Lessons from Procter & Gamble – Their Brand Positioning Strategy Worksheet

We have been sharing some learning from Procter & Gamble based on my 23 years building brands and businesses with them. The most recent articles have focused on brands, branding and product positioning. This article provides an outline of how P&G creates their positioning strategies for their brands. You may also know this as the Copy Strategy or the Advertising Strategy or the Branding Strategy, in addition to the Positioning Strategy. This is important since in many cases the support of the brand goes beyond just the advertising.

A Brand Positioning Strategy identifies the basis upon which we expect our brand to be purchased in preference to competition. The content emerges directly from the product or service and the basic consumer need that it is intended to fill. It should state clearly the basic benefit which the brand promises and which constitutes the principal basis for purchase. It should also include a statement of the product characteristics that make this benefit possible and the tone or character that is desired to be built for the brand.

This will provide direction for the basic message of the brand which should remain consistent across all communication vehicles, although the execution of the message may change. It is inherently competitive since it is the basis for preference vs. competition.


Developing the Strategy through use of the Creative Work Plan
Start at the top and work down through the rest of the elements.

1 Key Fact
A single piece of known information relating to the brand which is agreed to be the leading factor influencing or describing the brand performance. It may be information about the brand itself, the competition, the customer, innovation etc. but it must be a single fact.

2 Problem the advertising must solve
This is a consumer problem. It describes the awareness, perception or behavior of the prospective user which has resulted in the Key Fact and which we wish to change.

3 Advertising Objective
Usually, simply the counterpart to the problem, although there are a great many distinct options. Eg "Persuade consumers to try my brand" Or "use more of my brand." Or "use my brand in a different way." Persuade them that my brand is a viable alternative to brand x".

4 Strategy
a) Prospect Definition
Both demographics and psychographics.
b) Principal Competition.
Not just a list of competitors but a description of the segment from which we wish to obtain business
c) Promise
The single most persuasive agreement one can advance for the brand framed with the customer and the competition in mind.
d) Reason Why
The strongest piece of support for the promise. Occasionally there may be more than one piece of support but never a list
e) Tone/Character
The tone that messages should convey to provide personality to the message and bring it alive. This is not executional.

As you can see, the format is very simple. However, like everything at Procter & Gamble, the use of the simple tool is handled by experts in the field. That is what makes the tool so effective.

If you would like to have the benefits of this simple tool support your brand or your business and need the expertise to use it most effectively, contact us. We would be happy to assist you.

Thanks.

John

John Maver
President
Maver Management Group
(925) 648-7561
Maver Management

Lessons from Procter & Gamble - What is a brand?

Procter & Gamble is well known for its brands. As we have said in earlier articles, many people mistakenly believe that a brand is a product. While that is in part correct, it isn’t the whole story. A brand is an image in the customer’s mind. The thoughts customers have about products are brand impressions. These brand impressions are the major influences on the purchase decision. Customers form impressions of products every time they come in contact with them. Once products or companies are out in the market, you already have a brand, whether you want it or not. The only issue left to consider is what kind of brand you want to have.

Brands are inferred, not implied. Branding isn’t something companies do to customers. After experiencing a product or a company, a customer has an impression of that product and decides how to "brand" that product in their own mind. In other words, a brand isn't what a marketer says it is. It is what a customer thinks it is.

However, companies can do a lot to influence the impression that customer/consumers have about them and their brands. Often we think of brands from big companies like Nike and Coke who use the brute-force of mass marketing to "impress" their message on people. Brute force is becoming a less and less effective method for branding, because it's gotten harder and harder to tell today's discerning customers how to think.

Only a very few companies, like Nike and Coke, can afford to brand with brute force. Now the method of choice seems to be primarily via some form of social media in addition to the traditional advertising/marketing vehicles. Companies like ThoughtLabs specialize in bringing customers closer to their clients.

Branding isn't just something that applies to big, national companies with large advertising budgets. For all types of persuasion, thought is always a prelude to action No matter how the product is marketed; it all must start with positioning. It is in this effort that companies attempt to set their desired image in the minds of the customer. This is key!

People's thoughts and beliefs drive their actions. The goal of the interactions with a customer is to encourage them to create a brand impression in their mind that motivates them to act in a way that helps my product. By focusing on what they think, I am forced to pay attention to everything I do that affects what they think about me and my product. I can't just make an independent decision about what I want my brand to be and create beautiful advertising that "declares" what my brand is -- I have to orchestrate all of the experiences they have with my product in a way that encourages them to create the right brand impression in their mind.

So . . . what do you want your customers to think about your products . . . and you?

If you have not clearly defined the positioning for your company or its products or the results are not meeting expectations, we can help. Contact us.

Thanks

John

This is one of a series of articles that share some of the learnings from twenty three years in marketing at Procter & Gamble.

