blog on Tumblr, your alternatives are more limited and your switching costs higher. That’s why Mayer, from a Customer Experience perspective, knows she has to work on the product through acquisitions and acqui-hires. The 30 Days of Logos is just setting the table. The meat has to follow, or Yahoo will be having one poorly attended dinner party.

What do your customers deeply value that you provide at least a little bit better than anyone else? What would they miss if you are gone? If you need to accelerate growth, think about Cx broadly, then narrow in on those few touch-points where you can out-perform your competition. Invest in strategy and operational fulfillment along those dimensions. Once you are delivering superior Customer Experience, you will have a compelling story to tell.

Eric Martin Chosen as Retail Merchants Expo Speaker
Posted by: admin In: News, PR 22 Jul 2013 0 comments

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Eric Martin, Founding Partner and CEO of 80amps
Topic: Branding from the Outside In: It’s Not What You Say, It’s What THEY Think

The Expo Luncheon speaker Eric Martin is co-founder of 80amps, the Richmond-based incubator he started with the Martin Agency, one of the country’s top advertising agencies. Eric provides new venture guidance the the Martin Agency and a host of local and national startups. Eric spoke about the ways in which Customer Experience (“Cx”) is built, why it matters so much in the age of information transparency, and how to gauge if your Cx is driving brand value. (Click to download the 80amps/Boost Cx Growth Inventory.

As a professor of entrepreneurship and innovation at the University of Virginia’s McIntire School of Commerce, Eric co-founded the Galant Center for Entrepreneurship. He has also lectured at VCU’s Brandcenter on driving wealth creation through creativity. Currently, Eric advises clients throughout the country on issues of corporate growth, product development, and innovation through his firm, Boost Partners. Eric’s 20-year career includes successful operating experience as an entrepreneur, chief executive, strategist, and change agent.

80amps’ Eric Martin Interviewed for MSNBC Story on Paula Deen
Posted by: admin In: Expert Opinion, News 07 Feb 2013 0 comments

Eric Martin was featured in MSNBC’s story on Paula Deen.  Read the story below:

Bill McCay | WireImage | Getty Images
Heat’s On in Paula Deen’s Kitchen: Smithfield Drops Chef

While the saying goes, “if you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen,” that’s easier said than done for a woman who has built a food empire out of a humble, Southern home kitchen.

Fallout for the celebrity chef Paula Deen continued Monday, as Smithfield Foods announced it has ended its partnership with Deen after it was revealed she used racist language.

“Smithfield condemns the use of offensive and discriminatory language and behavior of any kind. Therefore, we are terminating our partnership with Paula Deen,” the company said Monday in a statement to CNBC. “Smithfield is determined to be an ethical food industry leader and it is important that our values and those of our spokespeople are properly aligned.”

Court documents revealed the food celebrity famous for high-calorie Southern cuisine has used racial slurs and tolerated discriminatory jokes in her various business dealings. Deen has since posted three online video apologies. Fans, meanwhile, are flooding social-media outlets to defend their queen of Southern cooking.

Smithfield’s decision to ax its partnership with Deen comes after the Food Network on Friday dropped Deen, and said it would not renew her contract, which expires at the end of this month. Her cooking shows have been a staple on that network for years in which fans watched her fry butter and use donuts for hamburger buns, hamburger included.

(Read More: Paula Deen’s Fans Take to Social Media to Defend Her)

Deen’s Empire Worth an Estimated $6.5 Million Annually: Analyst

Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst for The NPD Group, estimates Deen’s empire to be worth around $6.5 million annually which includes her retail and contract revenue.

Beyond her food network contract, Deen has product deals with many companies from big pharmaceuticals to big-box retailers. Deen’s name is associated with a diabetes drug by Novo Nordisk. Deen previously disclosed she suffers from diabetes.

Deen’s vast product deals also span a who’s who of retail: Macy’s, Sears, Wal-Mart, JCPenney and QVC (owned byLiberty Interactive). Many of those companies are now evaluating their relationships with the well-known chef.

In a statement to CNBC, Paul Capelli, QVC vice president of corporate communications, said: “QVC shares the concerns being raised around the unfortunate Paula Deen situation. QVC does not tolerate discriminatory behavior. We are closely monitoring these events and the ongoing litigation.”

“We are reviewing our business relationship with Ms. Deen, and in the meantime, we have no immediate plans to have her appear on QVC.”

Sears Holdings tells CNBC they are “currently exploring next steps as they pertain to Ms. Deen’s products.”

Bad Celebrity Behavior in a Digital Age

As companies address the Deen situation, the public jury on her racial comments is still out.

Americans’ willingness to forgive celebrity misconduct often depends on whether the transgressions occur in the particular field the celebrity “plays in,” said Eric Martin, a partner at consulting firm Boost Partners.

“Tiger [Woods] rebounds, as does Manti Te’o, in a way that Lance Armstrong or Pete Rose never will” because the misconduct by Rose and Armstrong was in their respective industries, Martin explained.

“Martha Stewart’s insider trading conviction was far enough outside her field of celebrity that she could reemerge,” Martin said.

In Deen’s case, the public is not only reassessing her food business and dealings—but its star, who built an empire on a warm, giving public persona.

“Paula Deen’s celebrity isn’t simply about her food. It was also about her being the loving mom/grandma people admired. She had celebrity for being a nice, decent, giving person,” Martin said. “Using racial slurs, no matter where one is from, but particularly in the South, strikes at the very heart of that image.”

But perhaps unlike some previous celebrity flubs, Deen’s missteps are happening in a rapid-fire, social-media age, where judgement via Tweets can be swift.

“Damage can happen at hyper speed in this era of social media, and the blogosphere,” said Marty Brochstein, senior vice president of the International Licensing Industry Merchandisers’ Association.

Brochstein also agrees with Martin in that Deen’s controversy could be especially damaging. “Anything that even hints at racism is particularly injurious to a brand,” Brochstein said.

Brochstein said it’s important for companies that have business arrangements with Deen to react—but not over react.

Martin, however, thinks Deen’s image may have taken too much of a hit already. “I think her star is quite tarnished and will never regain its luster. She certainly can redeem her reputation among her core followers,” Martin said. “But I do not see her empire being rebuilt,” he said.

—By CNBC’s Courtney Reagan

 

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