The Visionary Brand | The FUEL | Inspire Through Personalization & Ambassadors

The Visionary Chronicles

EPISODE 154

CHRONICLE: May 22nd, 2024

Content from Bryan’s new Award Winning, Bestselling Book

The Visionary Brand, The Success Formula Behind the World's Most Visionary Brands.

• Readers Favorite Award Winner: Best, Non-fiction, Marketing book
• Amazon Bestseller.

The Visionary Brand | The FUEL | Inspire Through Personalization & Ambassadors

" Inspiration exists, but it has to find us working.” – Pablo Picasso

INSPIRE THROUGH PERSONALIZATION

To create and maintain your strategy for maintaining and growing a premium brand, you can’t just invest in product creation; you must also invest in developing the messaging, marketing, and merchandising. To be perceived as premium, the message must match the reality at all levels of consumer engagement, from the anticipation of the purchase activation and eventual use.

Visionary brands separate themselves from the competition at each level of engagement; knowing each point of contact is critical to the brand's overall success. The best way to manage this engagement is through personalization.

Inspiring your community through personalization is the holy grail for visionary brands. Achieving this strategy successfully will give you access to significant amounts of data, metric analysis, and dynamic reporting to sharpen your focus. The most efficient way to gather this information and decipher what is needed versus what is not is by using AI (artificial intelligence) to provide accurate, individualized data targeted to the consumer level, the amount of analysis that must be computed and spit out into a legible format is mind-boggling.

Measuring long-term consumer value through tangible metrics is critical to the predictability of brand equity and revenue growth. This measure was previously unattainable but is now a critical digital dashboard for any brand's ongoing heartbeat.

Pre-purchase acquisition costs, transaction value, turn rate, and post-purchase value are essential metrics. The more focused a brand is on refining these targeted campaigns, the better they can personalize the UX, enhancing loyalty and defining lifetime value.

Brand personalization is a powerful strategy that allows businesses to connect with their consumers on a more personal and individualized level. By tailoring their products, services, and communication to meet the specific needs and preferences of individual customers, companies can create a more engaging and memorable brand experience. The following are some key aspects to consider for effective brand personalization.

1. Data Collection and Analysis | Gather and analyze customer data such as purchase history, browsing behavior, demographics, and preferences. This data can provide valuable insights into consumer interests, needs, and tendencies, enabling personalized offerings and messaging.
2. Segmentation and Targeting | Use the collected data to segment customers into specific groups based on shared characteristics, behaviors, or preferences. This allows for targeted and tailored marketing and product offerings that resonate with each segment's unique needs.
3. Personalized Communication | Leverage customer data to personalize communication channels like email, social media, and direct mail. Address customers by name, reference their specific interests, and provide personalized recommendations or content relevant to them.
4. Customizable Products and Services | Offer customization options, allowing customers to personalize products or services according to their preferences. This could include customizable features, configurations, personalized packaging, or branding.
5. Personalized Experience Journey | Tailor the user experience on websites, mobile apps, or in-store interactions to match individual customer preferences. This could include personalized product recommendations, content, or navigation based on their browsing and purchase history.
6. Loyalty and Rewards Programs | Implement personalized loyalty and rewards programs that recognize and reward customers based on purchase behavior and preferences. This can foster a sense of exclusivity and increased engagement with the brand.
7. Customer Support and Service | Provide personalized customer support and service by leveraging customer data and interaction history. This can enhance the overall customer experience and strengthen the brand-customer relationship.
8. Continuous Optimization | Regularly analyze customer data and feedback to refine and optimize personalization strategies. Continuously improve the personalized experience based on customer behavior and preferences.

By effectively implementing these aspects of brand personalization, businesses can create a more meaningful and engaging connection with their consumers, increasing customer loyalty, satisfaction, and, ultimately, better business outcomes.

ASPIRE THROUGH AMBASSADORS

Keeping the fire of your brand fed with plenty of fuel isn’t easy. Fortunately, you don’t have to do it all on your own! Visionary brands utilize brand ambassadors to support the internal team. These are the individuals who carry the brand’s voice beyond the company's four walls, the ones who are the most passionate users of the brand’s products and consistently promote the product benefits.

The key is finding ambassadors who are authentic to their category. If you are a running brand, find an authentic runner; if you are a football brand, find an elite (NFL) player. It seems

simple, but most companies do not understand the value this provides to a brand. Along with being authentic, make sure they have a following you can leverage.

