23 Jul, 2010
Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh
Tony chronicles his journey of getting Zappos to a billion dollars in retail sales while creating the brand to mean extreme customer service. He’s candid about making many mistakes along the way. Through it, he found that making customers (and employees) happy was the way for him to take the company to new heights.
I talk with Tony about critical decisions, the reasoning behind allowing customer service an open mic on Twitter, and more.
More about the book at DeliveringHappinessBook.com. And if you happen to need a pair of shoes, how about Zappos?
20 Apr, 2010
Fascinate: Your 7 Triggers to Persuasion and Captivation by Sally Hogshead
Some brands grab our attention and others don’t. Do you have a favorite car, favorite vacation, favorite movie? If you could meet anyone and spend a hour with them, who would it be? Not someone dull, that’s for sure.
Now apply this interest, this fascination with your brand. Done right, there is something about it that gets your customers hooked. Sally breaks it down into 7 triggers. Choose wisely and and reap the rewards.
I talk with Sally about who this applies to, what part ‘triggers’ play into this and an example of fascination done wrong.
More about the book at SallyHogshead.com, and find out your personality with the f-score.
4 Feb, 2010
Repositioning by Jack Trout
No doubt many of you own and recall the classic Positioning book written some thirty years ago. Inside was a chapter about repositioning aimed at how to reposition your competition. Fast forward to today when there is so much competition (how many brands of toothpaste, cars, soda, electronics are there?) placing your stake in the ground is a different challenge than it was back then. Jack returns to lay a course again and navigate through the competition, change, and crisis that is at every turn.
I talk with Jack about Diet Coke, how to find out what your position is, how to pull off having a sale when times are lean and more.
More about the book at TroutandPartners.com
17 Dec, 2008
The Brand Bubble – by John Gerzema.
On one hand we have businesses giving high value to their brands, and on the other hand we have consumers who are showing less and less loyalty to brands. Have you seen this before? A high-perception of value? This is The Brand Bubble. Now that we know the problem, let’s work on a solution. Inside you’ll find a 5-step process to invigorate your brand and give it momentum.
I talk with John about loss of consumer loyalty, what to do about it, and the BrandAsset Valuator, a tool to see where thousands of brands stand in the marketplace.
More about John at www.TheBrandBubble.com.
30 Oct, 2008
Relevance by Tim Manners.
Becoming and maintaining a solid brand is no easy feat. Stare at the numbers too long and too much and you lose the connection to your customer, which happen to be human, not a piece of data. Rather than find yourself in the position of having your advertising try to talk someone into something, join Tim to discover how to find innovation that keeps your brand something people want.
I talk with Tim about the overabundance of advertising and its effect, whether its better to be who you are or let the customer decide, and what “Relevance” looks like.
More about Tim at Reveries.com and TimManners.com
