YOU ASKED FOR IT

“I think it’s wrong that only one companymakes the game Monopoly.”

—Steven Wright

April 4, 2013DOG NAMES, STICK-TO-ITIVENESS

BRAND OBSERVATIONS OF THE DAYFrom my random collection of info sources, here are some highlights related to the brands of our times...

• According to WNYC, New Yorkers are tapping into some of the world’s best known brands to help name their dogs. Of the 81,542 dogs registered in the Big Apple, names like Armani, Levi, Pepsi, Guinness, Chanel and Polo prove to be quite popular. And what brand/dog name tops the list? Oreo.

• The Global Strategy Group released findings that showed just 31% of adults believing it was appropriate for companies like Starbucks to take positions on sensitive social issues. With stats like that, maybe they’d be best off just focusing on making my grande light carmel frappacino and leave the social issues to the people.

• Automotive News reports that electric car manufacturer Tesla Motors has announced a new guaranteed-residual-value financing program. While paying off the 66-month loan, consumers can trade in the car after 36 months for a guaranteed price... Wow - whether these guys make it or

not, you have to admire Elon Musk’s guts. Few have his tenacity and

resolve to create an entirely new category. Personally, I hope he is rewarded greatly for his risk-taking

ventures.

JIM HUEBNERj i m h @ h u e b n e r p e t e r s e n . c o m

C E L L U L A RT E L E P H O N E970-420-3382

Hmmm.

Brought to you by popular demand of a client, my mom, and some folks I met at a church potluck

From the remaining gray matter of Jim Huebner

Information that will make you smile, groan or think...

Raise your hand if you ordered these and were sorely

disappointed.

(Now keep your hand raised if, once you found out they were actually shrimp, you considered

breading and deep-fat frying them.)

“Double-Stuff”?

© 2013 Hmmm by Jim Huebner

How to NOT to compete on price...

...and on its way to the HuebnerPetersen blog...! PAGE2

WORDS TO

LIVE BY

In all your ways

acknowledge Him,

and He will make

your paths straight.

–Proverbs 3:7

You might recall that my last newsletter discussed a brand positioning project we had tackled a number of years ago. We were charged with the task of finding out how the market perceived our client differently from their competitors, and to then develop a line that communicated the difference in their marketing materials.

In response to that piece, last week a reader sent me an email and said, “...there is little motivation (by our customers) to pay more for quality/reliability...” He also said that their customers tell them that their “differentiators AND low price” will make the sale. I would like to address this topic, as I believe many of us often times find ourselves in the same boat.

I understand that being competitively priced is important. According to a benchmark study I’ve cited in the past by the Strategic Planning Institute (PIMS), a well-positioned, well-marketed, premium brand commands (on average) a 9% higher price than one that isn’t. While 9% is a hefty margin of difference and able to produce significantly more profit, it’s no 20 or 30 or 50%. When you are competing on the same playing field, price will always be a major factor in

the buying decision and cannot be taken lightly.

In fact, the only companies able to charge SIGNIFICANTLY more than others in the same type of business are those who have SWITCHED PLAYING FIELDS and made such transformational changes to their products or services that their competitors have become irrelevant...and are no longer true competitors, at least for the time being.

Think iPod and iPhone. Think FedEx.Think Zappos. Think Facebook.Think Southwest. Think Starbucks.Think Tom’s Shoes. Think Google.

Are there companies out there who are copying these greats? Sure. But with a new and transformational way of doing business, each one gave themselves a huge initial (and highly profitable) advantage over the copycats. And by the time the copycats had jumped on the bandwagon, these leaders took their ridiculous profits with them and were well on their way to their next innovation. (At least the smart ones did, anyway.)

Now I can just hear some of you saying, “Yeah, but our situation is different.”...or...“There’s no room in our industry to do something like that”...or... ”We don’t have time to think about it”...or... “We don’t have the resources...”

And I guess I’d have to answer that response this way: If you want to get out of the low-price game, do you really think you can afford NOT to pursue creating new categories? Seriously, what are your alternatives?

I’d maintain that if you don’t want to compete on price, making competitors irrelevant IS your only alternative.

So where do you go from here to begin the “irrelevance-making” process? Start by asking yourself these questions:

• What do we hate about our products as well as our competitors’ products? Make a list of actions you could take to address your “hatred.”

• What is something no one else in our industry is doing? Make a list of five unmet needs that currently exist in your marketplace.

Jim Huebner is President of HuebnerPetersen Integrated Marketing.The firm was established in 1989 and specializes in making companies heroes to their distribution channels through strategic brand positioning, integrated marketing, and front lines marketing services. You can each Jim at jimh@HuebnerPetersen.com or on LinkedIn.

The competitor to be feared is onewho never bothers about you at all,

but goes on making his own businessbetter all the time.

HENRY FORD