YOU ASKED FOR IT

“All generalizations are false,including this one.”

—Mark Twain

April 17, 2014FOOD FIGHTS AND BAD REPUTATIONS

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

• Remember last time when I mentioned that Taco Bell was using a bunch of guys named Ronald MacDonald to roll out their new breakfast menu? Well, now Starbucks is after Dunkin’ Donuts with an ad featuring guys named Duncan. What’s next? Guys named Carl Jr. flipping burgers at Wendy’s?

• This should grab the attention of Pizza Hut, Domino’s and Little Caesers...A study done by Ad-ology on the effectiveness of cause marketing showed that 38.4% of U.S. adults would switch pizza brands if a portion of the sale were donated to a charity they supported. And even MORE surprising...52% of brand switchers order pizza at least once a week!

• And if your company doesn’t pay much attention to what consumers say about you online, maybe this will wake you up...Bazaarvoice reports that when a brand actually responds to an online review of their products, 71% of consumers will change their perception of the brand! What companies could benefit from a little response time? Well, according to 247wallst.com, these guys had the worst reputations last year...

AIG.....GoldmanSachs.....HalliburtonAmerican Airlines.....Bank of AmericaCitigroup.....BP.....JP Morgan

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...

From my“Photos of Irony” file

© 2014 Hmmm by Jim Huebner

Your customers are looking for a hero...

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

Heroes—particularly in business—are not always easy to come by.Take Webster’s definition and replace the word “person” with “company.” Now try to come up with a list of firms who are “admired for great or brave acts or fine qualities.”

The fine qualities piece is a little easier. I do believe there are lots of companies with high standards, great integrity, and hard-working staff members. But Superman and his cohorts are known much more for their acts of bravery than their “fine qualities.”

Think about why you’re loyal to a certain brand. If you’re like me, you’re loyal because:

...they’ve made it easy to do business with them...they’ve made it fun to do business with them...they’ve made you more beautiful...they’ve made you feel important...they’ve saved you money...they’ve saved you time...they’ve saved your life

Hmmm. Sounds a lot like a hero to me.

Take our client base for example. We work with manufacturers who sell their products through distribution channels. While those dealers, distributors or franchisees often say they’re just looking for the best price, the truth is, they’re looking for a hero.

How do we know? Because of the questions they ask our clients...

• How soon can you get it here?• Can I get better terms?• Will you help me advertise it?

• Will you tell me how much product I should carry?• Are there any spifs for my salespeople?• Are there any spifs for me?• Please tell our customers what’s different about your products.•Can you train our salespeople?• Will you help me take care of my customers after the sale?

• Will you keep those other guys from selling in my territory?•Will you drive customers to my dealership?

These are all questions that, to address properly, often require taking risks. It requires investments of capital, time and resources. And sometimes, it even requires feats of bravery. In short,it requires a hero.

If you’re ready for YOUR cape, here are just a few tried and true ways we’ve seen OEMs become heroes to their distribution channels...

- Offer an incentive trip for volume purchases. It’s a nice reward, and a great way to reinforce relationships.

- Offer a co-op advertising program. When you control the messaging, there’s no more cost-effective way to build your brand at the local level, and at the same time help your dealer sell your products.

- Help them keep up with technology. Offer local online marketing services. Offer web hosting services or microsites. Provide leads and accountability for follow-up on leads.

- For loyal, active dealers, protecttheir territories with a vengeance.

- Invest in special events that focus on them, recognize them, and thank them for their business.

- Invest in high quality marketing tools to help them sell your products. They’ll not only be proud to show off materials that make them look good, it will enhance your brand as well.

- And perhaps most important, give them a compelling story to tell about your brand and your products. There’s nothing more empowering for a dealer salesperson than a story they can tell their customers that truly differentiates you from everyone else.

Jim Huebner is President of HuebnerPetersen Integrated Marketing.The firm was established in 1989 and specializes in making companies heroes to their distribution channels through strategic brand positioning, integrated marketing, and front lines marketing services. You can reach Jim at jimh@HuebnerPetersen.com or on LinkedIn. For “Hmmm” archives, CLICK HERE

WORDS TO

LIVE BY

Looking up,

they saw that

the stone had

been rolled away...

–Mark 16:4 (NASB)

he·ro noun \ˈhir-(ˌ)ō\: a person who is admired for great or brave acts or fine qualities