“90% of branding that is not effective suffers from one of three problems, and nearly 100% of brands miss this last step of branding.”
Very simply, brands should, and deserve to, grow.
Going Viral in Real Life:
A 300% Jump in Sales is Hard to Ignore
I first noticed a pattern when I’d completed the design and branding for a premier chocolatier in the Midwest. The branding and package design completely differentiated them from other chocolatiers.
But it did another remarkable thing: it instantly converted the box into an educator, a source if terrific chocolate trivia and an instant gift that made the buyer look like they’d planned this 6 months in advance, all because of how it was presented, after the sale (when customers least expect anything more from the transaction).
How effective was this? 300% increase in sales in the first month with no other changes. Yes, you read that right: 300% in 30 days.
In short, it did what you only find amongst the world-class brands that dominate their industry: it exceeded expectation and continued to brand after the sale.
I again noticed this pattern for another client who saw remarkable sales growth and brand loyalty after we made some specific changes for their brand to implement after the sale.
I then noticed it again when I branded a city seeing their walk-in tourists increase 500% in the next 12 months.
I once again saw this exact same pattern surface for yet another client who is basically royalty amongst New York City’s celebrity skin care experts. That story (plus this video transcript) can be found here.
It all came down to discovering and isolating that there were actually three phases of branding. To clarify, there are these 3 phases that every brand does (or fails to do) in an exact sequence, something I cover in this video here:
[Want the road map to becoming the company that could put yours out of business? Get your copy of your free eBook here.]
If It Worked Before, It Will Work Again
For my regular readers, you’ve read the posts (post #1 and post #2) covering the branding done for the Mega Co-op, a consumer cooperative in the Midwest with over 69,000 members (yes this number is higher since those posts were written!).
And part of this incorporated this last phase of branding which would impact the consumer after the sale, when they least expect (since most companies ignore this fact).
When You Are the Best,
Don’t Brand Like You’re Average
Here, the ideal vehicle for the post-sales branding happens to be the wrapping paper for their exceptional meat department.
How exceptional? Well, they season your meat for you while you shop for no charge. They’ll bone or butterfly your meats at no additional cost. They’ll marinate it while you shop or wait. Again, for no additional cost. And they only sell the two top grades of beef: USDA Choice or Prime.
So it’s more than “a good idea we’ll get around to” when you you offer such exceptional value.
Why is it so vital? Because nobody else will do your storytelling for you. That’s something you have to own and a dialog you must continually create.
[Want the road map to becoming the company that could put yours out of business? Get your copy of your free eBook here.]
Here are examples of the implementation of this branding in this phase (showing all the custom design icons that were created as well as the art direction for these photos).
Here is the wrapping paper itself:
Here is how it looks with product:
Here it is with a cutlery:
Here it is with fish followed by some wrapped-up meat, then the Deli Meats bag for sliced meats closing with the Smokehouse Meats part of the branding:
The lesson here is a simple one: we as a culture have trained customers to expect little once the purchase is done.
Yet, the brands that continue to engage, inspire, excel and grow are those which apply this third phase of branding (asking for nothing in return).
Rising above that expectation will not only raise your brand’s perception, but also the loyalty customers will have with your brand.
All while you’re defying gravity.
[Want the road map to becoming the company that could put yours out of business? Get your copy of your free eBook here.]
