The Farmers Market Federation of NY and the NY Farm ...€¦  · Web view1) The Elevator Pitch . An elevator pitch is a 60 second or less speech that tells people who you are, what

COMMUNICATIONS ASSESSMENT COURSE #10 COMMUNICATIONS ANALYSIS “How to Say What We Mean, And Mean Something”

Created by: David and Michele Bellso, Designworks Advertising

BioMichele Bellso, owner of Designworks Advertising, has over 25 years of experience in marketing, creative direction, and branding strategy. She earned a dual major from Newhouse School of Public Communication and the School of Management at Syracuse University and began her career in advertising working for one of America’s largest agencies. She broke ground with several startups and began her own agency in 1992.

Dave Bellso entered the world of marketing and advertising in 1983 with direct print, mail advertisements, and database management. Upon joining Designworks in 1999, he led the operational and sales branch of the agency. His main responsibility is working with the clients to make sure each advertising campaign creates brand awareness, generates revenue, and performs on an ROI basis. Together, they work towards creating highly innovative strategies that drive financial success for each and every client.

Course SummaryWhat is it you NEED to say, WHERE will you say it and HOW much can you control the way in which it will be received? This course will provide you with the tools to answer those questions.

Branding is assembling the core components of your business and communicating them consistently to your customers, partners, and stakeholders. It should be understandable to someone who knows nothing about your business, and can be explained in less than 90 seconds. Most of all, it must be based on your customer’s perceptions (which means you must perform extensive research to discover those perceptions).Your branding must be carried through advertising, promotion, value added ideas (like recipes and demos), and other core brand communications. Assessing and understanding the most UNASSAILABLE parts of your brand and what is important, though perhaps not essential, is another part of this process. Course Outline

I) The Branding Conundrum II) How to Resonate with Your CustomersIII) Successful Brands and the Benefits ConveyedIV) Why Branding Should Matter to YouV) Lessons to Apply When Marketing Your BusinessVI) Final Thoughts on Branding

What You Will Gain Understanding components of a successful brand Features versus benefits How to build or improve your brand Strategies for marketing your business and its brand

I) The Branding Conundrum 1) What’s the Problem? In today’s digitally powered world. Saying something about a brand, product or issue has never been easier. So why does it feel increasingly difficult to be heard – to have an impact, change an opinion, drive action?

There are tons of messages that consumers are bombarded with every single day, from all kinds of sources. With all these messages hitting consumers all day, it’s hard for your message to heard over all the “noise”! After this presentation you will be better able to craft a message that consumers will hear through all the clutter and take action.

2) The Disconnect: Features v. Benefits The problem may be that many companies talk about their products’ features, when the really should be talking about their benefits. What you SAY doesn’t matter, it’s what the customer HEARS that moves them to action. Features are facts about your business, items that cannot be “debated.” Often, features are internally focused. Instead, benefits connect the product with the consumer’s needs or desires. Benefits involve an emotional connection. By involving benefits in your branding and communications, you are acknowledging customer needs which creates an emotional connection. When you’ve established a connection with your customers, then your brand “resonates”…

II) How to Talk About Your Products in a Way That RESONATES With Your Customers 1) The Elevator Pitch An elevator pitch is a 60 second or less speech that tells people who you are, what you do, what your benefits are and who your target audience is. Time is ticking! Customers do not have the time or attention span to listen to your branding message beyond a few seconds. You are competing with countless other brands, in a retail environment that is all about being “fast.”

2) WIFM (What’s In It For Me?) When you are crafting your branding message, it should answer “What’s in it for me, the customer?” Customers want to know how your product will benefit them. This goes back to features versus benefits. Features do NOT answer the question: What’s in it for me? But benefits, do! You need to figure out what makes your product special. And most importantly, how will your product benefit the consumer? By answering this question, you will make your customers love you and feel strong brand affinity for you! Let’s look at how a farmers market might articulate the WIIFM of choosing market produce to their customers:

Farmers Market Produce: “What’s In It For Me?”

FEATURES BENEFITSProduce is FRESH Fresher product TASTES better, and has higher nutrient content

Produce is GROWN LOCAL You can talk to the people who grew your food for peace of mind, recipe tips, and you’ll also feel good knowing that your food production resulted in a low carbon footprint

Produce is FROM MANY VENDORS You can choose where you’d like to buy your produce, you have options ranging in price, organic v. non-organic, you have options to meet your unique needs.

3) Advertising Versus Promotion Advertising is NOT promotions. That means you do not need to scream at your customers, and throw offers and price promotions at them. With well-branded advertising, you don’t need to speak to your customers louder, or more often, you just need speak to your customers differently – in a way that stands out from all the other businesses out there vying for customers’ attention.

