“Get closer than ever to your customers. So close, in fact, that you tell them what they need well before they realize it themselves.”
Steve Jobs, Founder of Apple

What you’re about to read features 23 world-class entrepreneurs.

At least 4 of them are billionaires.

At least 8 of them are NY Times Bestselling authors.

Collectively, they have over 23 million Twitter followers.

And they inspired the brand new video you’ll watch at the end of this post.

Expectations

They can suck.

Or they can inspire.

Regardless, they exist. Internally and externally.

A CEO Wonders What’s Possible

Recently, after a client meeting, the subject of expectations came up in a heated discussion.

This discussion was with the CEO.

He was questioning his expectations of his employees to embody the brand we were perfecting. He was questioning the ability of his employees to see (on their own) what worked and what didn’t and, lastly, he wanted to know, would they demand more of themselves to be of better service to one another as well as to customers?

So, I started to look into this topic of exceeding expectations.

Simplicity Kicks Complexity’s Ass

Earlier this year, I released a video that I’d written, narrated and directed. It was on branding. Much to everyone’s surprise, it went viral.

After the viral success of the video What is Branding (nearing a quarter of a million views worldwide after several months), I decided to tackle this subject of Exceeding Expectations.

Why? Because the What is Branding video was in response to the 6,000+ results found on Amazon after I’d searched for books on branding. Over 6000 books on that one topic!

I’d also noticed exceeding expectations was the focus of numerous articles that had appeared in INC, Forbes, Fast Company, Entrepreneur Magazine as well as numerous business blogs, authoritative journals and books.

Plus every entrepreneur knows that managing expectations is a vital skill that impacts brands: reputation, customer service, employee performance and every other aspect of personal and corporate interaction and achievement, each and every day.

To tackle this, I did three things:

• I compiled a remarkable collection of exclusive quotes from colleagues and mentors (appearing in this post for the very first time),
• I curated other quotes from people I didn’t have immediate access to from the Internet, and
• I wrote, directed and narrated a brand new animated video as a follow-up to the What is Branding video. It’s entitled: Exceeding Expectations: What Smart Brands Know shown at the end of this post. (Since this article was first published, there is another video we released that you must see)

(Here’s what I expect of you: Immerse yourself in these amazing quotes. Then immediately watch the stunning 2.5 minute video at the end of this post. It’s selling nothing other than your own conviction to yourself to  excel.)

23 Top Influencers on Exceeding Expectations

In total, I collected 23 outstanding insights from amazing people who actually get things done and who routinely exceed expectations.

As I dug deeper into this topic, I felt I had to be able to answer:

• Why do certain companies excel?
• How do some organizations anticipate our needs before we do?
• How do some leaders sense that next step we will need and want which makes us feel welcome and valuable?

So I looked at which companies had reputations for being able to anticipate needs and then exceed those expectations:

• It’s what makes Apple products break records and set new standards.
• And what makes Nordstroms’ service the gold standard.
• And what makes Under Armour the sports company to watch.
• And Netflix, the channel of the new “binge-watching” generation.

Something Very Unexpected Happened

Looking at the wide range of personalities involved in these insights, I realized the remarkable and influential people I was collecting quotes from would likely never meet one another. Their circles just didn’t overlap.

Yes, I wanted to include some insights from some brilliant minds on exceeding expectations.

And yes, I had access to some very smart people in the world of business, branding, writing, entertainment and innovating.

What I didn’t anticipate was this common thread that linked everyone of these extremely diverse personalities, unifying each of them with one overriding purpose: helping others by demanding more of themselves and those around them.

It’s a Who’s Who of Amazing Minds

A number of these quotes are exclusives from people who I am honored to be able to personally reach out to. These are (in alphabetical order):

• Cheryl Burgess, Author of The Social Employee: How Great Companies Make Social Media Work, an Amazon Best Seller, hailed by Tom Peters as his No. 1 favorite social business book
• Grant Cardone, Entrepreneur, sales expert and NY Times Best-selling author of “The 10X Rule”
• Eliot Cunningham, Senior Digital Marketing Manager at PeopleBrowsr
• Derek De Vette, PR Accelerator working with Harley Davidson and the Foo Fighters, Veteran’s Ride USA, Ann Archer & Artists for Human Rights
• Mark Fidelman, CEO of Evolve! Digital Marketing Agency and Forbes Columnist
• Jeff Goins, Writer. Idea Guy. Difference-Maker. Author of The Art of Work
• Daymond John, noted Shark Tank investor, fashion and brand mogul, CEO of FUBU
• Justin Matthew, Founder IBoom Media, KRED Influencer Worldwide 2015, Top Digital Marketer 100 Power List (This guy is amazing)
• Danny Meyer, CEO, Union Square Hospitality Group, author of NY Times Bestseller “Setting the Table”
• Peter Ruppe, Nike alum; SVP Footwear, UnderArmour
• Lauren Selman, Producer, TEDx Speaker, Mighty Millennial, Philanthropist and
• Oliver Shokouh, Founder, the Harley-Davidson Love Ride, the longest running, single-day motorcycle fundraising event in the world raising over $24 million for children and veteran’s charities.

The balance of quotes are simply from great people who live to help, advancing culture in some way, and who bring value to whatever they come in contact with. I went online and searched for and chose people who are all living, active and influential in today’s culture and business activities:

• Angela Ahrendts, Apple’s SVP of Retail
• Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com
• Richard Branson, Virgin
• Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks and Shark Tank investor
• Jason Fried, Founder & CEO at Basecamp and author of NY Times Bestseller REWORK
• Seth Godin, NY Times Best-selling author
• Ashton Kutcher, Actor, Investor, Humanitarian
• Elon Musk of Tesla
• Howard Schultz, CEO Starbucks
• Simon Sinek, NY Times Best-selling author, and (last but certainly not least)
• Gary Vaynerchuk, Businessman, Investor, Author. NY Jets fan. CEO of @vaynermedia. Host of #AskGaryVee show.

Exceeding Expectations: In Their Own Words
(That Secret Ingredient Between OK and Awesome)

Angela Ahrendts:
“…if the end result is that someone, somewhere winds up believing they can do something out of the ordinary, well, then you’ve really made it.”*

Jeff Bezos:
“We see our customers as invited guests to a party, and we are the hosts. It’s our job every day to make every important aspect of the customer experience a little bit better.”*

Richard Branson:
“The key is to set realistic customer expectations, and then not to just meet them, but to exceed them — preferably in unexpected and helpful ways.”*

Cheryl Burgess:
“Smart brands have always been about enhancing the customer experience. Now they need to leverage the employee experience (EX), illuminating both the brand and the employee. This creates a win/win for both the brand and the employee.”

Grant Cardone:
“The goal should be to SHOCK, not just simply exceed expectations. Leave copying, competing and comparing to others — Shock Expectations and gain immediate altitude above the rest.”

Mark Cuban:
“It is so much easier to be nice, to be respectful, to put yourself in your customers’ shoes and try to understand how you might help them before they ask for help, than it is to try to mend a broken customer relationship.”*

Eliot Cunningham:
“It’s every business’s job to exceed the expectations of their clients in this progressively competitive and globalized environment. Like a soldier earning a purple heart, every brand must go above and beyond the call of duty in order to rise to the top of any market.”

Derek De Vette:
“Only the belligerently original rise to the top. Microsoft and Apple began with PCs. One is struggling for relevance; the other became the predominant source of music, photos and communication on earth. No one saw this coming—except for Steve Jobs who was famous for having a sixth sense for knowing what to say ‘No’ to and never losing sight of the user experience.”

