Just a few years ago, the question of utilizing a free business giveaway might have gotten a snarky response from quality-seeking buyers. Must be second rate or defective, a desperate attempt at luring customers, or just pure no-value offer; “you get what you pay for.” Today, the land of FREE is landscaped quite differently; respectable, credible brands do it, hot emerging start-ups launch with them, and international mega companies like Google have built their empire by building and offering free products and services.
Chris Anderson, author of The Long Tail, believes Free is the future of business; a powerful new economy of opportunity and the subject of his new book called Free, due out in July 2009. “The idea that you can make money by giving something away is no longer radical. Over the past decade, a different sort of Free has emerged.”
So is FREE back in Fashion?
Trendspotters think so. Trendwatching.com, a global of force of over 8,000 trend spotters, defines it as Free Love—free, valuable, and available stuff for consumers and businesses—on- and offline. In their view, this Free giving movement will become an integral if not essential part of doing business.
I must admit, for years I’ve been a buying snob; an almost an anti-frugal, no-coupon ever, free stuff skeptic customer. In my view, any organizations—be they consumer or B2B that employ these free or discount tactics—do so because they are likely losers. Philosophically for me, if a service or product is truly good, it should command full price to cover the costs, overhead, and earn a profit. I am running my own business and I’ve always sold my professional services at full fare, and hated when buyers wanted something for free or at a discount. After all, I am not the Walmart of speaking and consulting services, and I do not want to be.
Free is definitely back. Even the naysayers like me now have an appetite and new respect for this FREE economy frenzy. Free, done well, now earns my attention and often provides a trial before commitment, and in a world packed with so much stress, receipt of even a small meaningful gift from a company gets big points from me.
For any professional, a strong identity and a distinct market position are key factors in achieving optimum business success. They can supersede academic credentials, experience and even your skill sets as a competitive edge. The power of perception allows you to make a unique mark in the minds of your industry, peers, customers, and prospects.
Companies and organizations worldwide spend enormous resources on building their brand. They know that a sound brand adds value to their existence, secures customer and employee loyalty and enhances profits. For professionals, the same fundamental brand building principles apply. A personal brand can deliver significant professional benefits: command higher fees, earn more money, increase your market share and even enjoy a celebrity status.
Whether you are referring to a product, company, organization or an individual professional, a brand is a mental imprint, which conveys a personality, promise and unique position. Brands are visual, emotional, rational and cultural. Powerful brands start at the core of one’s existence and spread throughout every point of contact with their target audience.
I was at the Midway Airport in Chicago a while back, waiting for a flight out. A young guy walks from another gate to approach me and asks, “are you the Branding Diva?”
“Yes, I am.”
“Wow, that’s so cool. I have your book and read your columns in Fast Company.”
“How did you know it was me?”
“I know I’ve seen your photo in the magazine, but can’t really remember what you look like. But, from your writing, I feel like I know you. When you were at Starbucks and I saw that red leather band on your wrist covered with rhinestone bling and letters spelling out the word brand, I knew it was you.”
Well, that little branded red bracelet opened the conversation that led to my getting booked by his company to deliver a speech.
That’s selling without selling.
And it happens to a lot of people in many industries every day. People become magnets for their products and services based on their personal branding.
Deceptive marketing practices are damaging consumer trust for all brand builders.
Organizations invest millions on building honorable brands, most claiming to strive for loyal relationships with buyers. Then why are so many crossing the line and mucking up the market for all of us with bad behavior?
Rebates that never happen, direct-mail fibs, deceptive ads, and promotions with more loop holes than a FEMA program - every day, companies are sliming us with these scrappy marketing tactics. But the saddest part of the story is that this trash is not only coming from the pure evildoers, but from many well-branded, respectable companies.
If building brand equity is the goal, then equal importance should be placed on practicing all these behaviors:
• Be a category leader, the expert
• Maintain top-of-mind awareness
• Have a consistent message through all touch points
• Connect through emotions
• Always employ full integrity in your actions
“Can’t get that brand out of my head…” Have you heard that song? We all have. Well, maybe not that exact melody, but some memorable sound effect, cool tune, or catchy jingle. And I’ll bet there was a direct connection to some brand experience.
Martin Lindstrom discusses that very idea in his book, Brand Sense (2005). “Sound is fundamental to building the mood and creating atmosphere of whatever story’s being told. Hearing is passive and listening is active. The sound of your brand should target both the hearer and listener since both are equally important in influencing purchase behavior,” he writes. “While hearing involves receiving auditory information through the ears, listening relies on the capacity to filter, selectively focus, remember, and respond to sound. We use our ears to hear and our brains to listen. Sound is emotionally direct and a powerful branding tool.”
Branding 
Martin Lindstrom discusses that very idea in his book, Brand Sense (2005). “Sound is fundamental to building the mood and creating atmosphere of whatever story’s being told. Hearing is passive and listening is active. The sound of your brand should target both the hearer and listener since both are equally important in influencing purchase behavior,” he writes. “While hearing involves receiving auditory information through the ears, listening relies on the capacity to filter, selectively focus, remember, and respond to sound. We use our ears to hear and our brains to listen. Sound is emotionally direct and a powerful branding tool.”
