Branding
brănd: 1. A trademark or distinctive name identifying a product or a manufacturer. 2. A distinctive category; a particular kind.
What We Do
  • Product/Service Design or Augmentation - differentiate your offerings, and address your customer's actual needs rather than what's already been produced. We will work with your existing marketing personnel to help identify what works with technical customers, and what doesn't.
  • Marketing - use multi-pronged campaigns, and ensure they cost less than what they produce, or demonstrate what may be missing from your existing formula.
  • Merchandising - build mindshare and find effective buzz words. Offer multi-pronged bundles and killer-offers.
How We Do It
We reconcile what you are currently offering to your customers, particularly from their point of view, and if there seems to be inconsistencies, we help our clients see what is missing, and what should be done to fill the void.

Most of our clients have a dedicated staff to help offer their products and services. Yet we find that there is some truth to an almost-proverbial belief that a vendor's marketing staff and their customers do not communicate well with each other. New acronyms, correct industry buzz-words, competitive forces, or even just general backgrounds of employees often cause confusion. Overt marketing practices are also easily viewed as profiteering, rather than an earnest attempt to match a valuable service with a genuine need.

This starts with communication, which builds an understanding of real problems -- at a high and low level -- within the industry. Once this understanding is established, you can properly address what customers really want and how to properly sell those solutions. Below are some actual examples of this.
Product and Service Design
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Which airline has the best in-flight entertainment? The easiest-to-endure safety demonstration? Or is most frequently on-time?

In a report on air travel, we compared these and many attributes that help define the overall experience of flying today, and found that no one airline won the award as "Most Flyable Airline". But we did note that the best in-flight entertainment was
Air Canada's enRoute® system, Southwest Airlines' Safety Show is easily the most entertaining and easy to remember safety demonstration, and US Airways is the most consistent on-time carrier in the United States. Although one successful attribute at one airline may not be adaptable or possibly even desired at another, it was helpful to show a cross-comparison of the best and not-so-wonderful characteristics of each, and how they cumulatively affect customers.

Now, each airline has a much better idea of how to present their strongest attributes to their customers for marketing purposes, while at the same time, a better idea of what to improve operationally.
Marketing
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In our casino resort market research, we noticed a merchandising problem: there were too many offerings for dining, entertainment, even just picking accommodation for most customers to be able to compare. Most customers simply would not book such options online or over the phone, which would often mean they would not use any of these amenities at all.

We suggested that web booking engines use the model of personal computer sellers like, offering a list of options with pictures and prices, so customers could build an itinerary of their visit with confidence and understanding. This technique is being used more and more with hospitality-based bookings. It has improved revenue, customer knowledge of offerings, and overall customer satisfaction.
Merchandising
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In another example, AG Advice and Support was trying to improve the customer's experience when purchasing coffee products from one of the world's premier coffee chains. We noticed that promotions seemed to have been standardized company-wide without regard to regional preferences.

For example, people in sunny climates might prefer iced drinks year round, but in northern climates would drink hot beverages 9 months of the year. We suggested that greater emphasis be placed on what customers in multiple regions wanted to drink, and then modify promotions to reflect that. We also suggested that matching food items to those newly discovered preferences by included with a bundled promotion, and that they be periodically reviewed for volume.

Since that time, our client has made several changes to their offerings based on regional preferences, time zones and even weather, boosting interest and revenue right as problems with the economy started to impede sales.