Mark Fidelman:
“In order to exceed your customers’ expectations, you must first understand those expectations. The next step is to exceed them – no excuses.”

Jason Fried:
“Plus, if you’re a copycat, you can never keep up. You’re always in a passive position. You never lead; you always follow. You give birth to something that’s already behind the times‚ just a knockoff, an inferior version of the original. That’s no way to live.”*

Seth Godin:
“Traditional corporations, particularly large-scale service and manufacturing businesses are organized for efficiency. Or consistency. But not joy. Joy comes from surprise and connection and humanity and transparency and new…If you fear special requests, if you staff with cogs, if you have to put it all in a manual, then the chances of amazing someone are really quite low.”*

Jeff Goins:
“Don’t just do what you love. Chase what makes you curious. Fascination leads to growth. And when you grow, you do interesting and attractive work, work that’s worth noticing.”

Daymond John:
“Merely ‘meeting expectation’ isn’t a business that’s built on being proactive. Instead, that’s a business that’s reactive which just won’t cut it in today’s market place. To succeed in business, I learned early on, you have to anticipate what your customers really need. And to do that, you’ve got to be observant, very observant and connect the dots that others miss.”

Ashton Kutcher:
“The sexiest thing in the entire world is being really smart. And being thoughtful and being generous. Everything else is crap. I promise you. It’s just crap that people try to sell to you to make you feel like less. So don’t buy it. Be smart. Be thoughtful and be generous.”*

Justin Matthew:
“Never stop challenging yourself, compete only with goals you set. Comparing yourself to anyone else is disrespectful to your own abilities. Believe in domination through innovation. Question everything; do not take it as fact. Always work as if people more talented and smarter than you were trying to take your job tomorrow.”

Danny Meyer:
“In the end, what’s most meaningful is creating positive, uplifting outcomes for human experiences and human relationships. Business, like life, is all about how you make people feel. It’s that simple, and it’s that hard.”

Elon Musk:
“I’d like to get into the habit of exceeding expectations.”*

Peter Ruppe:
“To exceed expectations, you want to deliver the unexpected. This is a mindset. It is centered on knowing and caring enough to observe, discover and unlock value hidden inside the acts of life.”

Howard Schultz:
“Our mission statement about treating people with respect and dignity is not just words but a creed we live by every day. You can’t expect your employees to exceed the expectations of your customers if you don’t exceed the employees’ expectations of management.”*

Lauren Selman:
“If they asked about my career, I’d say, ‘What I want to be hasn’t been created yet.’ We live in a world where we create our reality, our jobs, our relationships. We each have the power to create our lives. Approach every conversation or experience as an opportunity to learn and to teach and you will exceed all your expectations.”

Oliver Shokouh:
“Harley-Davidson doesn’t sell motorcycles. We sell a lifestyle; camaraderie; brotherhood on two wheels. All made in the USA.”

Simon Sinek:
“Service is not doing what is required of us. Service is doing more than is required of us.”*

Gary Vaynerchuk:
“You need to spend all of your time and energy on creating something that actually brings value to the people you’re asking for money!”

The Video That Sparked This Flame

YouTube / DBD International – via Iframely

Become Less Impressed. Become More Involved.

I want you to be an outrageous success.

I want you to have a brand that allows you to make a remarkable contribution to how the world works. Or plays.

I know of no faster way to achieve that than by helping others. Using you passion and talents and skills.

In ways they don’t expect.

In ways they don’t anticipate.

In ways that are so far beyond what anyone considers “normal.”

Some may say, this isn’t branding. “What’s Brier talking about now?”

No, it’s not directly about about branding.

It’s about life.

Of which branding is one small part.

Want to know how to do it correctly? Read (and watch the new video in) this vitally important post.

The post Top 23 Most Influential People on the Value of Exceeding Expectations appeared first on Award-winning branding, rebranding and package design.

Entrepreneurs, innovators and artists rule the world.

Yet few people even know the actual definition for the word:

Entrepreneur: A person who organizes and manages any enterprise, especially a business, usually with considerable initiative and risk.  [Random House Unabridged Dictionary]

To me, that’s the definition of living. Of being relevant professional and as a brand. Of offering value and more than what’s expected.

When I first read that definition, this described:

• the first time I asked a girl out for a date,
• or asked for a raise,
• or spoke up in a meeting, challenging who I thought was the leader, and shared my vision of how things should be different.

As Entrepreneurs, We Must Lead

A case in point is what I’ve done since January 1st:

• I’ve been the Keynote speaker at an international Entrepreneur’s Convention
• Released a remarkable new 3-minute video that redefines R.O.I. and clarifies what kills creativity
• Have signed up our first client from Germany
• Moved into our new offices
• Branded (naming, design, brand strategy) a brilliant new line of brands from Italy
• Did a BLAB event with social influencer Mark Fidelman and social media guru Justin Matthew
• Secured a weekend-long convention as the Keynote speaker in Taiwan speaking to over 400 business people
• Interviewed Shark Tank star Daymond John about his new book, The Power of Broke, and how he turned pennies into billions
• Isolated the 4 Devils of Branding
• Worked with the terrific New York letterpress printer on our new set of business cards (shown below) and
• Being presented with a medallion from Daymond John for Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship.

And that’s all before Valentine’s Day!

Entrepreneurs — Why Nobody Gives a Sh*t About Your Brand

So, I was excited when I was presented with the honor of speaking with Ande Lyons who is an inspired leader for entrepreneurs.

Just the other day, we spent almost an entire hour talking about:

• waking up in the morning
• the only workable definition of branding
• knowledge vs. rules
• the power of authentic entrepreneurship
• branding for the legendary Joanna Vargas
• tattoos
• being “dangerous”
• what to do about committees (and how they kill businesses faster than a roomful of politicians), and
• what to do with people who try to convince you that their opinion of you is more valid than your opinion of you.

So without further adieu, grab a coffee, a comfortable seat, some colleagues and  — here it is: Why Nobody Gives a S#!+ About Your Brand

YouTube / Ande Lyons – via Iframely

After this talk, many people from Ande’s fantastic community started to comment, tweet, and share the video.

One of her listeners created a tattoo on Google+ which inspired me to create this tattoo:

Now it’s your turn to lead and inspire.

What are you going to do?

The post Why Do Certain Brands Succeed in Today’s Economy? (video) appeared first on Award-winning branding, rebranding and package design.

Entrepreneurs. I love them.

Who are entrepreneurs? Oprah Winfrey. Steve Jobs. Walt Disney. Mark Zuckerberg. Jeff Bezos. Elon Musk. JK Rowling. Thomas Edison… to name a few.

My entrepreneurial clients span the spectrum from global multi-millionaires, serial entrepreneurs and well-funded startups to global brands, local brands and even cities.

Servicing this wide range of clientele, I’ve seen how the best stay the best. In honor of that, I’ve compiled this this short list of “what the most successful entrepreneurs know.” This is what I’ve observed about those who broke through to amazing success.

What Entrepreneurs Need to Know

The most successful entrepreneurs I know never get satisfied with some random achievement, thus losing sight of their hunger and thirst for the bigger goal. They never confuse an insight with an achievement.

The most successful entrepreneurs I know have a relentless, bottomless persistence that makes others feel like they’re being lazy bums.

The most successful entrepreneurs I know are known for their care and passionate interest in others.