GROW BY EXAMPLE WHAT YOU CAN LEARN FROM NIKE

Nike: Promoting the Lifestyle, Not Just the ProductBill Bowerman is the cofounder and inventor of Nike Shoes. He is also credited with creating the jogging trend by advertising the sport, rather than the shoe. What Nike did to promote their shoes was to create a demand for sneakers by tying their ads to their customers’ emotions. In other words, the world of sports, at the heart

of their ads, is appealing to consumers, and by wearing NIKE you will feel a part of that world. Consumers are not hearing the features of NIKE sneakers, they are hearing the benefits of being a part of the athletic world. So by promoting the sport, NIKE created a demand for their shoes.

Promoting the “Lifestyle” of Eating LocalIt’s very popular right now to eat local, and there are many emotionally charged benefits behind that popularity. Many people associate eating locally grown food with being part of a larger, “buy local” movement. They take pride in supporting local farmers and having a tangible impact on their local economies. they feel good providing their families with fresher, more nutritious produce that was made by local people instead of faraway factories or commercial farms. And they feel peace of mind meeting the farmers and producers who carefully grow their products.

III) Successful Brands and the Benefits Conveyed Unfortunately, 70% of brands fail. These failed brands did not articulate how the brand would benefit the customer. However, the following brands have successfully connected on an emotional level with their customers. Let’s look at the company brands – and what benefit they convey…

1) Apple: Emphasizing the Human Element This iconic ad built Apple as an industry leader. Notice the PC man is in a stuffy shirt and tie, while the Mac man is comfortable and cool. Who wouldn’t rather be the cool person, rather than the stuffed shirt? So what Apple did was put a human face on their computers at a time when other computers were advertising their features – RAM, ROM, etc – all things the average person did not understand. By promoting the benefits of being an Apple user, creating that emotional appeal, Apple was launched as an industry giant.

When it comes to your agribusiness, it’s also important to emphasize the personal element. After all, that’s what makes you unique as opposed to big, commercial farms. Showcase your personality and approachability in your brand. It might the way you write your marketing materials. An example would be writing your website

TOP 5 WAYS TO WIN IN BRANDING

1) Deliver Your Message ClearlyDeliver your message clearly. Make sure they are hearing what you are saying.2) Confirm Your CredibilityYour message should confirm your credibility. Demonstrate your expertise and communicate that. For example, educate them on using your product.3) Connect to Your Target Market EmotionallyConnect to your target market emotionally. Find something unique and different about you, your service and your product and communicate that.4) Motivate the BuyerMotivate your buyers. There are lots of inexpensive ways to get your message out there. Social media is good for that. Build conversations and relationships with your customers through social media and they will be more motivated to seek out your products.5) Cement User LoyaltyCement customer loyalty. Use email messaging, social media, loyalty programs, etc. Loyal customers will then promote you!

text in a casual, friendly manner. And instead of using a more formal third person narrative, use the first person: “we” and/or “I” work hard to bring you the bounty of our fields!

2) Avis: Being Transparent and HonestThis may be the only company that made being #2 in the industry the center of their ad campaign. But it worked. They made people feel that by using the #2 Car rental company, you would get much better service. After all, they have to try harder for your business because they are only #2. Customers perceived greater value from Avis. This was an example of how important it is to be honest and transparent with customers

IV) Why Branding Should Matter to You 1) Branding Basics It’s not just what you say and how you say it that matters. It’s also how your message is heard. You must know your customers and potential customers – their ethnicity, their wants and needs, their values. Then, you can begin to build your brand upon what you learn…

2) Logos That Pack a Strong Branding Punch It’s important to understand that while branding includes a logo, a logo is not the sole component of a brand. However, the right logo can actually convey benefits and tell a story – becoming a powerful asset in your marketing plan. Think about how you can convey the benefits of your farm or agri-business in a logo: how can you show freshness? Variety? Quality? Nutrition? These logos show how you can use a visual symbol to convey what makes a business unique, and what benefits are offered:

Amazon is a cheerful, friendly place to do business and the arrow functions as a smile with a dimple to convey that. Friendliness is a key benefit because online transactions can be void of human interaction. The arrow also does double duty to connect the A to the Z – reminding customers that they are one source for virtually every product: another key benefit for online shoppers who value time and efficiency.

FedEx’s logo has a subtle arrow in the E and X which conveys speed and efficiency. While the USPS offers shipping for much less, FedEx has lived up to their brand promise of the “world on time.” Feeling confident that a package will arrive on time is a key benefit.

Tostitos is a fun logo. The colors are vibrant and makes you feel like a party. But also, notice the two people in the center sharing a Tostitos chip over the bowl of salsa. The benefit conveyed by this logo is that Tostitos bring fun and festivity to a party.

