Tag Archives: Branding

Instant MBA

19 Sunday Jul 2015

Posted by in Branding, Concentrating effort, Customers, Management, Results, Shared values

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Printing Money
Every new salon is created with a “License to print money,” because the money making potential in our industry is virtually unlimited. To use your “license,” you need an activation key but only 5-10% of all salons know how to obtain it. What is this secret activation key? It is:

Knowing the difference between running your salon and managing your salon.

Here is how you can start managing your salon today.

Create a Customer

Every institution must create certain benefits. The role of business—your business—is to create a customer. No matter if you’re a creative, a geek, a hipster, or just a regular person, your only concern at work is delivering what your customers value. Everything else is either secondary or an outright distraction.

Communicate Your Vision

Your first priority as a leader is to constantly communicate and reinforce the values, purpose, and vision of your salon. The time you currently spend on everything else must come after you describe what you stand for, why you’re here, and the future you are creating.

Develop a Shared Understanding

If there is a trick between Running Your Salon and Managing Your Salon it is to create a shift in thinking from “I” to “We.” No one is exempt from this rule of management. If effort in your salon is individual, energies will be scattered. When effort is concentrated you will make a powerful impact together.

Understand Your Guests

Recognizing is not understanding. Know specifics for every guest. Name, age, significant other, children, visit frequency, likes/dislikes, recent issues or triumphs, satisfaction/trust level, income, job, upbringing, etc. To create a customer you must know who they are and why they want what they want.

Write Job Descriptions

Describe every job in writing and include at least: Job Title, Results, Measures, and Behaviors. Provide performance feedback on these topics during every one-on-one before addressing anything else.

Hire Good People

In addition to skill, talent, and artistic ability you need to identify, select, and retain good people. “Good” people have solid values, a strong work ethic, and good intentions. Remember, it is far easier to teach a good person how to be a better hairdresser than to teach a better hairdresser how to be a good person.

Train as Well as Educate

Continuing education is proven for success in our industry. What 90% of salon owners overlook is training employees to succeed in living out their values, sharing a common purpose, and creating a better future together through service to their guests. Model this behavior and communicate it too.

 

The Power of the Branding Framework

23 Tuesday Jun 2015

Posted by in Branding, Concentrating effort, Management, Shared values

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Framework
A branding framework, “brand DNA,” or “brand book,” is essential knowledge about who we are as an organization, where we’re headed, and what we stand for. A proper framework invites us to think deeply about our business and then puts us in position to communicate our brand to any audience. Example audiences include internal ones like our employees and managers; external ones like advertising agencies, web developers, and other suppliers; and above all it lets us communicate effectively to our customers, “clients,” or “guests.” A branding framework covers a lot of territory from internal strategic intentions to external marketing messages and, therefore, is one of our organization’s most important documented knowledge.

BRANDING DEFINED

It is very common for people to use the word “branding” and for it to mean different things to different people. It is natural for an advertising agency to say the word branding and for it to mean an ad campaign. To a graphic artist, branding usually means a logo or other symbol they designed. We are going to define branding as something much bigger than an advertisement or a logo. For us, branding is:

The total impact of the organization on our clients and the marketplace.

A brand is composed of hundreds of little fragments of client perception. Our logo, our website, the retail products we carry, the way we dress, our salons’ interiors, the way an individual client was treated by a receptionist and then how she described that to a friend. Every little interaction and every way our clients come into contact with us, our staff and our salons comes together to create an image. It all builds up to create our brand. Stated another way,

Our brand = what we stand for; but not just in our minds: Primarily in the minds of our clients.

WHY A FRAMEWORK?

The most practical reason we want to invest time in creating a branding framework for our organization is because no two people are alike and it is very rare for any two people to describe the same company the same way. The more “technical” reason for our framework is to create continuity in our brand story and to connect all those little fragments of perception in the minds of our clients in just the right way so they choose us instead of our competition. That also goes for attracting talented people who want to come to work for us. They need to know who we are, where we’re going, and what we stand for because we want to work with people who value the same things we value and want to be part of a journey that is bigger than any one of us. Finally, it also goes for those of us currently on the team. We want to make a difference. We want to make our mark. We want all our hard work to mean something and to pay off. Pulling our branding framework together will bring us together in old and new ways.

By taking the time to get clarity about what’s important, to document it in a way that creates a common understanding among us, and then to communicate what we believe to our clients with one voice has the potential to be one of the most powerful things we do.

