lazooz

Written by ZOOZ consulting and training | (972)-9-9585085 | info@zooz.co.il | www.zooz.co.il

  | Issue 85 |


Hello!

We are pleased to send you the new issue of LaZOOZ.
This monthly newsletter is sent as a free service to thousands of senior executives.
It features different sections each time, and does not include advertisements.

 

We have tried to keep it brief, knowing that your time is precious and your work is plentiful. Those who wish to learn more can find links to articles and sources of relevant information. We hope that you will find the newsletter useful. We would be happy to receive any comments and suggestions.


Pleasant reading!
Ari Manor , CEO, ZOOZ

 

P.S. We would appreciate if you could complete a survey about LaZOOZ newsletter (in Hebrew) to help us improve it.


Focus

On strategic development in practice

Positioning or Branding?

 

In order for customers to understand why they should buy specific products and/or services from your company, you need to make your added value clear to them. In other words – you need to create a clear differentiation between what you provide and what your competitors provide.

 

There are two main ways to create differentiation:

1. Positioning – Acquiring “ownership” over a positive benefit in the customer’s mind. For example: Mercedes=prestige

2. Branding – Developing a recognized and in-demand brand. For example: Harley Davidson is a coveted motorcycle.


Positioning is a simpler and more efficient process in most cases. You have to decide on the correct word (prestige, speed, flexibility, comfort, etc.) and adjust the marketing mix to it. The best word can be found using an Attributes-Benefits Chart, and the marketing mix can be adjusted as described in the article on positioning.

 

Branding is a more complex process. In fact, this process turns a company or product or service into a renowned, recognized and multidimensional personality (for example – “a small and friendly bear that likes honey and speaks wise nonsense” – that’s right, you guessed it – Winnie the Pooh). You can brand using senses, colors, and shapes – for example a logo, jingle, and even smell and taste). You can also brand using communicative language (such as soft and caressing feminine) and using stories (for example – Richard Branson’s adventure stories that paint the Virgin superbrand in an unconventional and modern hue – fitting for a company that “breaks the rules for you”).

 

So what should you do to create differentiation? Positioning or branding?

 

Our recommendation is unequivocal: In most cases, you should first tackle positioning. This is a relatively simple and easy process, even with a limited budget. Positioning is also more intuitive, and enables employees to focus around one clear benefit, and for customers to understand what it is. The outcome of successful positioning is that customers understand the differentiation and the marketing message: “If you choose our solutions, you will get a specific benefit that is unique to us, that constitutes our advantage over the competition”.

 

Branding, in contrast, is a very expensive and more complex process that needs to transmit a more complex message to customers (choose our brand because its personality is this, that and whatnot). Logos and slogans are not enough to transmit such complex messages. Numerous processes are required that will elucidate the brand’s personality. The employees also need to internalize complex messages repeated exposure to the complex marketing message is required, several times over. Therefore, branding also requires a very large marketing and advertising budget. This might be appropriate for mass consumer goods (like the iPhone), but much less so for business to business (B2B) solutions and for products that do not have advertising budgets in the millions of shekels or dollars.

 

The bottom line is that you should start with positioning. Only once you’ve acquired ownership of one clear and focused benefit (prestige, flexibility, speed, comfort, etc.), and only if you have large marketing and advertising budgets – can you consider moving forward, and later do branding as well. Consider yourselves warned if you try to do branding before positioning, and without a suitable budget – in most cases it will be a waste of resources and money, and you won’t benefit much from it.

  

For assistance with a quick and focused positioning process, please contact us

 

 


Futurism

Innovation ideas not yet realized

Ideas for innovations in a backpack

 
The following ideas were developed using various thinking tools, and do not exist at present (to the best of our knowledge):

  1. A backpack with a compartment for drying clothes (coated in a moisture wicking netting)
  2. A vibrating backpack that massages your shoulders and back while you carry it
  3. A backpack that turns into a traveling chair (with a suitable hard frame)
  4. A backpack with a hard metal compartment that can be used as a safe
  5. A backpack with a solar panel, like the one shown in the picture here (making it possible to charge a cell phone, flashlight, laptop, MP3 player, etc.)
  6. A backpack with shoulder straps that can be adjusted width-wise (so that they can be adjusted to the width of the shoulders)
  7. A backpack with built-in speakers (so that you can hear music when you are out and about)
  8. A with internal lighting (to make it easier to find things inside)
  9. A backpack with a bag that functions as an internal liner, that can also be used as a separate bag, when necessary
  10. A backpack that turns into a sled that you can pull in the snow (with an external frame that turns into the sled skis)
  11. A backpack constructed from modular removable compartments that can be adjusted to equipment you want to take with you
  12. A backpack with a built-in hat that can be removed and used when needed (and can also protect against the sun)
  13. A backpack with a hard frame and bottom, that can also be used as a locker
  14. A backpack that doubles as a baby carrier with a built-in seat for the baby/toddler (so that you can go on nature excursions with your little one)
  15. A backpack that can also be used as a camera tripod
  16. A backpack with a built-in mirror at the top (to see yourself in the morning)
  17. A backpack with built-in steel clips – so that we can attach the backpack to the roof of a car
  18. A backpack with pockets that can be inflated to turn it into a pillow or seat, or even with a mattress
  19. A backpack with a height-adjustable waist strap (according to the user’s size)
  20. If you have additional ideas – send them to us and we will gladly publish them next time

 

 


Efficiency

A tip on effective management

Continuous Alerts


The www.google.com/alerts search mechanism lets you receive current updates of items that were recently published online, based on key words and phrases that interest you. You can, for example, see alerts published about your company, about competing companies, about your industry, about innovations in your industry, etc.


You can choose to receive all types of alerts, or only specific types: news, blogs, video, discussions or books. You can choose to receive new alerts constantly, once a day, or once a week. You can also choose only the main alerts or all the alerts associated with the phrase that interests you.

 

Thus, for example, you can have delivered to your Gmail inbox daily alerts about new video content about Digital Marketing, weekly news about the Teva Corp., and posts from your favorite bloggers.

 

So, if you want to stay current on various topics, www.google.com/alerts is a convenient, free, and very effective tool. I’m sure you’ll put it to good use.

 

 


Published by ZOOZ | +972-9-9585085 | info@zooz.co.il | www.zooz.co.il

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