LESSON #6: TURNING A NEGATIVE (FEATURE) INTO A POSITIVE (BENEFIT) When Netflix started out you had to order by mail and you could find a bigger variety of movies at the local video store. But they turned those negatives into positives by removing deadlines for returning the movie. So you could keep it as long as you wanted and not pay any late fees. But, if you are willing to forego the instant gratification of getting the movie to watch NOW, it is conveniently mailed direct to your house. No inconvenience of driving to the video store to get your movie. So by focusing on their benefits, they turned their negative attributes around.

V) Lessons to Apply When Marketing Your Business 1) “Give them quality, that’s the best kind of advertising.” –Milton Hershey, Founder of Hershey Chocolate Always give quality, because no amount of marketing will overcome a bad product. You, as farmers have control over the quality of the product you bring to your customers. What happens when you give a bad product or service? That person tells everyone they know about their bad experience. That translates into a lot of potential customers you have lost. But if they have a good experience, they can’t stop telling their friends, family and colleagues how great you are. Word of mouth can make you, but it can also break you.

2) “Relying too much on proof distracts you from the real mission – which is emotional connection.” –Seth Godin, Entrepreneur and Author No matter how wonderful a product is, and how well it works, if your branding doesn’t form an emotional connection then many customers will not feel engaged enough to want your product. Remember, it’s the benefits, not the features, that will make that emotional connection.

3) “Without promotion, something terrible happens…nothing!” – P.T. Barnum, American BusinessmanEven if you don’t have much time or money, you cannot forego promotion. It’s how you get your name out there and bring customers to your door or your farmer’s market booth. Promotion means that you are using a specific offer to invite customers to your business, whereas advertising is educating the customer about those offers as well as sharing general information. Examples of promotion would include a buy one, get one offer; a free gift for signing up with a loyalty program; or a 25% off sale.

4) “The most successful communication is devoutly audience-focused. Motivating the right people with authentic, value packed content in a relatable way makes great marketing.” – Georgianna Laudi, Director of Marketing at UnbounceIt’s not cute jargon or slogans, it’s messages that mean something to people. Give them a reason to buy your products. Give them content that is valuable to them. This will make your messages and your ads relevant to your customers and motivate them to take action.

5) “The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well, that the product or service fits him and sells itself.” –Peter F. Drucker, Management Consultant Knowing who your potential customer is, is critical to crafting an appropriate message. If you know your customer and appeal to what is meaningful to him or her, your product will sell itself, no matter the price.Look at the iPhone. It sells for a higher price compared to other smartphones. But it appeals to the experience that people have with Apple products (easy, intuitive, and fun).

6) “Truly brilliant marketing happens when you take the product you have and figure out the right positioning.” –Reed Hastings, CEO of Netflix Positioning refers to connecting your product with a certain demographic by marketing attributes that appeal to that audience. It may be positioning organic apples to busy, affluent mothers who want a healthy snack for their children. You would position your organic apples as pesticide-free, juicy, and favorite snack for kids!

7) “Focus on the core problem your business solves and put out lots of content and ideas to solve that problem.” – Laura Fitton, Founder of OneForty What kinds of problems can you solve for your customer? Most people have no idea what they are going to have for dinner until well after 4pm. So you can solve that problem with quick, easy, and delicious recipes that include a number of products you sell. They get an easy dinner solution and you get sales! What other problems might you be able to solve for your customers? For example, think about “impulse items” you could offer at the point of sale – just like convenience stores!

8) “To be successful and grow your business and revenue, you must match the way you market your products with the way your prospects shop for your products.” –Brian Halligan, CEO HubspotAre they shopping for sweet corn or are they shopping for their dinner? It’s usually the latter. If you can give your customers ideas for what to put on their dinner table that night, you can be their go-to source of both produce – and creative and delicious recipes. You are marketing your products based around their needs.

9) “Don’t be afraid to get creative and experiment with your marketing.” –Mike Volpe, CMO of HubspotWhat are the opportunities in your community to educate your customers about your business and your product? Help people get to know you. Don’t rely on one promotional medium. You’ll miss a huge segment of the population that does not participate in that medium. So if you are only using social media, what about the population that is not plugged in. Or, what if you are using one radio station to air your farm’s ads? You miss the population that does not listen to that station. So educate your customers using a variety of mediums!Also, a message needs frequency. So when you run an ad online or in a newspaper, people need to see it a number of times before they will notice it and act on it. So don’t put all your money into a onetime ad. Find a way to get that message out multiple times. A good rule of thumb is to advertise every time the particular media is run: If it’s a weekly newspaper, buy a weekly contract for a few months. If it’s a daily radio show, buy a few weeks of a daily ad. It’s better to do “flights” of consistent advertising than to space it out!

VI) Final Thoughts on Branding: “The Main Message”