“BRAND” OF OPPORTUNITY

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The National Retail Federation’s annual convention in New York was a buzz of activity this year with an increase of over 20% in attendees from all over the world seeking new ideas to improve their business. Granted, most of them came to see the latest technology and systems to help improve operations. However, for those who attended the educational sessions (one of which was presented by Robyn Winters and myself where we introduce our Brain Branding concept) there was plenty of information and opinion confirming now is the OPPORTUNITY to capitalize on business. Terry Leahy, CEO of Britain’s successful Tesco stores said it best when he said that “Success in this turbulent economy will be determined by staying focused on what your “brand stands for.”

Halleluiah! Someone who believes that it’s not just getting more aggressive with promotions and sale events to woo our reluctant (or bored) customers back to the stores. It truly is a time to be opportunistic. Last year when the economy was plunging out of control, Hyundai motors introduced their program that allowed you to return your new car if you should lose your job shortly after you purchased it. Not many took them up on the offer, but many certainly did take notice as Hyundai produced the best results in the car industry in 2009.

Sam’s Club just announced that it was eliminating 11,000 jobs by outsourcing their in-store demonstrators to a company that specializes in having motivated, professional demo’s in the stores. Some see it as a budget cutback (which it is) in hard times, but I see it as an opportunity that Sam’s is taking to get more competitive with Costco and add more excitement to the shopping experience in their warehouse stores. Not only will the demos be more fun, but I suspect there will be an increase which will induce trial and add to the loyalty of their customers.

The New York Daily News is fighting back against the circulation losses and advertiser cutbacks by joining forces with Yahoo (along with several other newspapers) to provide their local advertisers the ability to combine the power of the traditional mass media with the growth of online and social networking. The big chains, like JCPenney have been converging successfully for some time, but the local retailers haven’t had the opportunity or savvy to make it happen. Now, they can and are able to make it happen with their local advertising rep from the paper.

Publix once again made the list of the top companies in the US to work for. They also continue to get more grocery shoppers to come into their stores than any other in their markets by constantly improving the shopping experience (“where shopping is a pleasure” is their slogan and they live up to it, everyday.} They seized the opportunity when Albertson’s withdrew most of its stores in Florida by gobbling up most of the sites (many of them better than their existing ones) and refurbishing and remodeling them to make a loyal customer even more so while gaining almost all of the existing Albertson’s shoppers. They have also defended their brand position against the price choppers at Walmart and WinnDixie, by strengthening their private label program and by putting together a Buy One, Get One campaign that keeps the price shopper without weakening their brand position.

Now is the time to look around, redefine your brand position and take advantage of the opportunities to grow your business in spite of the media’s obsession with bad economic news.

Want more insights? Take a look at an article by Marc Albright, Business writer for the St. Petersburg Times who recently interviewed me about Brain Branding and the importance of branding today. The link is:
http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/retail/marketing-consultant-seeks-to-win-over-consumers-whole-brain/1064531