Being a coffee addict, this news is huge for me.  Caribou is rebranding itself with a new logo an some drinks/products (I’m in it for the coffee so these ancillary items are inconsequential to me).

The logo change:

Here is the part of marketing/branding that catches my attention:

Alfredo Martel, Caribou’s senior vice president of marketing, said that the new logo focuses on “optimism and an optimistic outlook on life.”

Don’t you love that?  That is a pretty heavy analysis of what seems to be a simple logo.  I was more intrigued by the fact that the new logo uses a coffee bean for the caribou’s body.

I’ve read some articles commenting that recessions are good times to rebrand your company.  I think that is a sound principle.  Once I see the new logo hit the street, I will be more likely to stop in and check out the changes.  However, $4 coffee drinks best have a solidified hold as a needed “comfort food” to survive the tightening of the American wallet in this recession.

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I picked up a business card this week from a business associate that had this tagline on it:

Were Quality Is #1

Absolutely not kidding.

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There is an elegance to simplicity that often gets belittled, mocked or dismissed.  That condescension can blind one’s eyes to an cost-effective marketing campaign.  I give you Google Video from Germany (via SalesHQ.com):

I love the simplicity of the entire clever campaign.

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Ask any salesperson and they will likely tell you that good leads are the most important aspect of successful selling.  I’ve worked for companies at all different levels on this topic – from absolute garbage leads (the company thought they were good) to golden leads (that were often ignored!).  The golden leads are money if you have salespeople who can effectively qualify.

To that point, Miller-Heiman has released their annual Sales Best Practices Study (h/t Managesmarter.com).  One of their many interesting findings:

Organizations in which sales and marketing are aligned
regarding their target market, customer profile, and lead
definitions are in a much stronger position to produce
quality leads. Maintaining a consistent and highly visible
process to qualify opportunities will be critical in the
coming year when resource allocation will be highly
scrutinized.
We found that a company’s ideal customer profile will
likely change as market conditions change. New criteria
may emerge or current criteria can increase in importance.
Strong sales and marketing alignment supports lead
quality by preventing marketing from focusing on targets
that are no longer a priority.

Many truths in that small excerpt.  Clearly companies will be hunting smaller deals in order to keep revenue flowing.  This economy can dry up revenue streams in a matter of weeks so constantly turning over rocks and looking for any deal will be critical.

As they say, read the entire thing.

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…of the past 30 years is a topic I posted on last week.  The top 30 list was unveiled this week.  Here is the video link to the story regarding the top technical innovations.  And here is the overall list:

30. Anti retroviral treatment for AIDS

29. SRAM flash

28. Stents

27. ATMs

26. Bar codes and scanners

25. Bio fuels

24. Genetically modified plants

23. RFID and applications (e.g. EZpass)

22. Digital photography/videography

21. Graphic user interface (GUI)

20. Social networking via internet

19. Large scale wind turbines

18. Photovoltaic Solar Energy

17. Microfinance

16. Media file compression (e.g., jpeg, mpeg, mp3)

15. Online shopping/ecommerce/auctions (e.g., eBay)

14. GPS Systems

13. Liquid Crystal Displays

12. Light emitting diodes (first real devices in 1960s; in products in mid-70s)

11. Open source software and services (e.g., Linux, Wikipedia)

10. Non-invasive laser/robotic surgery (laparoscopy)

9.  Office software (Spreadsheets, word processors)

8.  Fiber optics

7.  Microprocessors

6.  Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

5.  DNA testing and sequencing/Human genome mapping

4.  E-mail

3.  Mobile phones

2.  PC/laptop

1.  Internet/broadband/WWW (browser and HTML)

Ok, the push here for alternative energy is a stretch in my opinion.  Bio fuels?  Please!  I live in an ethanol state (MN) and I can tell you that it is an inefficient waste of food.  That shouldn’t be anywhere near this list.  Wind turbines and solar power?  No, not top 30 material.

However, I will agree completely with the top 10.  That is a solid list.

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It is a travel day for me – back to the cold of Minnesota – so may I suggest a thought-provoking article from the Killian BrandAid email newsletter?  Finability:  Catch The Fourth Wave is a must read.  First a taste:

Buyers, not sellers, control all transactions.

