Recipe For “Brand Chocolate”: How To Be Irresistible

How do some brands seem to have that irresistible quality that creates a loyal following of happy clients who talk about them and refer others?  How do some brands seem to be found while others disappear? To explain, I like to use the analogy of a chocolate shop.  The chocolatier’s dilemma is that she has this amazing ingredient to work with that so many people will enjoy once they experience it but there are other chocolate shops on her block, so many ways she could prepare her chocolate, and so many different customers she could serve.  So how does she …

How to Clone Your Best Clients

You walk into your waiting room and there she is, Mrs. Manning, smiling as you enter.  Although she is a client, after all this time a handshake is too formal for her and you greet with a hug and a kiss on the cheek.  As you walk her into your office you chat animatedly about her kids, your kids and their latest soccer games.  Even as you get down to business the tone is light and truly collaborative.  You share a mutual respect but truly enjoy working together.  And thanks to Mrs. Manning telling her friends and work colleagues about …

Is Your Brand More Like Carnival or Royal Caribbean? 5 Ways To Tell.

Recently my family and I took a Caribbean cruise. We’re not new to cruising, in fact this was our seventh. But the first six were with Royal Caribbean so this was our first experience with the Carnival brand. I’ll save you the suspense and tell you that it will also be our last, but what I did find interesting was observing the vastly different strategy that each brand employs from its website, to customer service, to the ships themselves and their excursions. I wasn’t expecting the same standard on Carnival as I had previously experienced with Royal, but I wasn’t …

Branding and Process Lessons

10 Branding and Process Lessons From A Whole Foods Store Opening

This morning at 8:00 a.m. the new Whole Foods Market opened in downtown Miami.  From the crowds you would have thought that there was a rock star in town.  People were lined up around the block and traffic was snarled around the corner.  Despite having stores in Miami Beach and Coral Gables, this opening was a big deal.  I must confess to being a bit of a Whole Foods junkie.  Having spent so much of my career on the road, the first thing I would do when landing in a new city would be to check out the nearest Whole …