Brand Fusion: A VERBULANT Marketing Journal

What is Brand Fusion, anyway?

Brand Fusion(sm), from the VERBULANT perspective, revolves around three core essentials:

1) Developing a viable and relevant brand over time

2) Integrating the right mix of strategy and creativity to clearly communicate your brand to others

3) Fusing your brand to the heart and soul of your clients or customers, both internal and external

Getting branding right can be a challenge. But is it really that complicated? It doesn't have to be.

That's just how it works out sometimes, since humans are part of the marketing mix. And I don't just mean consumers. I'm referring to everyone who develops or extends the brand in any way: from the receptionist all the way to the CEO.

The human element is the most fascinating aspect of branding, and ironically, that which is most often overlooked.

Over the upcoming weeks I hope to explore all three elements of Brand Fusion. We'll break it down a bit at a time for easy digestion.

Stay tuned!

What We DON'T Do, Part II

Here are a few variations on the "What We Don't Do" theme I brought up in my last post:

**I recently had the pleasure of working with a company who committed to doing a project several times over a period of months and then got too busy to finish the work. They couldn't fit me in, but never gave me a definite answer as to when they COULD fit me in. The sad thing is, they are highly skilled and full of expertise. But perpetual limbo just didn't work for me.

**My friend asked her realtor to show her a house and was told "I can't, I have an aerobics class this afternoon." No offer of another time to see it, as she was in a hurry. My friend missed a chance to bid on the property, and that realtor was fired.

**I had been waiting in line for 20 minutes at a local electronics super store to return a defective TV when I spotted a couple of managers standing idly by watching the anxious crowd. I went over to suggest that they pitch in to help or get another clerk to the counter. The manager became very indignant, threw his hands in the air, gestured at the line and said "We don't do this on purpose!"

I think he had it exactly right. They weren't doing it on purpose, and that was the problem. In fact, it was obvious that they had forgotten their purpose.

What is your purpose? Why does your business exist? Does your messaging clearly reflect that purpose in customer-centered terms AND are you delivering on that message in ways that customers can appreciate? It's something worth considering.

What We DON'T Do, Part 1

His name was Groomer John. He was the best dog groomer my dog ever had. And visiting his "MO-BILE grooming service" (imagine his British accent) was a most positive trip, to say the least, especially because he came to me.

I loved Groomer John in part because he came right to my house to groom my dog. He pulled right up in front of my house in his converted UPS-type truck that had been retrofitted with everything you could want in a MO-BILE dog grooming service. I also loved him because he was just great at grooming my dog, and because he was very funny.

From a branding perspective, Groomer John had a lot going on:

**He provided a service people wanted and needed, on their terms
**He offerred excellent customer service at an affordable price
**He was operationally excellent, and did a great job grooming my dog
**He was memorable, and inspired great word-of-mouth advertising

However, when it came to his marketing messaging, he had room for improvement. For example, when you called his number the voice mail message talked more about what he wouldn't do than what he WOULD do. (Insert British accent here):

"Thank you for calling Groomer John's MO-BILE Dog Grooming service. We DON'T do CATS, ROTTweilers OR YORK-shire TERRiers. Please leave your name, number and I will call you back as soon as I return."

The only problem was, he never said what he DID do. He neglected to point out the fact that he came right to your house by appointment, or any of the other advantages of his service.

Most business owners wouldn't make that mistake . . . or would they?

We'll explore this in further detail in Part II of "What we CAN'T do"

Welcome to my front porch!

There's a guy named Scott Ginsberg who has worn a name tag every day for the past 5 years. 5 years!

Scott is on a mission to make sure that people connect with one another through increased approachability. In a nutshell, Scott suggests that we do this by building what he calls a "front porch" to our lives and our businesses.

Scott's definition:

"Your front porch is your monument of approachability - and it will empower you to connect and communicate with confidence.

*A front porch creates comfort and reduces uncertainty
* A front porch breaks the ice
* A front porch empowers people to communicate
* A front porch builds rapport"

There are apparently several essential elements to building a front porch, but element #4 resonated with me as perhaps the easiest way to make a connection with others:

"Essential Element #4: Locate the CPI, or commmon point of interest."

My point: I'm hoping that this blog will serve as my front porch to the outside world, and that our common point of interest will be marketing as it relates to branding and real world, real life events.
For now, I'm just saying "WELCOME" and hope that you will drop by from time to time for a little visit.

In the meantime, you can find out more about Scott and his mission at www.hellomynameisscott.com

I discovered Scott through Seth Godin's blog at http://www.sethgodin.com. Take a peek at his site and his blog, if you haven't already. There's valuable brain fodder there for most everyone.

Until next time . . .