Don’t Let Diversion Divert Your Attention

23 Monday Mar 2015

Posted by in Branding, Customer Experience, Customers, Product, Retail

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Oribe

Chances are you can describe your preferred type of client, you have a pretty good understanding of her needs, and you offer her services and products at fair prices. When clients spend money on what you offer, they are validating you as a business. Money is revenue. Enough revenue, combined with responsible financial management, becomes profit. Profit is, a sometimes rare, validation.

  • New clients validate your offering, your space, and your marketing. It’s good enough to try once.
  • Returning clients validate your total experience. It’s worth trying again.
  • Loyal clients validate your total experience. It is better than your competition.
  • Clients who are your advocates validate the presence of a strong emotional bond.

Usually salon owners I meet spend most of their time thinking about getting new clients—and then their attention is diverted. It is the owner’s responsibility, and opportunity, to create a deliberate plan to move their clients through each stage of Client Maturity.

New=>Return=>Loyal=>Advocate

Clients at each stage are open to different messaging and capable of different behaviors. For example, no one would expect a brand-new client to refer all of her friends to you—but for a Loyal or Advocate it would be natural. I argue, “Why do so many salons hand out referral cards to brand new clients?” I don’t think they are capable of “hearing” that message when they are still deciding about you themselves.

Client Maturity planning helps you focus energy to achieve specific results rather than throwing the kitchen sink at your entire client base and seeing what happens. Relating this to our topic of Diversion (and your need to grow your retail sales)

I urge you to first focus 80% of your attention on creating solid populations of clients within each stage and the retail problem will partially solve itself.

The converse is obviously false since focusing 80% of your attention on selling retail will not create Return, Loyal, or Advocate clients.

For any problem you encounter, ask yourself, “What is it about our offering, our price, our experience that is the root cause here? What can we do better to keep this client firmly in the Return stage and potentially grow them to the Loyal stage? If you’re not sure of that, no amount of asking them to buy your retail will help. From the time a new customer starts looking for a new salon, to the time they return, to the time when they rely on you to satisfy more of their needs, to the time they refer their friends; you are in relationship with them. The more responsibility you take for how they perceive and experience your salon, the more opportunity you have to make a good impression, satisfy their needs more deeply, and develop positive lasting relationships that translate into more sales of everything.

Engineer Your Customer Experience

21 Friday Jun 2013

Posted by in Branding, Customer Experience, Shared values

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Customer Service, Brand Advocate, Lucavia Consulting

Created: The Happiest Place On Earth

Earlier, I dropped into BestBuy looking for a gift. Sometime ago they must have implemented a greeting policy for their personnel. For a time, they would look right at you, smile, and greet you as you walked in. That devolved into a “Hi,” or “Welcome to BestBuy” that was sort of lobbed in your general direction but not at you personally. Now the greeting is gone and you’re invisible again.

The Apple Store: When you enter you’re always greeted and someone speaks directly to you (sometimes they smile!). Customers shop, learn, and discuss their needs with a small army of Apple staff members so no one ever waits long for personal service. I realize it’s familiar now but I’m still impressed with their checkout process. It’s just so cool when your sales guy reaches into his pocket and pulls out his iPod touch, takes your payment, activates your product, and emails your receipt.

So, the obvious question is, what makes the difference between these two experiences? They are both branded experiences. That is, we have come expect a certain kind of experience with each brand. BestBuy’s is what it is. Apple’s doesn’t just happen by chance. Seemingly effortless and organic it’s something they’ve invested in, iterated on, and improved year after year. Apple’s experience is one of the ways they consciously strive to transform customers into brand advocates with the hope that those brand advocates will “evangelize” the Apple message by telling their friends (or blogging about it).

Lucavìa Consulting engineers positive branded experiences and uses them to: 1) Increase the power of your brand, 2) Mobilize your staff toward a shared goal, and 3) Transform your customers into brand advocates who can’t wait to return and eager to tell their friends about you.

Jim

Lucavìa
gojimlucas@lucavia.com
lucavia.com
(925) 980-7871

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© Copyright Jim Lucas 2007-2013 All Rights Reserved

How To Transform Customers into Advocates

21 Friday Jun 2013

Posted by in Branding, Customer Experience, Shared values

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Customer Experience, Brand Advocate, Lucavia Consulting

Your brand image is composed of hundreds of little connected fragments of customer perception. Your logo, your business card, your products, the way you dress, your store/storefront/offices, the way customers are treated by your staff and then what they tell their friends. Every little interaction and every way your customers come into contact with you, your staff, and your messaging comes together to create an image. It all builds up to create your brand. Your brand = what you stand for; but not just in your mind: primarily in the minds of your customers.