The most successful entrepreneurs I know make others wonder if they will ever stop. Or if they have a stunt double.

The most successful entrepreneurs I know have an insatiable desire to help, serve and improve the conditions of others.

Most notably, the most successful entrepreneurs I know never mistake an insight, a mere slice, for the whole pie. And never take a shortsighted approach to a long-term goal.

Entrepreneurs deserve the whole pie, not just some tasty crumbs or leftovers.

The 5 Lessons We Can Apply

1. Recognize achievement yet never settle. Always keep in mind the bigger goal.
2. Be persistent as hell and demand as much if not more of yourself than you do of others.
3. Have a stubborn optimism that others are worth all the heartache and let that care be shown in your compassion.
4. Do your own stunts and never stop.
5. Help others and know that your own success is defined by how much help you provided to make the lives of others better.

As a case in point, here are some of the brands created for the successful entrepreneurs I’ve been fortunate to work with:

How will you use this list to create something to improve the world, add value and rebel against the status quo of mediocrity? 

The post What the Most Successful Entrepreneurs Know appeared first on Award-winning branding, rebranding and package design.

In our ever-changing world, I deal with business owners, CEOs and entrepreneurs of all sorts. I find each of them is tempted to try the latest new business tool.

I’ve seen too many, with all of these distractions and messages, lose sight of some key fundamentals which I’ve noted below.

Where Greatness Starts

Here are some key viewpoints I use to help me stay focused on the stuff that works:

Anything that lessens your expansion and your desire for greatness is not your friend, no matter how “logical” it may seem. This applies as much to “helpful people” as it does to “logical ideas” that suck the life out of you.

If it doesn’t empower your aspirations, then there’s something wrong with that idea (or person) and not something wrong with you. There’s never been anything wrong with reaching.

Besides, mediocrity isn’t a goal. It’s a compromise. And mediocrity never inspired anybody.

The only one who comes out ahead in this scenario is whoever is promoting such ideas that results in any of us reaching for smaller dreams, striving for lesser goals and settling for something “more comfortable.”

I once wrote in my Fast Company column these additional points:

Peace is only a problem to those who want war. 

Your prosperity is only a conflict for those who profit from your failure. 

Love is only a problem to those who hate.

You “giving up” is an accomplishment only to those who gain from your demise.

Remembering How to Dream Big

Look back at times when you’ve won. As an entrepreneur. In business. In art. In sports. In any part of life. You  felt big. Unstoppable. A force to be reckoned with.

I would venture a guess than any time you were outgoing and courageous like that, you felt bigger than the goal you were going after (or at least it didn’t seem so big, so you didn’t back down).

All of which brings me to this: You’re an important part of and likely the most vital factor in your success, not circumstances, not fate.

So, dream big. Execute bigger. And never lose sight of you.

When to Stop?

Never.

The post For Entrepreneurs: When to Stop appeared first on Award-winning branding, rebranding and package design.

I remember when she walked into my office and, within minutes of that very first first meeting, asked me, “Have you ever designed a brand for women?”

Three years later, we saw the rebrand that I’d created increase their business 387% in 3 years.

Yes, female entrepreneurs are outstanding. (Female consumers are even more more amazing—driving 85% of all purchases made—but more about that shortly.)

She’s Your Next Door Neighbor

I am not just talking about the Arianna Huffingtons of the world.

Or J.K. Rowling or Diane Von Furstenberg or Martha Stewart or Tyra Banks or Sara Blakely (Spanx creator and youngest female billionaire in America) or Coco Chanel (who existed decades before there was ever this thing called social media).

Maybe a bit more like Michelle Phan, who went from growing up on food stamps to creating a nearly $100 million empire that began with “how-to” makeup videos on YouTube. She has yet to turn 30 years old (and got on the Inc. 30 under 30 and Forbes 30 under 30 lists) and became the first woman to reach one billion views on YouTube with nearly 9 million followers. This evolved into her own L’Oreal line of products.

Or Joanna Gaines of Fixer Upper, HGTV’s #1 rated show who, with her infectious husband Chip, transformed Waco, Texas, into a destination attracting over 15,000 shoppers to their Magnolia Market store in Waco each and every week (not to mention their book which came out in October becoming a NY Times bestseller).

Ted Rubin and I recently sat down to talk about this amazing success story of this brand:

If you’re in business, this post is about what women bring to the table that’s very different than what their male counterparts bring to the business table.

Here’s what you need to know.

85% of Sales: We are the Champions My Friend

Is it the estimated purchasing power women bring, driving 85% of all purchases made?

Or the fact that “the global incomes of women are predicted to reach a staggering $18 trillion by 2018, according to global professional services firm EY.” (thank you Bridget Brennan)

My answer is simple: women can do something men seem to be genetically incapable of doing.

Breaking into spontaneous infomercials on any product or service no matter how seemingly off-topic, or personal, or trivial. Spontaneously, enthusiastically and authentically!

And then adding on top of that the ability of all the girlfriends’ enthusiasm to embrace that eruption of excitement.

In Celebration of Female Entrepreneurs

So yes, female customers rock.

But you know what? Female entrepreneurs rock just as much if not more.

Early in my career, I worked on brands for Revlon and Estee Lauder.

But I didn’t get to work closely with female entrepreneurs for some years.

It’s the flip side of the female consumer. It’s the opposite side where I got to see how attentive women are to their core audience

But one of my most memorable rebrands started with the legendary Joanna Vargas whose salon and reputation is one of the most revered in the New York (as well as across the US) and in their new Los Angeles salon location.

The brand transformation was remarkable but the biggest difference I discovered was the attention to detail which I personally observed: women love details—packaging details, textures, smells, printing finishes, choices of paper, tissue paper and more.

The more sensory expectations you can exceed, the greater your bond. Think of experience as the glue that cements that relationship.

Since then, I have had the fortune to work on many women-owned business making me a loyal fan of female entrepreneurs and their innate business sense.

In addition to Joanna Vargas and branding Revlon and Esteé Lauder brands, I have enjoyed, celebrated and learned so much working with female entrepreneurs and their brands (in no particular order).

Here are a handful of the terrific female entrepreneurs I have been fortunate to work with:

Sue Kramlich and her Simply Snackin’ line of premium beef, chicken and venison jerky. Her down-to-Earth Midwest manner is refreshing and her commitment to her craft without equal.

Besides overhauling the brand, we also created a new category introducing “crafted in our own MicroSnackery (inspired by the concept of micro-breweries for beers and micro-roasters for coffees).

Elizabeth Chayer of American Dance Institute (located in Seattle) who, after 25 years, was ready to reinvent their brand and its story for a new generation for the next 25 years. An inspirational legend who trained 12,000 in the first 25 years.

Ilona Kovacs for her new line of nutritional bars, True Taste. True to Ilona’s vision, the strategy was simplicity versus the overwhelming noise in this crowded space. 

How do you brand a luxury 7,000 SF log cabin in the Midwest? That was the challenge faced when Renea Frederick needed a brand for her stunning lodge, No Worries Lodge.

How often does a brand experience a 900% increase in sales in 24 months after a rebrand? That was what happened to the Napa Valley-based Botanical Bakery led by the wonderful Sondra Wells.

Sondra and I connected when I first interviewed her to discover their essence. When I summarized her brand with, “Oh, you’re like ‘shortbread cookies gone wild’ “—it was clear we were destined to work together.

