DW's Blog

Story telling

by DW Green — June 21, 2017

The difference lies in the story.

The difference lies in the story.Last summer I visited Tombstone Arizona. Tombstone is best known for Boot Hill and the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. It was home of the legendary Earp bothers and their nemeses the Clanton family and Frank and Tom McLaury. The townspeople were largely Republicans from the Northern states and many of the local ranchers (some like the Clantons, were also rustlers) were Confederate sympathizers and Democrats. The story of Tombstone in the late 1800’s is a very interesting story. And like any great story, it includes the four basic elements of storytelling:The MessageThe ConflictThe CharactersThe PlotIn business, storytelling works on two levels: Storytelling is a strategic branding concept and storytelling as a communication tool. And like the frontier boomtown story of Tombstone, it includes the same four basic elements of storytelling.Klaus Fog writes in his excellent book, Storytelling. Branding in Practice. “Tough times lay ahead for companies that shut their eyes and continue to compete only on product and price.”“In order to retain the loyalty of your customers in today’s competitive e...

by DW Green — June 13, 2017

Enhance the well-being of a customer.

I’m an ardent proponent of product and service guarantees. A guarantee is a promise or assurance that a company will stand behind the quality of products it sells or services it performs. Guarantees build trust and loyalty with consumers. In a sense, a guarantee is a company’s commitment to the well-being of its customers. Wow, what an intriguing approach to serving the customer. Imagine a conscious intention by company leaders to enhance the well-being* of a customer. Is that possible?5 Reasons Why A Guarantee WorksFirst, it pushes the entire company to focus on customers’ definition of good products/service, not an executive’s assumption. Second, it sets clear performance standards, which boost employees’ performance and morale. Third, it generates reliable data (through payouts) when performance is poor. Fourth, it forces an organization to examine its entire service-delivery system for possible failure points. Last, it builds customer loyalty, sales and market share.What is a good guarantee? It is (1) unconditional, (2) easy to understand and communicate, (3) meaningful, (4) easy and painless to invoke, and (5) easy and quick to collect on.Cheating. Fear of custome...

by DW Green — June 8, 2017

Change is a good thing

Often times when sales and customer counts are flat or declining, a bold, new visual look and go-to-market strategy can shake up a market. Unveiling a new advertising look can create excitement with customers and employees alike. Plus change is normally a good thing. Non- shoppers are the biggest source for new primary customers and new revenue.Advertising and marketing that is developed in the context of themes and storytelling is the best way to attract the attention of non-shoppers. And the presentation of those themes and story’s must be applied differently to each marketing platform. For example, the print ad that is posted on the website must minimally become an interactive tool to add sale items to a shopping list. A searchable item list is better. A pdf of an ad on a mobile device is not effective at all. It’s very important that advertising and promotions are well integrated into all marketing platforms, including in-store signage. This message and activity integration builds momentum, resulting in more sales and more customers. What makes this all work so well is the planning. The sales benefit alone from just sharing a great plan with employees is amazing. No question that the retail shopping e...

by DW Green — May 31, 2017

Opportunity to learn and grow

It’s easy to react quickly to something someone says or does that’s annoying or out of line, over the top or under the bottom. And normally an instant reaction doesn’t improve the situation—often making it worse. I’ve learned to try to be still, relax, take some deep breaths, and regain my composure. I’ve learned that when coming from a place of stillness and silence, we are wiser, less reactive, less conditioned, more creative and more intuitive, so we are more likely to respond to life rather than have a knee-jerk reaction to it.Often these challenging moments require a difficult conversation with someone to resolve the issue. It helps me to remember that every difficult conversation I have includes someone who is teaching me something about myself. Every trying situation contains an opportunity for deeper self-reflection and learning. Every irritant, heartbreak, frustration, disappointment, fearful moment and sadness is a teacher. If I look at the conversation as an opportunity for me to learn and grow then maybe the other person will learn and grow too.

Read More – Appreciation

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by DW Green — May 17, 2017

An ad is an invitation to shop your store.

The overall look and feel of an ad reveals much more about a retailer than the specific items and prices that are on sale. Does the store look like a friendly, fun place to shop? Does it look professional? Does it look like it offers quality products? Does it look trustworthy? Does it look welcoming? Authentic? Healthy? Or does it look busy, cluttered, and boring?Take an open-minded look at your advertising. Is your ad the best reflection of your store{s)? Is the ad providing benefits and reasons to believe in your store?In essence the ad is an invitation to shop your store. Does your advertising consistently attract new customers? For example, here are three recipe email blast approaches.

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by DW Green — May 10, 2017

The key to a great ad is a great headline.

We often have conversations with clients regarding the placement of their logo on print ads. Seems the supermarket industry favors placing the company logo on the top of the ad. We would disagree.The hierarchy of an effective ad from an advertising/design perspective:

Headline (consumer benefit)
Picture
Offer
Company Logo

Where should your logo or brand identity be placed so that consumers actually see it? Based on eye-tracking research, the best place is the lower middle part of the page or layout. At that point, the viewer will have engaged emotionally with the leading part of the ad, and will then have the opportunity to associate the brand with solving a problem or satisfying consumers’ wants.The key to a great ad is a great headline. Headlines achieve three important things:

They filter out non-customers (if the headline doesn’t appeal to

them, they move on. Fine, let them go!)

They tell potential customers what’s in it for them (that’s what

consumers most care about).

They hint at what action the customer can take

Strong headlines attract rea...

by DW Green — May 3, 2017

Markets are fluid

Complacency, noun:a feeling of quiet pleasure or security, often while unaware of some potential danger, defect, or the like; self-satisfaction or smug satisfaction with an existing situation, condition, etc.In business, complacency is never a good place to be. Whether you’re first in the market or last, no one is exempt from complacency. Be humble and grateful for your successes yet remain focused and vigilant on improving yourself and your operation. Always ask, how can we improve our offerings…our product assortment, our merchandising skills, our customer service, our customer experience? How can we improve our relationships with ourselves, with our staff, with our vendors, with our customers, with our neighborhood and with our community?Remember, markets are fluid. Customers are choosing where they shop everyday. Nothing is certain or guaranteed. Today’s customer maybe tomorrow’s defection.How can we be better today?