That’s a sweeping generalization, but let’s sweep together: Your prospects feel entitled to do their own research, given that they believe they have the information resources to find you (and, of course, find your competitors). Since a brand’s first duty is visibility, it’s essential that every organization with competitors (let’s spell that out: You) must engage in findability engineering. Your future depends on it.

Provocative, don’t you think?  The gist of the article involves branding as you might expect, but it is an excellent read on the fundamental change that has occurred recently in the business world.  Salespeople need to have a general understanding of this sea-change.

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We receive many media alerts at Select Metrix, but this one caught my eye.  PBS’ Nightly Business Report is airing the 30 Most Important Innovations from the Last 30 Years.  Here is their description:

In 1979, the first spreadsheet software was introduced, Sony rolled out the Walkman, ESPN began broadcasting sporting events to cable TV companies, and on public television, Nightly Business Report made its debut.  To celebrate their three decades on the air, PBS’ Nightly Business Report has teamed up with Knowledge@Wharton, the online research and business analysis journal of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, to select the 30 most important innovations from the last 30 years.

The criteria upon which the innovations were judged:

1.  Did it have a direct and/or material effect on quality of life?

2.  Did it address a compelling need?  Did it solve a compelling problem?

3.  Was it a fresh, new breakthrough?   Was there a “WOW” factor?

4.  Did it change the way business is conducted?

5.  Did it increase the efficiency of how resources are used?

6.  Did it spark an ongoing stream of new innovations on top of the original innovation?

7.  Did it lead to the creation of a vast, new industry?

The first spreadsheet was introduced in 1979?  I was going to vote for Microsoft Windows, but now I suspect that may have existed in some early form before 1979.  The list will be revealed tonight in a special 30 min. program and I already have my TiVo set to record it.

Was there a cell phone in 1979?  I can’t remember.

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Here is an interesting post from one of Inc.com’s blogs.  This one discusses the importance of a company’s name for branding purposes.  The short post contains something simple, but profound:

In fact, only one of the 12 — Jeff Taylor, founder of Monster.com — felt the name he selected was indispensable and key to branding his company. Surprisingly, not even Starbuck’s co-founder Jerry Baldwin felt the name was essential.

Some of the other business leaders I consulted with — such as Ben & Jerry’s Homemade founders Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, cosmetics expert Bobbi Brown, Wally “Famous” Amos, Kate Spade, and David Oreck — named their companies in part or entirely after themselves. While this group felt it helped bring brand accountability and provide some level of differentiation, they did not believe the company name was essential in creating the brand. They unanimously agreed the best way to build a powerful brand identity is to offer unmatched quality, exceptional service, and consumer-centric products or services that focus on their customers’ needs and wants.

Isn’t this the mantra of sales?  I have worked for many companies where we tried to push this point through to marketing with little success.  The meetings continued and the brainstorming reached a fever pitch as they attempted to select the “right” name for a new product.

Sometimes it is as simple as listening to the customer and delivering what you promise.

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MarketingProfs.com has a superb, thought-provoking article regarding value propositions.  If you have read The Hire Sense of late, you know this is a topic we are exploring in many facets of sales.  I have to confess, this author’s take is completely different (irony there) than the other points I have read on this topic.

Here is the gist of his commentary:

So be different: Stop listening to the continuous pleas from consultants, marketers, and textbooks to be different… one of a kind.. .a shining beacon of newness in a sea of same-old same-old.

Focus instead on actually delivering the value to the market that you say you deliver (which, in and of itself, can be uncommon if not unique), and find ways to create a conversation with buyers around that message.

Well stated for sure.  He provides an example involving two oral surgeons which I don’t think carries as much weight.  The reason is that in sales you have to have some differentiation when you approach a prospect.  His example involves a committed prospect (toothache patient) looking for a solution.

But what if the prospect was simply a person who had a dentist they had been going to for 10 years and were relatively pleased with them?  Simply claiming you deliver on what you say you deliver is probably not going to be enough to get the prospect to change – you must bring unique value to them.  This is where his approach breaks down.