 And branding a service for one of America’s most expensive ZIP codes, this required some ingenuity. Done for Lisa Cullen and her husband Chris, Montecito Landscape broke all previous sales records in the first year after the rebrand (a brand new range of growth and sales never achieved in the prior 47 years of business).

Chocolate or a female client? That is one tough choice. Fortunately, I didn’t have to choose. I got both. Creating the outstanding branding for Legacy Chocolates was a thrill done for Lorraine Dixon and her husband Mark:

Lynda Hubbard runs TrendCreators out of Los Angeles and this rebrand was recently accomplished displaying a major transformation for the market research firm only proving that “having a sexy brand” isn’t restricted to food, gourmet items or culture.

And the branding work done for Mercedes Austin of Mercury Mosaics will debut in the new year with a transformative tool to cement new prospects to their brand.

The above examples only scratch the surface.

I couldn’t showcase everyone and I very likely will have to a follow this up with a sequel.

But this post gives you a taste.

The key lesson is based on that old phrase, “God is in the details.”

And if that’s the case, God is either a woman or able to really connect to the female sensibilities that make even the smallest details meaningful and not to be overlooked.

So, that gives you a bit of why I love Female Entrepreneurs and working with them to help forward their global domination.

The post Is This the Power of Female Entrepreneurs? (Featuring Joanna Gaines of Fixer Upper) appeared first on Award-winning branding, rebranding and package design.

Ask any CEO what their primary goal is and most will tell you converting prospects into customers.

The goal was simple, “Blow prospects away exceeding all their expectations—and industry standards—of what a sampler kit could be for mosaic tiles.”

Shown above are the “Tile Elves” at Mercury Mosaics (Founder Mercedes Austin is second from the left)

When to Ignore Expectations

When I sat down with Mercedes Austin, Mercury’s founder and creative leader, we discussed her product and how people were introduced to her handmade mosaic tiles, once they expressed interest in the product.

Upon initial inspection, I discovered when prospects asked for samples (from homeowners to international lifestyle brands with brick and mortar locations), the tile samples sent were shipped in a box that was a common corrugated box with styrofoam internal padding with labor-intensive requirements when put together with tile samples. So it wasn’t particularly practical and it did not convey the attention to the detail Mercury Mosaics was known for—the kinds of details that would never contribute to converting prospects into customers.

According to Mercedes, “The problems we were solving were two:

1. Have our tiles proudly & distinctly stand out from the competition, and
2. Transport the client from a place of being overwhelmed to a happy place of inspiration, needing just a few more steps before embarking on their own unique tile project experience.

“We wanted clients to understand the greatness they were investing in when they chose Mercury Mosaics. Mercury is the god of skilled trade and craftsmanship and that box was the embodiment of tiles–made by hands, crafted by humans–right here in the US.

“Lastly, we wanted the box to act like a mini-billboard for our client’s friends and family to create buzz, interest and, of course, some tile envy!”

The Untold Story

One important detail that seemed to escape prospects were that these were handmade tiles, made right in the studios of Mercury Mosaics instead of someplace else (and then distributed by Mercury). So the solution had to help clarify they were handmade here, that no two tiles were the same, that love, care and passion were instilled into every tile and that you were experiencing something real, and not merely distributed.

This problem dictated that we would develop a design that looked handmade (hence the “brush stroked swatches of color on the box) and the new slogan, “Made by hand. Crafted by humans.”

Converting Prospects into Customers

The goal was to create an easy-to-use sampler that blew away the customer.

In terms of aesthetics.

Function.

And pride of ownership.

The goal was make it so awesome that people would either:

1. Display this proudly on their desktop or bookshelf and
2. Be missed when it wasn’t around since it was so damn good-looking and nearly telepathic in its usefulness.

How good would we need to be to convert a lukewarm prospect into a sizzling hot lead?

How much would we have to exceed expectations not only of the customer but of the industry?

Those are the questions we had to ask ourselves.

Here is our answer.

Here, the top flap is opened exposing the velcro tabs that secures the top flap and unveils the inserts that house the sample tiles:

Shown below is one of the inserts with the Sampler Pack shown from different angles:

And here is the top of the box with the new slogan:

Included in the Sampler Box is this insert that educates the prospect:

Does your brand have a strategy that will help your brand convert mere prospects into customers?

The post A Stunning Way to Convert Prospects into Customers appeared first on Award-winning branding, rebranding and package design.

In our ever-changing world, I deal with business owners, CEOs and entrepreneurs of all sorts. I find each of them is tempted to try the latest new business tool.

I’ve seen too many, with all of these distractions and messages, lose sight of some key fundamentals which I’ve noted below.

Where Greatness Starts

Here are some key viewpoints I use to help me stay focused on the stuff that works:

Anything that lessens your expansion and your desire for greatness is not your friend, no matter how “logical” it may seem. This applies as much to “helpful people” as it does to “logical ideas” that suck the life out of you.

If it doesn’t empower your aspirations, then there’s something wrong with that idea (or person) and not something wrong with you. There’s never been anything wrong with reaching.

Besides, mediocrity isn’t a goal. It’s a compromise. And mediocrity never inspired anybody.

The only one who comes out ahead in this scenario is whoever is promoting such ideas that results in any of us reaching for smaller dreams, striving for lesser goals and settling for something “more comfortable.”

I once wrote in my Fast Company column these additional points:

Peace is only a problem to those who want war. 

Your prosperity is only a conflict for those who profit from your failure. 

Love is only a problem to those who hate.

You “giving up” is an accomplishment only to those who gain from your demise.

Remembering How to Dream Big

Look back at times when you’ve won. As an entrepreneur. In business. In art. In sports. In any part of life. You  felt big. Unstoppable. A force to be reckoned with.

I would venture a guess than any time you were outgoing and courageous like that, you felt bigger than the goal you were going after (or at least it didn’t seem so big, so you didn’t back down).

All of which brings me to this: You’re an important part of and likely the most vital factor in your success, not circumstances, not fate.

So, dream big. Execute bigger. And never lose sight of you.

When to Stop?

Never.

The post For Entrepreneurs: When to Stop appeared first on Award-winning branding, rebranding and package design.

“Get closer than ever to your customers. So close, in fact, that you tell them what they need well before they realize it themselves.”
Steve Jobs, Founder of Apple

What you’re about to read features 23 world-class entrepreneurs.

At least 4 of them are billionaires.

At least 8 of them are NY Times Bestselling authors.

Collectively, they have over 23 million Twitter followers.

And they inspired the brand new video you’ll watch at the end of this post.

Expectations

They can suck.

Or they can inspire.

Regardless, they exist. Internally and externally.

A CEO Wonders What’s Possible

Recently, after a client meeting, the subject of expectations came up in a heated discussion.

This discussion was with the CEO.

He was questioning his expectations of his employees to embody the brand we were perfecting. He was questioning the ability of his employees to see (on their own) what worked and what didn’t and, lastly, he wanted to know, would they demand more of themselves to be of better service to one another as well as to customers?

So, I started to look into this topic of exceeding expectations.

Simplicity Kicks Complexity’s Ass

Earlier this year, I released a video that I’d written, narrated and directed. It was on branding. Much to everyone’s surprise, it went viral.

After the viral success of the video What is Branding (nearing a quarter of a million views worldwide after several months), I decided to tackle this subject of Exceeding Expectations.

Why? Because the What is Branding video was in response to the 6,000+ results found on Amazon after I’d searched for books on branding. Over 6000 books on that one topic!

