Build it, and they will come.

Published 20071022 by Olivier Blanchard | E-mail this post

"If customers feel like they have discovered a brand themselves, they become much more loyal."

- Ray Kelvin

Found on the Make Marketing History blog today:

Not everything is at it seems or as is claimed and omissions of lucky breaks and familial connections often hide real insights.

I was reminded of this while reading John Grant's latest book in which he refers to the brand bandwagon phenomenon by which advertising agencies take credit for building a brand that was already building by itself.

This goes to the heart of the myth that marketing is synonomous with advertising. If you need further proof, I've watched a local two-person business grow slowly by selling their clothes from their own store. After eighteen years, there was still no marketing department and not one advertisement had been run in print, radio or TV. But the turnover had risen to the vicinity of £100 million.

There had been much truth in the founder's gleeful description of seeing her first delivery van (stylishly furnished in the company colours) on the road and thinking it looked like a giant mobile shopping bag. Your retail outlet, be it physical or virtual (and everything that supports it) is a great marketing tool.

Indeed the more of the value chain that your business can isolate and/or commandeer, the greater the possibilities because it is under your control and is directly measurable. You're not shouting at amorphous crowds through mass media. You're whispering, enticing and listening and thus approaching a prolonged conversation with live prospects and actual customers.

Now not all businesses will have their own retail outlet, but they should act as if they do. Setting out your stall is what marketing is all about.

(...)

Ray Kelvin founder of clothes retailer Ted Baker (market capitalisation £250 million) declares a similar approach in a very rare interview.

..we don’t do valuations and market research; we have an attitude rather than a target market and we don’t advertise. We have a Ted Baker culture instead; people come into the shop and get Ted-ucated. If customers feel like they have discovered a brand themselves, they become much more loyal.

There's emphasis on speed and the race to raise angel capital, and the thrill of marketing campaigns just to earn the right to take a running jump into the giant pool of companies exactly like yours with clever names and cool logos and posh zipcodes...

... and then there are the little companies that create their own little worlds, sweat the small stuff and and take their time getting discovered by the right core of customers.

Real roots take time to grow. I know we live in the world of here and now, of the 24/7 instant gratification economy in which we all want success and wealth and and fame right this very second... but once you turn off your TV and join the rest of us in the real world, you might come to the realization that the old adage "Easy come, easy go" still applies to everything today.

Throwing oodles of cash at an idea might guarantee a spectacular launch, but it doesn't hold a candle to hard work, dedication, patience, passion, and a whole lot of attention to detail. (Not to mention luck.)

How do you eat an elephant? One mouthful at a time.

How do you build a castle? One stone at a time.

How do you build a great company? ...

Labels: brand culture, discovery, market research