Nonetheless, he still makes some excellent points about this topic.  I particularly enjoyed how he unpacked this common-sounding copy:

Some firms seem to take the quest for differentiation literally, creating a spate of “we’re different” messages. Consider a top Boston law firm with the following message:

At [FIRM Name], we practice law differently. While our attorneys agree that results drive our business, building relationships with our clients and providing value-added service is the key to our success.

This firm might be amazingly good—and, from what I know of their reputation, they are. However, results’ driving business, building relationships, and providing value-add are pretty par for the course—both as firm goals and marketing copy.

I suspect that copy sounds a bit too common to some companies.  Finally, there is this list of how clients buy (emphasis mine):

So what is it that clients are, indeed, looking for? In my experience, and according to research such as How Clients Buy, most buyers want to tell service providers the following:

• Reliability. Do what you say you are going to do, and be on time about it. (This is listed first, because it’s so important. If only the service providers I’ve worked with in my life were better at keeping their commitments…)
• Accessibility. Be there when I need you.
• Impact. Help me buy the most helpful and impactful services from you, and help me translate your services into success for my business in my industry.
• Fit. Be a good fit for the specific needs that I have. If you’re not the best fit, help me find a provider that is. Don’t shoehorn your service into something that, in the end, won’t meet my needs as well as something else would.
• Importance. Make me feel like we are, as a client, important to you and your team.
• Service. Deliver great service as well as great services.
• Prudence. Be careful and do your homework before you suggest a course of action for me.
• Research. Stay on top of the developments and trends in your industry and in mine.
• Listening. Understand my business, my team, and my clients so you can come up with ideas relevant to me.
• Teaching. Help me understand what you’re doing. I might not be an expert in your area, but I’m pretty bright and I make the decisions here. Help me understand what’s new in your area of expertise so I can apply that knowledge in my business.
• Business management. Run an efficient operation and constantly improve so I don’t pay for your inefficiency.
• Relationship management. Be pleasant and fair, and work with me through communication or other breakdowns on your end or mine. In essence, treat me like a person.

As they say, read the entire thing.

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BusinessWeek.com has an excerpt from a new book from C.K. Prahalad and M.S. Krishnan.  They provide an interesting take on a topic we have been studying of late – value.

Salespeople have to know their company’s value proposition in the market.  That last part, in the market, is the key.  We have seen plenty of companies who have an internal perception of their value, but some times it is not based in reality.  Salespeople have to sort this problem out, which is an area in which we assist them.

At any rate, these opening graphs caught my attention as they elucidate a value trend we are seeing in the marketplace today.

There is a fundamental transformation of business underway. Forged by digitization, ubiquitous connectivity, and globalization, this transformation will radically alter the very nature of the firm and how it creates value. No industry is immune to this trend. It will impact traditional industries such as education, insurance, health care, automobiles, and footwear, as well as emerging industries such as video games, search engines, and social networks. Coming to terms with the implications of this change is critical for survival and growth.

This transformation, as we will examine in this book, is built on two basic pillars:

1. Value is based on unique, personalized experiences of consumers. Firms have to learn to focus on one consumer and her experience at a time, even if they serve 100 million consumers. The focus is on the centrality of the individual. We will designate this pillar as N = 1 (one consumer experience at a time).

2. No firm is big enough in scope and size to satisfy the experiences of one consumer at a time. All firms will access resources from a wide variety of other big and small firms—a global ecosystem. The focus is on access to resources, not ownership of resources. We will designate this pillar as R = G (resources from multiple vendors and often from around the globe).

This view of value creation is 180 degrees different from the model that started the industrial revolution. The Model T from Ford, the icon of the industrial revolution, was built on two premises that are the opposites of N = 1 and R = G. Consumers were treated as an undifferentiated group, and hence the famous dictum “Any color is OK as long as it is black.” All resources had to be within the firm to capture value. Ford was one of the most vertically integrated firms, and its River Rouge plant in Dearborn, Michigan, was the model. While no business today operates along the lines of the original Ford model, we must recognize that model as the precursor of modern business models. Most businesses today are variants of that model. That model served us well. It will not as we move forward.

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