I’d also noticed exceeding expectations was the focus of numerous articles that had appeared in INC, Forbes, Fast Company, Entrepreneur Magazine as well as numerous business blogs, authoritative journals and books.

Plus every entrepreneur knows that managing expectations is a vital skill that impacts brands: reputation, customer service, employee performance and every other aspect of personal and corporate interaction and achievement, each and every day.

To tackle this, I did three things:

• I compiled a remarkable collection of exclusive quotes from colleagues and mentors (appearing in this post for the very first time),
• I curated other quotes from people I didn’t have immediate access to from the Internet, and
• I wrote, directed and narrated a brand new animated video as a follow-up to the What is Branding video. It’s entitled: Exceeding Expectations: What Smart Brands Know shown at the end of this post. (Since this article was first published, there is another video we released that you must see)

(Here’s what I expect of you: Immerse yourself in these amazing quotes. Then immediately watch the stunning 2.5 minute video at the end of this post. It’s selling nothing other than your own conviction to yourself to  excel.)

23 Top Influencers on Exceeding Expectations

In total, I collected 23 outstanding insights from amazing people who actually get things done and who routinely exceed expectations.

As I dug deeper into this topic, I felt I had to be able to answer:

• Why do certain companies excel?
• How do some organizations anticipate our needs before we do?
• How do some leaders sense that next step we will need and want which makes us feel welcome and valuable?

So I looked at which companies had reputations for being able to anticipate needs and then exceed those expectations:

• It’s what makes Apple products break records and set new standards.
• And what makes Nordstroms’ service the gold standard.
• And what makes Under Armour the sports company to watch.
• And Netflix, the channel of the new “binge-watching” generation.

Something Very Unexpected Happened

Looking at the wide range of personalities involved in these insights, I realized the remarkable and influential people I was collecting quotes from would likely never meet one another. Their circles just didn’t overlap.

Yes, I wanted to include some insights from some brilliant minds on exceeding expectations.

And yes, I had access to some very smart people in the world of business, branding, writing, entertainment and innovating.

What I didn’t anticipate was this common thread that linked everyone of these extremely diverse personalities, unifying each of them with one overriding purpose: helping others by demanding more of themselves and those around them.

It’s a Who’s Who of Amazing Minds

A number of these quotes are exclusives from people who I am honored to be able to personally reach out to. These are (in alphabetical order):

• Cheryl Burgess, Author of The Social Employee: How Great Companies Make Social Media Work, an Amazon Best Seller, hailed by Tom Peters as his No. 1 favorite social business book
• Grant Cardone, Entrepreneur, sales expert and NY Times Best-selling author of “The 10X Rule”
• Eliot Cunningham, Senior Digital Marketing Manager at PeopleBrowsr
• Derek De Vette, PR Accelerator working with Harley Davidson and the Foo Fighters, Veteran’s Ride USA, Ann Archer & Artists for Human Rights
• Mark Fidelman, CEO of Evolve! Digital Marketing Agency and Forbes Columnist
• Jeff Goins, Writer. Idea Guy. Difference-Maker. Author of The Art of Work
• Daymond John, noted Shark Tank investor, fashion and brand mogul, CEO of FUBU
• Justin Matthew, Founder IBoom Media, KRED Influencer Worldwide 2015, Top Digital Marketer 100 Power List (This guy is amazing)
• Danny Meyer, CEO, Union Square Hospitality Group, author of NY Times Bestseller “Setting the Table”
• Peter Ruppe, Nike alum; SVP Footwear, UnderArmour
• Lauren Selman, Producer, TEDx Speaker, Mighty Millennial, Philanthropist and
• Oliver Shokouh, Founder, the Harley-Davidson Love Ride, the longest running, single-day motorcycle fundraising event in the world raising over $24 million for children and veteran’s charities.

The balance of quotes are simply from great people who live to help, advancing culture in some way, and who bring value to whatever they come in contact with. I went online and searched for and chose people who are all living, active and influential in today’s culture and business activities:

• Angela Ahrendts, Apple’s SVP of Retail
• Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com
• Richard Branson, Virgin
• Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks and Shark Tank investor
• Jason Fried, Founder & CEO at Basecamp and author of NY Times Bestseller REWORK
• Seth Godin, NY Times Best-selling author
• Ashton Kutcher, Actor, Investor, Humanitarian
• Elon Musk of Tesla
• Howard Schultz, CEO Starbucks
• Simon Sinek, NY Times Best-selling author, and (last but certainly not least)
• Gary Vaynerchuk, Businessman, Investor, Author. NY Jets fan. CEO of @vaynermedia. Host of #AskGaryVee show.

Exceeding Expectations: In Their Own Words
(That Secret Ingredient Between OK and Awesome)

Angela Ahrendts:
“…if the end result is that someone, somewhere winds up believing they can do something out of the ordinary, well, then you’ve really made it.”*

Jeff Bezos:
“We see our customers as invited guests to a party, and we are the hosts. It’s our job every day to make every important aspect of the customer experience a little bit better.”*

Richard Branson:
“The key is to set realistic customer expectations, and then not to just meet them, but to exceed them — preferably in unexpected and helpful ways.”*

Cheryl Burgess:
“Smart brands have always been about enhancing the customer experience. Now they need to leverage the employee experience (EX), illuminating both the brand and the employee. This creates a win/win for both the brand and the employee.”

Grant Cardone:
“The goal should be to SHOCK, not just simply exceed expectations. Leave copying, competing and comparing to others — Shock Expectations and gain immediate altitude above the rest.”

Mark Cuban:
“It is so much easier to be nice, to be respectful, to put yourself in your customers’ shoes and try to understand how you might help them before they ask for help, than it is to try to mend a broken customer relationship.”*

Eliot Cunningham:
“It’s every business’s job to exceed the expectations of their clients in this progressively competitive and globalized environment. Like a soldier earning a purple heart, every brand must go above and beyond the call of duty in order to rise to the top of any market.”

Derek De Vette:
“Only the belligerently original rise to the top. Microsoft and Apple began with PCs. One is struggling for relevance; the other became the predominant source of music, photos and communication on earth. No one saw this coming—except for Steve Jobs who was famous for having a sixth sense for knowing what to say ‘No’ to and never losing sight of the user experience.”

Mark Fidelman:
“In order to exceed your customers’ expectations, you must first understand those expectations. The next step is to exceed them – no excuses.”

Jason Fried:
“Plus, if you’re a copycat, you can never keep up. You’re always in a passive position. You never lead; you always follow. You give birth to something that’s already behind the times‚ just a knockoff, an inferior version of the original. That’s no way to live.”*

Seth Godin:
“Traditional corporations, particularly large-scale service and manufacturing businesses are organized for efficiency. Or consistency. But not joy. Joy comes from surprise and connection and humanity and transparency and new…If you fear special requests, if you staff with cogs, if you have to put it all in a manual, then the chances of amazing someone are really quite low.”*

Jeff Goins:
“Don’t just do what you love. Chase what makes you curious. Fascination leads to growth. And when you grow, you do interesting and attractive work, work that’s worth noticing.”

Daymond John:
“Merely ‘meeting expectation’ isn’t a business that’s built on being proactive. Instead, that’s a business that’s reactive which just won’t cut it in today’s market place. To succeed in business, I learned early on, you have to anticipate what your customers really need. And to do that, you’ve got to be observant, very observant and connect the dots that others miss.”