John Maver
President
Maver Management Group(
925) 648-7561
Maver Management

Lessons from Procter & Gamble – Persuasively Selling Their Brands

There are many different selling formats and yet all of them that have been successful are based on the problem – solution idea. First, crystalize the problem that the buyer is facing and get agreement to the problem and then offer your solution, which is of course based on your brands. At Procter & Gamble this has been honed to a fine art by salespeople. They call it the Persuasive Selling Format. At Clorox, it is called SIERE. At other companies it may be called the 5 Selling Steps. But they all are virtually identical.

All sales people have these 5 steps memorized and I can still recall them now after 30 plus years. In fact I can recall when I skipped a step and lost the sale too. Here is how it works.

Summarize the Situation – After the opening ice breaker chat, identify a problem that either has been identified by the buyer on a previous call or is generic to their situation. You can also share key facts, information or industry trends to set up the discussion. It is important that the problem be easy to agree with and not be controversial. You do not want to spend a lot of time on the problem. You need to sell the solution. This set up gets the buyer nodding in agreement with you and hopefully you can keep that happening as you work down to the order.

State the Idea - Tell them a brief statement of the idea that you are recommending as a solution to their problem in a way that makes it compelling. Keep this brief and get a quick nod that they understand your idea. They may not agree with it YET but they must at least understand it.

Explain How It Works – Once you’ve clearly stated the proposition, provide details of the recommendation. Typically, this includes information about the product, the promotion, the support being provided, the pricing and the execution timing and logistics. Provide the information in “layers”. That means, give them the summarized version of each element of the information and if they require more provide what is necessary. Many, many sales have been lost by clouding the issue in the buyer’s mind at this point or providing so many details that they tune out and you lose them.

Reinforce Key Benefits – What’s in it for them? How does this really solve the problem they are having or the opportunity upon which they want to capitalize? What are the key reasons that they should accept your idea and recommendation and move forward? Experience shows that there are always three solid reasons to offer to the buyer. That provides enough strength and doesn’t cloud the issue with weak support. It causes you and the buyer to focus and be memorable. The buyer should be nodding agreement to each of the benefits as they understand them.

Suggest Easy Next Steps –The Close, the Close!!!! The most effective method to work into the Close is to suggest an easy next step that makes the buyer continue to nod agreement. To some extent this calls for an assumptive close, where you assume the buyer is going to agree with the basic proposal and now you are ironing out some small detail. It can be as simple as asking, “Do you want this Wednesday or Thursday? Do you want this in red or blue?” Once you have agreement to that easy next step just write up the order.

This works. Take it from my personal experience and the experience of tens of thousands of others as well. This doesn’t apply only to selling products to buyers at companies. It applies to all selling situations. I know that the technical folks will say that the B2B sale is different. Yes it is, but the same idea works there as well. I have used this technique in many different situations.
If you want more information on this lesson from Procter & Gamble or on any of the others in this series, contact us. We will be happy to help you.

Thanks,

John

John Maver
President
Maver Management Group
(925) 648-7561
Maver Management

Lessons from Procter & Gamble – “Stick to your knitting” – Core Competencies

As you might gather from the title, people at P&G didn’t make this statement in so many words. In fact, these words came from my mother when she wanted me to concentrate on what I was doing and not get distracted. But the meaning was clear from my years at Procter & Gamble, as well.

In Procter and business terms, it means to understand your core competencies and stick to them. Don’t get sidetracked and move away from where your true competitive advantage lies. You can quickly recall many companies that strayed and suffered great losses as a result. Gatorade anyone?

Just so that we have a common understanding of the definition of Core Competency it is: A unique ability that a company acquires from its founders or develops and that cannot be easily imitated. Core competencies are what give a company one or more competitive advantages, in creating and delivering value to its customers in its chosen field.

While P&G is clearly known as a marketing/branding/advertising company, it has other core talents as well. The primary core is the people. Great care and effort is expended in identifying and recruiting top candidates in all functions. Then, strong training and development programs are put in place for all, since the company is a promote from within and the future of the company rests heavily on the new hires. They state that people are their most valuable asset and they mean it.

The second core competency is in research and development. The company has “overspent” in this area for decades. In fact, at one time, there were more PhDs per square foot in the R&D labs than at any other place in the world.

The combination of these three elements results in a core competency of bringing superior products to market. Superior is defined as not only breakthrough, but also better meeting customer needs. Breakthrough products include the first shortening (Crisco), the first detergent (Oxydol/Tide), the first workable disposable diaper (Pampers) and many more. The company has been and remains the premier consumer packaged goods company as a result.

This is not meant to be a self-serving article, since I spent more than two decades at P&G. It is meant to help other companies spend the time to clearly define their core competencies and then build strategies and business plans that capitalize on them.

Having been in business for more than 4 decades and as a consultant for more than 12 years, I have seen many companies that have failed to find their core and their efforts achieve less than optimum results, at best. Some do not change and are no longer in business. Resources both human capital and financial are scarce. The dilution of those resources on key projects as well as the lack of focus often causes major damage to companies.

If you need help in identifying your core competencies or creating the plans that will make you successful, contact us. We have a lot of experience as a business acceleration company.

Thanks

John

John Maver
President
Maver Management Group
(925) 648-7561
Maver Management