It’s important to make each of these little interactions and perceptions add up to something you intend—something that keeps your customers coming back with passion. Taking ownership of the total customer experience is the single most important step you can take and it is one where you have an enormous amount of control. It’s far more powerful than any advertisement or inbound/outbound promotion—and you can invest in it every single day.

From the time a new customer starts looking for a new place to shop, to the time they return, to the time they refer their friends; you are in relationship with them. The more responsibility you take for how they perceive and experience your brand, the more opportunity you have to make a good impression, satisfy their needs, and develop a positive lasting image in their minds. But, of course, this comes with responsibility; it requires you to think outside your four walls, beyond the time your customer spends directly in front of you, and it requires a clear plan of action to make them feel qualitatively better after every interaction.

If you would like to learn more about creating a Transformative Customer Experience for your business, please contact me.

Jim

Lucavìa
gojimlucas@lucavia.com
lucavia.com
(925) 980-7871

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© Copyright Jim Lucas 2007-2013 All Rights Reserved

The Three Most Important Management Tools

20 Thursday Jun 2013

Posted by in Customers, Management, Shared values

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George Zimmer, Men's Warehouse, Lucavia Consulting

Have you played the game where you ask your friends, “If you could only have three ‘albums’ on a desert island what would they be?” We’re so used to having nearly unlimited variety that narrowing down our favorite music, is a strange mixture of fun and irritation. (Today’s answer: Bob Dylan, Biograph; Jovanotti, L’Albero; and The Beatles, Beatles VI.)

With business news all around us everyday, I think it would also be fun, and instructive, to think, “Out of all the management practices we know, which three are the most fundamental?” Of course, there’s probably no single right answer but I’ll argue for these:

  • Know your purpose.
  • Know vision.
  • Constantly communicate these to your customers, team, and partners.

Reading the news about George Zimmer leaving Men’s Warehouse didn’t seem very interesting at first glance. I’m not a customer and their easily recognizable ad campaign (“I guarantee it”) didn’t move me. Their stock is near its 52-week high, revenue and net income are up, and even the category is coming out of its slump. So what’s up? The speculation is that Zimmer, 64, had a tough time letting go of power after relinquishing his role as CEO in 2011.

Then I read this, “Over the last 40 years, I have built Men’s Warehouse into…a company with amazing employees and loyal customers who value the products and services they receive…” Zimmer was noted for his colorful personality and his progressive values, e.g., putting Deepak Chopra on the Board, backing recreational marijuana use, and refusing to do background checks on employees stating, “Everyone deserves a second chance.”

With these clear indications of Zimmer’s impact on company culture, it’s incumbent on the Board to get past the veneer of how to update their advertising campaign and get to: What does this key personnel change mean for our purpose, our vision, and how we communicate these to our customers, team, and partners?

Jim

Lucavìa
gojimlucas@lucavia.com
lucavia.com
(925) 980-7871

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© Copyright Jim Lucas 2007-2013 All Rights Reserved

A Framework for Your Brand

19 Wednesday Jun 2013

Posted by in Branding, Effectiveness, Shared values

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Branding Framework, branding

A Branding Framework defines who you are, what you stand for, and what you will communicate to your customers, team, and partners. There is an old saying, “If you don’t know where you’re going, every road will take you there.” A well thought out framework has a beginning, middle, and end—and all the points on the journey are well defined. Starting with anything less increases the risk that you’ll waste time, resources, and money, let alone confuse your customers and fail to inspire your workforce.

A Branding Framework also creates consistency. Consistency is important in the execution of any integrated marketing campaign (where each element of the campaign reinforces and strengthens every other element). And, it serves as the basis for constant iteration and improvement of past and current campaigns.

The key to adopting any framework is to adopt it once: Then pour your energy into execution and continuous improvement. The body of branding knowledge is replete with definitions, counter definitions, and terms that overlap. Our framework addresses what your business needs, and if used consistently, will accelerate the development and strength of your brand.

In the end, the real value comes from what the Branding Framework allows you to accomplish. So, when you find yourself asking, “Why am I putting time and energy into developing this framework?” remember the answers:

  • Create a shared understanding of your values, purpose, and vision
  • Set a strategy that will turn your customers into your brand advocates
  • Increase the power of your brand
  • Drive profitable growth

If you are curious about how to develop a Branding Framework for your business—complete with Statement of Purpose, Vision, Brand Promise, Ideal Client, and much more—please contact me. I would enjoy talking to you about your specific needs and the future of your business.

Jim

Lucavìa
gojimlucas@lucavia.com
lucavia.com
(925) 980-7871

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© Copyright Jim Lucas 2007-2013 All Rights Reserved