Ashton Kutcher:
“The sexiest thing in the entire world is being really smart. And being thoughtful and being generous. Everything else is crap. I promise you. It’s just crap that people try to sell to you to make you feel like less. So don’t buy it. Be smart. Be thoughtful and be generous.”*

Justin Matthew:
“Never stop challenging yourself, compete only with goals you set. Comparing yourself to anyone else is disrespectful to your own abilities. Believe in domination through innovation. Question everything; do not take it as fact. Always work as if people more talented and smarter than you were trying to take your job tomorrow.”

Danny Meyer:
“In the end, what’s most meaningful is creating positive, uplifting outcomes for human experiences and human relationships. Business, like life, is all about how you make people feel. It’s that simple, and it’s that hard.”

Elon Musk:
“I’d like to get into the habit of exceeding expectations.”*

Peter Ruppe:
“To exceed expectations, you want to deliver the unexpected. This is a mindset. It is centered on knowing and caring enough to observe, discover and unlock value hidden inside the acts of life.”

Howard Schultz:
“Our mission statement about treating people with respect and dignity is not just words but a creed we live by every day. You can’t expect your employees to exceed the expectations of your customers if you don’t exceed the employees’ expectations of management.”*

Lauren Selman:
“If they asked about my career, I’d say, ‘What I want to be hasn’t been created yet.’ We live in a world where we create our reality, our jobs, our relationships. We each have the power to create our lives. Approach every conversation or experience as an opportunity to learn and to teach and you will exceed all your expectations.”

Oliver Shokouh:
“Harley-Davidson doesn’t sell motorcycles. We sell a lifestyle; camaraderie; brotherhood on two wheels. All made in the USA.”

Simon Sinek:
“Service is not doing what is required of us. Service is doing more than is required of us.”*

Gary Vaynerchuk:
“You need to spend all of your time and energy on creating something that actually brings value to the people you’re asking for money!”

The Video That Sparked This Flame

Become Less Impressed. Become More Involved.

I want you to be an outrageous success.

I want you to have a brand that allows you to make a remarkable contribution to how the world works. Or plays.

I know of no faster way to achieve that than by helping others. Using you passion and talents and skills.

In ways they don’t expect.

In ways they don’t anticipate.

In ways that are so far beyond what anyone considers “normal.”

Some may say, this isn’t branding. “What’s Brier talking about now?”

No, it’s not directly about about branding.

It’s about life.

Of which branding is one small part.

Want to know how to do it correctly? Read (and watch the new video in) this vitally important post.

The post Top 23 Most Influential People on the Value of Exceeding Expectations appeared first on Award-winning branding, rebranding and package design.

Entrepreneurs, innovators and artists rule the world.

Yet few people even know the actual definition for the word:

Entrepreneur: A person who organizes and manages any enterprise, especially a business, usually with considerable initiative and risk.  [Random House Unabridged Dictionary]

To me, that’s the definition of living. Of being relevant professional and as a brand. Of offering value and more than what’s expected.

When I first read that definition, this described:

• the first time I asked a girl out for a date,
• or asked for a raise,
• or spoke up in a meeting, challenging who I thought was the leader, and shared my vision of how things should be different.

As Entrepreneurs, We Must Lead

A case in point is what I’ve done since January 1st:

• I’ve been the Keynote speaker at an international Entrepreneur’s Convention
• Released a remarkable new 3-minute video that redefines R.O.I. and clarifies what kills creativity
• Have signed up our first client from Germany
• Moved into our new offices
• Branded (naming, design, brand strategy) a brilliant new line of brands from Italy
• Did a BLAB event with social influencer Mark Fidelman and social media guru Justin Matthew
• Secured a weekend-long convention as the Keynote speaker in Taiwan speaking to over 400 business people
• Interviewed Shark Tank star Daymond John about his new book, The Power of Broke, and how he turned pennies into billions
• Isolated the 4 Devils of Branding
• Worked with the terrific New York letterpress printer on our new set of business cards (shown below) and
• Being presented with a medallion from Daymond John for Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship.

And that’s all before Valentine’s Day!

Entrepreneurs — Why Nobody Gives a Sh*t About Your Brand

So, I was excited when I was presented with the honor of speaking with Ande Lyons who is an inspired leader for entrepreneurs.

Just the other day, we spent almost an entire hour talking about:

• waking up in the morning
• the only workable definition of branding
• knowledge vs. rules
• the power of authentic entrepreneurship
• branding for the legendary Joanna Vargas
• tattoos
• being “dangerous”
• what to do about committees (and how they kill businesses faster than a roomful of politicians), and
• what to do with people who try to convince you that their opinion of you is more valid than your opinion of you.

So without further adieu, grab a coffee, a comfortable seat, some colleagues and  — here it is: Why Nobody Gives a S#!+ About Your Brand

YouTube / Ande Lyons – via Iframely

After this talk, many people from Ande’s fantastic community started to comment, tweet, and share the video.

One of her listeners created a tattoo on Google+ which inspired me to create this tattoo:

Now it’s your turn to lead and inspire.

What are you going to do?

The post Why Do Certain Brands Succeed in Today’s Economy? (video) appeared first on Award-winning branding, rebranding and package design.

Entrepreneurs. I love them.

Who are entrepreneurs? Oprah Winfrey. Steve Jobs. Walt Disney. Mark Zuckerberg. Jeff Bezos. Elon Musk. JK Rowling. Thomas Edison… to name a few.

My entrepreneurial clients span the spectrum from global multi-millionaires, serial entrepreneurs and well-funded startups to global brands, local brands and even cities.

Servicing this wide range of clientele, I’ve seen how the best stay the best. In honor of that, I’ve compiled this short list of “what the most successful entrepreneurs know.” This is what I’ve observed about those who broke through to amazing success.

What Entrepreneurs Need to Know

The most successful entrepreneurs I know never get satisfied with some random achievement, thus losing sight of their hunger and thirst for the bigger goal. They never confuse an insight with an achievement.

The most successful entrepreneurs I know have a relentless, bottomless persistence that makes others feel like they’re being lazy bums.

The most successful entrepreneurs I know are known for their care and passionate interest in others.

The most successful entrepreneurs I know make others wonder if they will ever stop. Or if they have a stunt double.

The most successful entrepreneurs I know have an insatiable desire to help, serve and improve the conditions of others.

Most notably, the most successful entrepreneurs I know never mistake an insight, a mere slice, for the whole pie. And never take a shortsighted approach to a long-term goal.

Entrepreneurs deserve the whole pie, not just some tasty crumbs or leftovers.

The 5 Lessons We Can Apply

1. Recognize achievement yet never settle. Always keep in mind the bigger goal.
2. Be persistent as hell and demand as much if not more of yourself than you do of others.
3. Have a stubborn optimism that others are worth all the heartache and let that care be shown in your compassion.
4. Do your own stunts and never stop.
5. Help others and know that your own success is defined by how much help you provided to make the lives of others better.

As a case in point, here are some of the brands created for the successful entrepreneurs I’ve been fortunate to work with:

How will you use this list to create something to improve the world, add value and rebel against the status quo of mediocrity? 

The post What the Most Successful Entrepreneurs Know appeared first on Award-winning branding, rebranding and package design.

I remember when she walked into my office and, within minutes of that very first meeting, asked me, “Have you ever designed a brand for women?”

Three years later, we saw the rebrand that I’d created increase their business 387% in 36 months.

Yes, female entrepreneurs are outstanding. (Female consumers are even more more amazing—driving 85% of all purchases made—but more about that shortly.)

She’s Your Next Door Neighbor

I am not just talking about the Arianna Huffingtons of the world.