For this strategy to work as planned, the brand ambassadors’ reach and voice need to be authentic, meaning they are always honest in their opinions. Brand ambassadors must be carefully selected, as they are an extension of your brand and reflect your product and culture.

Be selective but also proactively engaged with your brand ambassadors. They will give you reach beyond what the average digital metrics can provide. They give you a “ground force” of visual and verbal tangible touchpoints.

Visionary brands engage with their ambassador community throughout the creation process, as they can provide feedback for the product team when necessary and guide the development of the latest product.

Sportswear brands heavily utilize professional ambassadors to promote their products through various strategies.

1. Endorsement deals and sponsorships | This is one of the most common and effective ways brands leverage professional athletes. They sign lucrative endorsement contracts with star athletes to become brand ambassadors and spokespersons. These athletes wear and use the brand's products during competitions, appearances, and advertisements, lending their star power and credibility to promote the brand.
2. Athlete signature lines | Many top athletes collaborate with sportswear brands to create their signature lines of products like shoes, apparel, and equipment. Brands associate the athlete's name, image, and personal style with these co-branded products, appealing to fans who aspire to emulate their athletic idols.
3. Athlete co-design and testing | Brands involve professional athletes in new product research, design, and testing phases. Their insights from firsthand experience help brands develop innovative, high-performance products. Athletes then validate and promote these co-created products on which they had input.
4. Social media influencing | With massive social followings, athletes act as influencers promoting brands on their platforms. Posts showing them wearing or using the brand's gear, training routines, and lifestyle content create aspirational appeal.
5. Brand campaigns and advertisements | Athletes are featured heavily in brands' marketing campaigns, TV commercials, print ads, and promotional videos. Their star power skills showcased through brand products create buzz.
6. In-person promotions and events | Brands invite sponsored athletes to make special appearances, host clinics, and participate in brand events and pop-up stores where they can interact directly with fans and consumers.
7. Athlete storytelling | Compelling stories about an athlete's journey, struggles, and values align well with a brand's storytelling. This personal narrative marketing highlights the brand's role in the athlete's success.

By strategically partnering with elite professional athletes across various sports, sportswear brands leverage their fame, talent, and relatability to drive product credibility, brand loyalty, and consumer aspiration.

These strategies utilized by Visionary brands provide ongoing authentication and loyalty, increasing customer lifetime value, which is the lifeblood of all companies, not just brands.

Stay True, Stay Authentic, be Different, and be Great!

Enjoy the Journey!

Bryan Smeltzer, President

LiquidMind Inc.

#TheVisionaryChroniclesPodcast

#TheVisionaryBrandBook

@LiquidMindsite.com

@BryanSmeltzer.com

© All rights reserved, Bryan Smeltzer, 2024

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BRYAN SMELTZER

Bryan Smeltzer is a consumer products business executive and entrepreneur. He has held executive-level roles in business development, Product, and marketing with some of the world's most prestigious brands, including Oakley, TaylorMade, Adidas, K-Swiss, and Schutt Sports, among other international brands. He also founded a men’s apparel brand, successfully running a profitable business for ten years, eventually selling to a VC firm.

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THE VISIONARY CHRONICLES

He also hosts a podcast called The Visionary Chronicles, ranked as the #1 Visionary and Top 50 Marketing Podcasts by Feedspot.

He recently finished his first bestselling book, The Visionary Brand, The Success Formula Behind the World’s Most Visionary Brands, and recently received the prestigious Readers Favorite Award for BEST Non-fiction, Marketing Genre book.

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THE VISIONARY FILES

With the book's release, Bryan created The Visionary Brand MasterCourse. The Master Course site at The VisionaryFiles.com includes a Master Course with 18 Video Learning segments and almost 2 hours of Visionary lessons training. Over the past fourteen weeks, over 1,500 brand leaders and Entrepreneurs have taken the Master Course! Unleash your potential as a brand leader and take the Master Course.

Sign up for the Visionary Brand Course, and get a FREE hardcopy edition of The Visionary Brand and a “Be Visionary” coffee mug!

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LIQUIDMIND

Bryan oversees LiquidMind Inc., a global brand strategy firm that partners with start-ups and establishes mid to large-cap consumer brands to empower businesses to think differently, be different, drive a passionate culture, and execute relentlessly.

You can contact or follow him at;

email | [e-mail]

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LinkedIn | linkedin.com/in/bryansmeltzer/