stuppy funding, growth & company sale/exit thru branding
DESCRIPTION
Branding can be your secret weapon to increase sales, establish your products and company as the market leaders and attract funding and top talent. Learn how to build your brand for growth, funding, credibility, attracting the best employees, and lucrative exit.TRANSCRIPT
v08-21-2012 Stuppy: Branding 1
Funding, Growth & Exit
Advancing the Success of Your Company
John Stuppy, MBA, Ph.D. [email protected]
EDUMETRIX INC. Former president TutorVista.com
www.edumetrix.com / JohnStuppy.com
BRANDING A Secret Weapon in
v10-6-09 Stuppy: Branding 2
Are you looking to…
1. Raise money
2. Attract the best employees
3. Build your business to the best exit
4. Grow & achieve segment leadership
…for your company?
Consider maximizing & leveraging your
company brand to achieve your goals.
v10-6-09 Stuppy: Branding 3
Why Brand?
Lots of competition Hard for consumer to differentiate
Need to attract the best employees
Tough financial climate today “5 is the new 12” (valuation multiple)
Some categories have leverage High emotion is key to branding
Eg. education brands can draw support
Build your brand. Improve your company’s
prospects for funding, growth and exit.
v10-6-09 Stuppy: Branding 4
Does Branding Work?
In The NY Times article “Maybe It's Time to Rethink The Cost of College Prep” (2/28/2009) “National companies like Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions,
the Princeton Review, Sylvan Learning and TutorVista.com, offer a variety of offline and online tutoring options at a wide range of prices.”
As the former president of TutorVista.com, I led an
inexpensive marketing and promotion campaign of news and carefully planned events to capture the hearts and minds of TV producers, top VC companies, consumers and the press. This valuable service and brand-building has made TutorVista worthy of mention in respected print and television news worldwide.
TutorVista continues to be highlighted today alongside market leading companies that have been in business 35-60 years and spend $40M or more a year on advertising.
v10-6-09 Stuppy: Branding 5
TutorVista.com has been featured in
news & print to over 80 million people
v10-6-09 Stuppy: Branding 6
“…every brand has a unique claim to
fame – an unmatched value…find
the One Thing the brand stands for at
its very core and surround that thing
with reason and emotion.”
-- Be The Brand, David Martin
v10-6-09 Stuppy: Branding 7
Building Your Brand
Stand out & stand for something Unique
Desirable
Differentiate
Move out in front of the pack
Be seen in right light by the right people
Must you advertise to build a brand? NO! You can dominate a category on a modest
budget and that’s the focus of this slide deck…Be one of the Big Dogs with less than a Coca-Cola or McDonald’s budget!
v10-6-09 Stuppy: Branding 8
To build a brand, you must know the
essence of your company/product*
Who are your consumers? Lifestyle profiles? Hopes & fears, pleasures and dislikes, fads?
What do people want from products in category? Must be relevant!
Likes/dislikes about the competition?
What rational & emotional needs can we meet that others have not met? What will make a meaningful difference?
How, where, with whom & when used?
How used in future? Trends we can ride? *Be The Brand, David Martin
v10-6-09 Stuppy: Branding 9
And – It’s Key – Brands Must…
Make an emotional connection with
Consumers
Employees
Funders
Media/industry leaders
v10-6-09 Stuppy: Branding 10
Brand Awareness
In addition to name retention, your brand
must include recall of:
1. What you do
2. The benefit of what you do
3. What you stand for
Awareness is the first stage of selling
Needs + Awareness + Emotion Desire Action
v10-6-09 Stuppy: Branding 11
Branding Checklist
Identify & understand your
Core Identity
Mission (drawn from customer insight)
Customer segment(s)
Differentiated position/defining benefit
Marketing strategy
Customer need, expectation, experience
Emotional pay-off
Talk to customers & employees
v10-6-09 Stuppy: Branding 12
Branding Ideas
Awareness
Signs/posters, Events, Speeches, Conferences, Announcements, Postcards, Free pilot programs, Grants
Invite media; engage lobbyists
Be relevant, interesting & desirable
Establish expertise
Real success stories, Growth, Results, Benefits, Wow-factor (innovation) as well as Now-factor (solutions are here today/relevant)
Stake your claim, sell, retain & refer
v10-6-09 Stuppy: Branding 13
Use This Template to Compose Your
Brand Positioning Statement
To the (market target), (brand name), is the brand of (frame of reference) with (benefits and attributes) that (sustainable and emotional point of difference).*
Eg. To parents worried about their child’s academic success, TutorVista.com, is the brand of online tutoring that delivers the highest quality, most affordable and convenient tutoring that will help your child compete and succeed in school.
*Be The Brand, David Martin
v10-6-09 Stuppy: Branding 14
The Best Brands Drive Emotions*
Some Key Emotions for Brands are:
Love of offspring (9.1 on a 10-point scale)
Parental affection (8.9)
Ambition (8.6)
Fear, Safety (7.8)
Economy (7.5)
Curiosity (7.5)
Efficiency (7.3)
Competition (7.3)
Social Distinction (6.9)
*Psychology in Advertising, Albert Poffenberger
v10-6-09 Stuppy: Branding 15
Use branding to get a leg up
Establish coherent focus
Align employees around this focus
Drive home this message for media, employees, customers & investors so all know what you stand for
Stir your customers’ emotions
Differentiate and stake your claim
Deliver on your brand’s promise
v10-6-09 Stuppy: Branding 16
A rising tide floats all boats
If yours can be “the brand” and represent all that’s good about your product or service niche all by yourself, GREAT!
If not, or if your category has political or other obstacles working against it, consider working with competitors to promote and strengthen your category
BUT…be sure to keep differentiated advantages in mind so you can break away from the pack and establish the value of your own brand when there’s enough “water in the bay.”
v10-6-09 Stuppy: Branding 17
What’s next?
Be True To Your School
Deliver on your promise/potential
----------- BRAND !!!
v10-6-09 Stuppy: Branding 18
John Stuppy background…
EDUMETRIX, Principal Finds education technology products & services that work Secure the capital and provide the leadership companies
need to replicate, scale and dominate their market. Areas of expertise: funding, technology, startup,
marketing, sales, operations, e-learning, branding, student achievement, test-prep, face-to-face & online tutoring, charter schools, instructional supervision, professional development.
TutorVista, President Grew company 825%/year for 2 years to serve 500,000
students; Raised $36M from Sequoia and other top VC’s Featured/interviewed on ABC, NBC, CBS & Fox News, NBC
Today Show; time magazine and in The NY Times, The Wall Street Journal & SF Chronicle.
Sold a stake to Pearson
v10-6-09 Stuppy: Branding 19