Or J.K. Rowling or Diane Von Furstenberg or Martha Stewart or Tyra Banks or Sara Blakely (Spanx creator and youngest female billionaire in America) or Coco Chanel (who existed decades before there was ever this thing called social media).

Maybe a bit more like Michelle Phan, who went from growing up on food stamps to creating a nearly $100 million empire that began with “how-to” makeup videos on YouTube. She has yet to turn 30 years old (and got on the Inc. 30 under 30 and Forbes 30 under 30 lists) and became the first woman to reach one billion views on YouTube with nearly 9 million followers. This evolved into her own L’Oreal line of products.

Or Joanna Gaines of Fixer Upper, HGTV’s #1 rated show who, with her infectious husband Chip, transformed Waco, Texas, into a destination attracting over 15,000 shoppers to their Magnolia Market store in Waco each and every week (not to mention their book which came out in October becoming a NY Times bestseller).

Ted Rubin and I recently sat down to talk about this amazing success story of this brand:

If you’re in business, this post is about what women bring to the table that’s very different than what their male counterparts bring to the business table.

Here’s what you need to know.

85% of Sales: We are the Champions My Friend

Is it the estimated purchasing power women bring, driving 85% of all purchases made?

Or the fact that “the global incomes of women are predicted to reach a staggering $18 trillion by 2018, according to global professional services firm EY.” (thank you Bridget Brennan)

My answer is simple: women can do something men seem to be genetically incapable of doing.

Breaking into spontaneous infomercials on any product or service no matter how seemingly off-topic, or personal, or trivial. Spontaneously, enthusiastically and authentically!

And then adding on top of that the ability of all the girlfriends’ enthusiasm to embrace that eruption of excitement.

In Celebration of Female Entrepreneurs

So yes, female customers rock.

But you know what? Female entrepreneurs rock just as much if not more.

Early in my career, I worked on brands for Revlon and Estee Lauder.

But I didn’t get to work closely with female entrepreneurs for some years.

It’s the flip side of the female consumer. It’s the opposite side where I got to see how attentive women are to their core audience.

But one of my most memorable rebrands started with the legendary Joanna Vargas whose salon and reputation is one of the most revered in the New York (as well as across the US) and in their new Los Angeles salon location.

The brand transformation was remarkable but the biggest difference I discovered was the attention to detail which I personally observed: women love details—packaging details, textures, smells, printing finishes, choices of paper, tissue paper and more.

The more sensory expectations you can exceed, the greater your bond. Think of experience as the glue that cements that relationship.

Since then, I have had the fortune to work on many women-owned business making me a loyal fan of female entrepreneurs and their innate business sense.

In addition to Joanna Vargas and branding Revlon and Esteé Lauder brands, I have enjoyed, celebrated and learned so much working with female entrepreneurs and their brands (in no particular order).

Here are a handful of the terrific female entrepreneurs I have been fortunate to work with:

Sue Kramlich and her Simply Snackin’ line of premium beef, chicken and venison jerky. Her down-to-Earth Midwest manner is refreshing and her commitment to her craft without equal.

Besides overhauling the brand, we also created a new category introducing “crafted in our family-owned MicroSnackery” (inspired by the concept of micro-breweries for beers and micro-roasters for coffees).

Elizabeth Chayer of American Dance Institute (located in Seattle) who, after 25 years, was ready to reinvent her brand and its story for a new generation for the next 25 years. An inspirational legend who trained an impressive 12,000 students in the first 25 years. Like any entrepreneur (and dancer), she’s warming up for her next amazing performance: the next 25 years.

Ilona Kovacs for her new line of nutritional bars, True Taste. True to Ilona’s vision, the strategy was simplicity versus the overwhelming noise in this crowded space. Our pitch was simple: we have no more ingredients than the number of fingers on your hand. And nothing you can’t pronounce. 

How do you brand a luxury 7,000 SF log cabin in the Midwest? That was the challenge faced when Renea Frederick needed a brand for her stunning lodge, No Worries Lodge.

How often does a brand experience a 900% increase in sales in 24 months after a rebrand? That was what happened to the Napa Valley-based Botanical Bakery led by the wonderful Sondra Wells.

Sondra and I connected when I first interviewed her to discover their essence. When I summarized her brand with, “Oh, you’re like ‘shortbread cookies gone wild’ “—it was clear we were destined to work together.

And branding a service for one of America’s most expensive ZIP codes, this required some ingenuity. Seriously. The average household value here was in excess of $3 million and the service was for homeowners.

Done for Lisa Cullen and her husband Chris, Montecito Landscape broke all previous sales records in the first year after the rebrand (a brand new range of growth and sales never achieved in the prior 47 years of business).

Chocolate or a female client? That is one tough choice. Fortunately, I didn’t have to choose. I got both. Creating the outstanding branding for Legacy Chocolates was a thrill done for Lorraine Dixon and her husband Mark:

Lynda Hubbard runs TrendCreators out of Los Angeles and this rebrand was recently accomplished displaying a major transformation for the market research firm only proving that “having a sexy brand” isn’t restricted to food, gourmet items or culture.

When Sandi Read decided to bring breakthrough products from Italy that protect surfaces with next-generation technology and anti-slip solutions that eliminate slipping on surfaces of every type, she knew she needed a new set of names and brands.

Tackling names were the first challenges followed by the visual branding. Equilibrio referenced equilibrium (balance) with a decidedly Italian slant. And Bead referenced that any liquid beads up when coming in contact with any surface treated with this product.

Here’s what was done visually:

Serving the agricultural industry (think of John Deere) and offering marketing insights, Jan Johnson headed up Millennium Research and was in need of a brand refresh. What happened was a new name, a new tagline and positioning for her firm. The result? Landmark Performance Group with a memorable name and brand and an astonishing video that has been called “the best marketing video I’ve ever watched.” Both can be seen here.

And the branding work done for Mercedes Austin of Mercury Mosaics will debut in the new year with a transformative tool to cement new prospects to their brand.

The above examples only scratch the surface.

I couldn’t showcase everyone and I very likely will have to a follow this up with a sequel.

But this post gives you a taste of their influence and their business savvy.

The key lesson is based on that old phrase, “God is in the details.”

And if that’s the case, God is either a woman or able to really connect to the female sensibilities that make even the smallest details meaningful and not to be overlooked.

So, that gives you a bit of why I love Female Entrepreneurs and working with them to help forward their global domination.

The post Is This the Power of Female Entrepreneurs? (Featuring Joanna Gaines of Fixer Upper) appeared first on Award-winning branding, rebranding and package design.

Ask any CEO what their primary goal is and most will tell you converting prospects into customers.

The goal was simple, “Blow prospects away exceeding all their expectations—and industry standards—of what a sampler kit could be for mosaic tiles.”

Shown above are the “Tile Elves” at Mercury Mosaics (Founder Mercedes Austin is second from the left)

When to Ignore Expectations

When I sat down with Mercedes Austin, Mercury’s founder and creative leader, we discussed her product and how people were introduced to her handmade mosaic tiles, once they expressed interest in the product.

Upon initial inspection, I discovered when prospects asked for samples (from homeowners to international lifestyle brands with brick and mortar locations), the tile samples sent were shipped in a box that was a common corrugated box with styrofoam internal padding with labor-intensive requirements when put together with tile samples. So it wasn’t particularly practical and it did not convey the attention to the detail Mercury Mosaics was known for—the kinds of details that would never contribute to converting prospects into customers.

