YOU ASKED FOR IT

“How many of you believe in psychokinesis?Raise my hand.”

—Unknown

March 7, 2013EMAIL MARKETING EFFECTIVENESS

BRAND OBSERVATIONS OF THE DAYFrom my random collection of info sources, here are some highlights related to the brands of our times...

• Zumba Fitness recently stated that email marketing was their strongest medium in terms of effectiveness. A representative revealed that their Black Friday and Cyber Monday campaigns outperformed the prior year by 400%! On a related note, StrongMail hired Harris Interactive to research email marketing’s impact over the holidays. The results were pretty amazing. Of those surveyed, 51% said an email from the retailer influenced their decision to purchase. That was followed by 45% mentioning TV, 42% print ads, 33% online advertising, and 17% social media. I know OUR plans include email marketing this year...let me know if you want to discuss how to implement it for you, too.

• I just HAVE to introduce our newest hire—Jake Wilson, Lead Software Engineer at HuebnerPetersen. Jake’s work experience includes programming new video games for Sony, as well as developing lots of revenue-generating

websites at his last position. His depth of knowledge, skill, and even-keel demeanor give us an entirely new level of in-house capability...and we’re pretty pumped that he’s here!

JIM HUEBNERj i m h @ h u e b n e r p e t e r s e n . c o m

C E L L U L A RT E L E P H O N E970-420-3382

Hmmm.

Brought to you by popular demand of a client, my mom, and some folks I met at a church potluck

From the remaining gray matter of Jim Huebner

Information that will make you smile, groan or think...

TODAY’S TOP TENGOOGLE SEARCH TERMS

(3/7/13)1) Rand Paul2)Valerie Harper3) Nicki Minaj4)Alvin Lee5)Hugo Chavez6)Paul Bearer7)Manchester United8)American Idol9) Iron Man 310)school closings

© 2013 Hmmm by Jim Huebner

Whether there’s snow on the ground or not, once March hits I can’t help but start thinking about four of my favorite outdoor activities: mowing, trout fishing camping and grilling. While there are plenty of branding issues to discuss when it comes to fishing and grilling, this time I want to focus on mowers...specifically, my John Deere mower.

The house we moved into nine years ago has a big back yard—at least bigger than any other back yard we’ve had—and it definitely warranted a riding mower. So I took a trip to my local Home Depot (I know...I spend WAY too much time there) and reviewed my options. Among the variety, the creme de la creme seemed to be the John Deere. At least that was my perception at the time.

Since 1971, their advertising had told me “Nothing Runs Like A Deere.” Some farmers I knew lived, breathed and bled green. And I knew I’d get the coveted and exclusive John Deere hat with my purchase. “Certainly, a Deere would cut better,” I told myself. “And surely it will be more durable,” I surmised.

But the bottom line for me at the time was this: Was it all worth it? Was the brand equity John Deere had established in my mind worth the premium price I would pay for it? After all, comparing apples to apples (cutting swath and horsepower), the Deere was asking for about 30 to 60% more of my money compared to other brands. That was up to 60% more for basically their reputation and the promise that their product would deliver considerably more satisfaction (again, up to 60%) than competing brands.

I decided the “Deere” WOULD be worth it.

So I bought it and happily brought it home. Now I had only experienced mowing with three other brands over the course of my life. Growing up we had a cheap little MTD rider we used to cut weeds at the cabin in the summers. We never had a problem with it until someone drove over a pipe with the blade engaged. (NOT recommended, by the

way.) We had a Snapper that I used at home and for my lawn mowing business when I was in junior high. That mower lasted about 20 years. And my wife and I bought a Toro when we first got married. It was basically problem-free for 19 years until the John Deere took its place.

And my premium-branded John Deere? Nothing but problems since the day I bought it. Now if I give them the benefit of the doubt and just assume I bought a lemon, then their brand will probably go untarnished, and people will continue paying a premium price for their products. But if millions of consumers have the same problems I’ve had (into the shop at LEAST six times since I’ve owned it), then it WILL catch up them.

In all of this, two principles stand out:

1. If you want to establish a preferred brand, be sure to differentiate and then consistently market over a long period of time. Believe me—it works. Familiarity (through marketing) breeds trust, and trust provides an opportunity to command a premium price. However.....

2. If your product doesn’t match up with the promises of your brand, it’s only a matter of time before you’re competing where very few want to compete...Price.

Jim Huebner is President of HuebnerPetersen Integrated Marketing.The firm was established in 1989 and specializes in making manufacturers heroes to their distribution channels through strategic brand positioning, integrated marketing, and front lines marketing services. You can each Jim at jimh@HuebnerPetersen.com or on LinkedIn.

A Deere John letter

...and on its way to the HuebnerPetersen blog...! PAGE2

WORDS TOLIVE BY

He who walks in integrity walks

securely, but he who perverts his ways will

be found out.

–Proverbs 10:9

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