marketing

Edward de Bono is a writing machine. He has written over 60 books and invented terms like "lateral thinking". I have a few of his books and was very pleased to pick up a copy of Sur/Petition recently. In it he talks about the value of value monopolies. Unlike commodity economics, value monopolies prevent you from competing with other vendors based on price alone (as is the case in commodity economics).

de Bono describes a number of different "value monopolies" in his book:

• Physical uniqueness. There is only one Mona Lisa. The original can never be replicated. Its market value may rise and fall, but it will always be unique.
• Technological uniqueness. Not just, "first to market" ideas, but the kinds of uniqueness that are enforceable by patents like those found in the pharmaceutical field.
• Name recognition. There are people and there are brand names. Both have a value monopoly because of their "name recognition."
• Dominance. It's easy to be the dominant force if you are already the dominant force.
• Cost of entry. Where the cost of entry is high and requires a continuous injection of development funds, there is protection from newcomers.
• Brand image. Differentiated from "name recognition" brand image includes the circular nature of popularity. Retailers stock a product they think consumers will demand. Because the product is stocked, consumers demand it, thus justifying the retailers' initial purchase of the brand.
• Segmentation. Niche markets are your friend. To have a dominant position in a very small market is not enough. If the market gets bigger others will start poking their nose into your niche.

Is your business successful because it relies on its monopoly? What if you weren't the only one? How would you compel customers to stay with you, and prospects to consider buying from you? If you know and enjoy the lessons behind niche marketing, you may want to pick up a copy of Sur/petition from Edward de Bono for a few more lessons.

The Annual Library Book Sale raised over $28,000 this year (several thousand dollars more than any other year in its history). This is a great opportunity for people to drop off boxes of books they're done with AND pick up new boxes of books. I tried really hard to spend $20 at the sale. I came away with 32 books and still had to give a $4 donation to get me up to the $20 mark.

In the marketing section of the sale I found a number of gems. Sometimes I recognized the author and sometimes I judged the book by its cover and bought it solely on the title. Here are a few of the books I found:

• Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. This book is precursor to The Secret. If you don't know about it, find a copy and read it. Or at least watch some of his classic videos.
• The Money is the Gravy. I loved the title. I admit it.
• A Passion for Excellence by Tom Peters and Nancy Austin. Written in the 1980s I'm hoping to find some tips that apply to today as much as they applied to yesterday.
• Getting Through to People by Jesse Nirenberg. A somewhat hokey-looking book written in 1963 with the following back-cover claim, "the author reveals constructive ways to convey opinions, get your message across, or hold a group's attention—all using nothing more than clear thinking and persuasive considerate words!" and then it gets better and claims the book is, "A must for anyone who wants to achieve personal or professional effectiveness." How could I resist?!

Be sure to check to see if your own library has an annual book sale. It's a great way to support the public library, and you may just find a few new gems for your personal library. You can always donate the books back to the library when you're done with them.

There's a law in physics which states that every reaction has some kind of opposite reaction. It seems to apply to top ten lists as well. From the Branding for Dummies book here are the Top Ten Branding Mistakes and How to Avoid Them.

1. Thinking of branding as a quick fix. Well. Actually branding is pretty fast in the world of cattle. But branding in marketing comes from the inside of your business out. They're not like the brands that are applied in the Wild West.
2. Starting with a weak identity. The visual kind of identity that is. In this mistake you start with a lousy tattoo design and think it's going to get better when it's permanently inked on your body. (Hint: it won't.)
3. Forgetting the rule of one. That's right: branding is for hobbits too. No wait, that was the ring to rule them all. It's sort of the same in the world of marketing: don't dilute your brand, your talents and your offerings. Stay focused and do what you do really well.
4. Failing to differentiate. Explain to your consumer how you are different and why that's good. Don't make people guess.
5. Failing to launch. Forget the pomp and circumstance. Be. Your. Brand. Remember that a brand is a promise to the consumer. Live and breathe that promise.
6. Failing to protect and defend. And if it gets to that point I know a really great IP lawyer.
7. Believe that what you say is more important than what you do. Do I even need to add a witty remark to this one? Probably not.
8. Underestimating the value of consistency. Do you see how they're really hammering home this point? It's possible the top ten mistakes was only really a top five.
9. Asking your brand to stretch too far. See also: #3.
10. Ignoring brand aging signs. This isn't just a note to aging hippies and VCR owners, but also includes points on company mergers and acquisitions. Perhaps a little too large of a problem for your business, unless you're still making Web sites with frames and flash intros.

It's official. I've read (or at least skimmed) for the first time ever (as far as I can remember)...a book for Dummies. Everything about the "brand" irks me. So with irony not at all lost on me, I checked Branding for Dummies out of the library. If this book has taught me anything it's this: branding is promise a company keeps with its consumers. Skipping over all the useful bits, here are the highlights from Chapter 20: Ten Truths about Branding.

1. Branding starts with positioning. And positioning is the process of finding an unmet "want" (or "need") in the consumer's mind and then providing a "solution" which is distinct and ideally suited to the consumer.
2. A brand is a promise well kept. There's an entire chapter dedicated to "your promise." This chapter was the most useful for me as it presented information in a unique (and somewhat obvious) way.
3. Branding happens from the inside out. Blah blah blah mission statement, visions statement blah blah.
4. Consistency builds brand. Consumers do not measure you just on the look and tone of your brand, but also on the consistency of quality. One bad shopping experience with your store is going to rank higher in memory than all the good ones combined.
5. People power brands. You need brand champions. Start with your staff, but then look to your consumer to champion your brand.
6. Brands live in consumers' minds. Regardless of reality your customer's imagination and their beliefs about your brand will influence ow your customer thinks and buys.
7. Brand names unlock brand images. Your brand name should be obvious. It should also be easy to say. (Insert comments here about niche markets and language and whether it's no-keee-ah or knock-ee-ah.)
8. Brand experiences trump brand messages. Blah blah be the brand blah blah if your store sucks it doesn't matter how much you spend on advertising because you suck. Blah blah be awesome.
9. Brands need to start and stay relevant. Don't use frames on your Web site. (Actually it doesn't say that, but it would be funny if it did. Well funny to me.)
10. Brands are valuable assets. And also the topic of this book. But not to be ignored because brands have economic benefits including: premium pricing, lower costs of promotion, higher market share, higher recognition by consumers, industry leaders, media and investors.

And there you have it. The Top Ten Truths about Branding brought to you by Branding for Dummies. Even if you don't think you want this book as part of your permanent marketing reference library, stop by your local library and through it. You may find some bits of truth that you already knew but didn't have the words to describe.