According to Mercedes, “The problems we were solving were two:

1. Have our tiles proudly & distinctly stand out from the competition, and
2. Transport the client from a place of being overwhelmed to a happy place of inspiration, needing just a few more steps before embarking on their own unique tile project experience.

“We wanted clients to understand the greatness they were investing in when they chose Mercury Mosaics. Mercury is the god of skilled trade and craftsmanship and that box was the embodiment of tiles–made by hands, crafted by humans–right here in the US.

“Lastly, we wanted the box to act like a mini-billboard for our client’s friends and family to create buzz, interest and, of course, some tile envy!”

The Untold Story

One important detail that seemed to escape prospects were that these were handmade tiles, made right in the studios of Mercury Mosaics instead of someplace else (and then distributed by Mercury). So the solution had to help clarify they were handmade here, that no two tiles were the same, that love, care and passion were instilled into every tile and that you were experiencing something real, and not merely distributed.

This problem dictated that we would develop a design that looked handmade (hence the “brush stroked swatches of color on the box) and the new slogan, “Made by hand. Crafted by humans.”

Converting Prospects into Customers

The goal was to create an easy-to-use sampler that blew away the customer.

In terms of aesthetics.

Function.

And pride of ownership.

The goal was make it so awesome that people would either:

1. Display this proudly on their desktop or bookshelf and
2. Be missed when it wasn’t around since it was so damn good-looking and nearly telepathic in its usefulness.

How good would we need to be to convert a lukewarm prospect into a sizzling hot lead?

How much would we have to exceed expectations not only of the customer but of the industry?

Those are the questions we had to ask ourselves.

Here is our answer.

Here, the top flap is opened exposing the velcro tabs that secures the top flap and unveils the inserts that house the sample tiles:

Shown below is one of the inserts with the Sampler Pack shown from different angles:

And here is the top of the box with the new slogan:

Included in the Sampler Box is this insert that educates the prospect:

Does your brand have a strategy that will help your brand convert mere prospects into customers?

The post A Stunning Way to Convert Prospects into Customers appeared first on Award-winning branding, rebranding and package design.

While doing a recent episode on my #1 Alexa Skill (What’s Next in Branding), I outlined the 4 types of entrepreneurs I have encountered in three decades of helping businesses and brand grow.

Not knowing this, you choose the wrong business partners.

Or the wrong clients to serve.

Or miss choosing the best (and smartest) way to use your assets for rapid and effective growth of your brand, your company and your ability to truly make a difference.

The 4 Types of Entrepreneurs: The Vital Question

Entrepreneurs have one thing in common: they all seek survival and growth.

Yet all entrepreneurs (and companies and brands) seek out growth, opportunity, and expansion in various different ways. 

Not so long ago, I broke out the lifecycle of a brand and the 7 stages most brands hit. It was and is a powerful and insightful article.

So the real question here becomes: 

Which type of entrepreneur are you?

And is that type serving you best to meet your objectives?

Unless you’ve answered this, you won’t be able to play to your strengths.

When you have honestly answered this, you open the doors to:

• Choosing the right opportunities
• Choosing the right clients to best serve
• Choosing the right partners, and
• Knowing your next step up the ladder (if your current choice isn’t getting you the results in enough quantity and quality to satisfy your objectives)

Which of the 4 Types of Entrepreneurs Are You?

The four types of entrepreneurs:

• Coasting, opportunity comes to them (or it doesn’t)
• Conservative (very moderate use of resources, protecting existing resources)
• Aggressive (proactive, all-in, actively seeks opportunity)
• Innovator/Revolutionary (attains growth through innovation)

Coasters

The coasters don’t look for opportunity, things kind of “happen” and for some, that works. It is more focused on right now, what’s in front of us.

Conservative

The conservative entrepreneur operates on the principle “resources are limited” and we thus, we have “be cautious.” This is slightly focused to the future, but conservatively so, since ”you never know.”

Aggressive/Proactive

The aggressive entrepreneur operates more on the idea that there are many opportunities and uses whatever resources are there to achieve those objectives. This is more focused on what’s next, what more can be achieved and generating growth through personal action and conviction.

Innovator/Revolutionary

The innovator not only seeks out opportunities that can be seized but looks for opportunities that, with a bit of refinement, can be the best of all worlds. This is the rebel, the artist, the non-conformist embracing all that’s possible in the future (even at the sacrifice of the present).

By isolating which you are and how you approach growth will make the difference as to whether we do that quickly, slowly, or not at all.

The post The 4 Types of Entrepreneurs: Which One Are You? appeared first on Award-winning branding, rebranding and package design.

“Is Branding Dead?” is a question entrepreneurs and CEOs all wonder about.

Instead, they routinely ask, “What about personal branding?” or “Isn’t social media the answer to everything” or…?

Very easy and common holes to fall into unless you understand the following:

In a recent discussion with entrepreneurs around the world, I stated, “Branding as it’s practiced today is based on a lie.”  

Me-too templates, copy-and-paste “formulas,” and endless swipe files overlook one vital, fundamental fact:

Branding is the art of differentiation.

Understanding that one irrefutable fact, how can one cookie-cutter formula work (especially when “one answer” turns entirely different entrepreneurs and companies into puppets that all look and sound the same)?

In short, it can’t.

Cutting Through The Noise and the BS

This is why I compiled six powerful videos that shed light on how branding can be practiced for those who want to lead, for those who refuse to blend in, and for those who have a fire that can’t be put out.

This new approach provides an alternative option for those people who refuse to blend in and want their identity not tied up in some intangible idea or overused cliché.

It starts with never giving up on our dreams. 

Then it advances to the fundamentals: knowing WHY branding works, and how to navigate through the constant changes and shifts every business is experiencing today.

Branding Isn’t Dead (Unless You Ignore This Important Fact)

For years, the advertising and marketing industries have branded themselves as important and vital components of any business. 

We must stop using antiquated tactics like product placement in movies and television shows and the sponsoring of events with celebrities who don’t even use the products they promote.  

Instead, we must take a more honest approach to marketing which includes authenticity and transparency about how (and WHY) your company makes the choices it makes.  

The art and science of persuading people to purchase products or services is factually the art of storytelling, not the making up silly pitches backed by celebrities and other wastes of money.

Here are some key videos that open the door to clarity while eliminating mindless copycat tactics.

Here I am with Stu Sjouwerman of KnowBe4 that just went public in April of 2021, about 18 months before their IPO:

And to help usher in true branding to replace that mindless dribble that’s been being sold, I created the Brand Intervention Masterclass.

Here are ten entrepreneurs and business professionals sharing their journey in their own words:

And here is one alumni who clearly captures his breakthroughs.

Women business owners and leaders also shared incredible breakthroughs that unleashed their ability to navigate their brands:

Stop Resorting To Shortcuts That Undermine Your Brand

Building a brand is an art that requires more than just a slick marketing campaign led by some color-by-number swipe file. 

It needs to be based on a truth people respect and not fall prey to formulas or templates designed for me-too brands. 

As you’ve seen, there are plenty of great examples of companies who have created successful branding strategies without resorting to shortcuts that dilute their brands, overlooking what made them stand out in the first place. 

Ready to stop being led by slick formulas and me-too templates?

Submit your application today and join the other amazing entrepreneurs around the world who will be sharing the journey with you.

The post Is Branding Dead? 6 Videos Reveal a Very Different Story appeared first on Award-winning branding, rebranding and package design.