In the 1960's, the economist Philip Kotler changed the perception of marketing.

He described what marketing is rather than what marketers do, thereby changing marketing from a departmental specialisation into a corporate wide doctrine. For Kotler, marketing was a 'social process by which individuals and groups obtain what they need and want through creating and exchanging products and value with others'.

For him, a product is more than physical. A product is anything that can be offered to a market for attention, acquisition, or use, or something that can satisfy a need or want. Therefore, a product can be a physical good, a service, a retail store, a person, an organisation, a place or even an idea. Products are the means to an end wherein the end is the satisfaction of customer needs or wants.

Kotler distinguished three components:

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need: a lack of a basic requirement; want: a specific requirement for products or services to match a need; demand: a set of wants plus the desire and ability to pay for the exchange.

Customers will choose a product based on their perceived value of it. Satisfaction is the degree to which the actual use of a product matches the perceived value at the time of the purchase. A customer is satisfied only if the actual value is the same or exceeds the perceived value. Kotler defined five levels to a product:

1. Core Benefit the fundamental need or want that consumers satisfy by consuming the product or service.

2. Generic Product a version of the product containing only those attributes or characteristics absolutely necessary for it to function.

3. Expected Product

the set of attributes or characteristics that buyers normally expect and agree to when they purchase a product.

4. Augmented Product inclusion of additional features, benefits, attributes or related services that serve to differentiate the product from its competitors.

5. Potential Product all the augmentations and transformations a product might undergo in the future.

Kotler noted that much competition takes place at the Augmented Product level rather than at the Core Benefit level or, as Levitt put it: 'New competition is not between what companies produce in their factories, but between what they add to their factory output in the form of packaging, services, advertising, customer advice, financing, delivery arrangements, warehousing, and other things that people value.'

Kotler's model provides a tool to assess how the organisation and their customers view their relationship and which aspects create value. frugal engineering is the science of breaking up complex engineering processes/products into basic components and then rebuilding the product in the most economical manner possible. Frugal engineering results in simpler and easier to handle processes and cheaper products with necessary features.

Attributes of Successful Brand Names

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Clear Concise Memorable Ownable URL-able

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Pronouncable Differentiating Phonically appealing Tangible Spellable Globally kosher Extendable Verbable Motivating Believable Distinctive

STEP 1. FOCUS Together, your marketing team and our brand naming team immerse in your new brand opportunity. We create the core drivers behind the brand, prioritize them and gain consensus with the stakeholders on your team. Typically:
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Our team receives a proof-of-concept presentation surrounding the brand. We take the product demo as a team. A deep Q & A discussion follows
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What business is this brand in? What is this brand's difference? What superior value is delivered as a result of this difference? Is your difference sustainable? (Help us understand how so.) Will this difference move the masses to buy your brand over a competitive brand? What existing solutions fill this gap today and what is their difference? How will the consumer buy this? What other brands do they buy today? What publications do your target customers read?

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How is this brand's personality defined? Is the brand a male brand, a female brand, or can a consumer tell the difference? How and where will this brand name live? Dreaming forward, what will future manifestations of this brand entail? What are the sacred cows in your industry? If this brand were to make a promise to its customers a promise it could keep forever what would it be?

Conduct industry research of major players, trends, industry vernacular, etc.

The answers to these questions and the conversations we have around these topics create the foundation of your new brand name; and often, our discussion kicks up a few good brand name contenders.

STEP 2. CREATE Next, we work individually and in small groups to dream up brand name candidates. No magic here, we are simply wired this way. We like to think of ourselves as a brand name generator. Leveraging our recent learning about your brand opportunity, we create piles of candidates and bubble up a set of 20 to 25 names. The brand name development team takes these names and brainstorms with the entire crew at MicroArts and yields an initial short list of brand name candidates.

STEP 3. VET Now, we determine which brand name options are viable candidates in a preliminary vetting process that includes:
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Can we own the name a URL to facilitate Internet marketing? What are the alternatives? Can we it as a registered trademark brand name in the United States? Google and review search results to determine alternative meanings. What does this brand name mean in other languages? For example, the Chevy Nova means "No Go" in Spanish. In some cases, the client will hire us to procure the 800-telephone number with their new brand name in the number. In those cases, we'd vet the options at this time.

STEP 4. STATE, RATE AND ITERATE. Present all brand names complete with rationale that supports the core drivers and brand name attributes. Ask people to individually rate them using a simple survey to determine the top performing names from the initial round. The survey rates the names on a score of 1 to 5 on the following related core drivers:
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Is it differentiating? (Does it embody your brand's unique and redeeming value proposition?) Do people get it? (Do they know what the brand name actually means?) Is it motivating? (Do people want to buy it?) Is it believable and tangible? (Does it feel truthful in its promise of value?) Will it stand the test of time? (Is it a trendy or a passing fad? Or does it have "legs?") Is it distinctive? (Does the name itself set your brand apart from the pack?) Is it you? (Can you look yourself in the mirror and say, "I'm the CEO of ' '"?)

Typically, three or more very exciting candidates from the initial naming push and a handful of interesting directions that create strong conversation and direction for a second round. Often, a tagline or slogan flows out as part of the naming process. Simply, brand names should be paired with specific taglines that answer the question of what business the brand is in and why should the target market value it over your competitors.

STEP 5. PROVE Once we have three to five exciting name candidates that fit the essence of the brand (and we like the odds of purchasing the URL and have performed a preliminary trademark search), we test it with 200 people, study results and recommend next steps. Most often, we are able to move forward and begin the trademark process and procure the URLs. Sometimes, there is no clear winner; and we repeat the process. Rest assured that the MicroArts brand name development team remains heads down and nose to the grindstone until we've nailed it and high fives fly all around!

Six Tips For Building Brand Loyalty

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By: Monica O'Brien on April 16th, 2010 at 3:00 pm In Networking, Personal Branding, Reputation Management, Social Media | 12 Comments

They say the success of our businesses often depends on the frequency at which we keep in touch with our customers. You may be wondering who they are, those mythical beings that impart wisdom on the rest of us. In this case, the identity of they is not as important because they are right! According to Jordan Media, 87% of businesses do not ask their customers for more business, yet your customers are 3 times more likely to do business with you. That means existing customers are more profitable than new ones. That means you need to build brand loyalty among these customers. The good news is you can build brand loyalty for your company or your personal brand. Here are six things to

consider when building brand loyalty:

Brand loyalty is not just about keeping in touch

The mortgage broker who helped my husband and me purchase our house kept us on his email and direct mailing lists for 2 years after the closing. He constantly sent us information about purchasing a home (which we had already done, and werent planning to do again for at least five years) and refinancing (at higher interest rates than we currently had). One day, I finally emailed him and asked to be removed from the lists. Naturally, he asked if he had done something wrong. He hadnt done anything wrong when we worked with him on our first home loan; but the information he was sending wasnt useful to us, so I opted out. You see, my mortgage broker wasnt thinking about anything more than keeping in touch with the customer so that the next time we needed a home loan, he could help us. Keeping in touch doesnt build brand loyalty on its own though. Instead, he should have thought about what we, as new home owners, needed. If his newsletter had been about home decorating, or resolving disputes with neighbors, or changes in home insurance policies for my area, I would have gladly stayed on the list.

Social media lets customers connect with brands on their terms

Sometimes social media is the best, most unobtrusive way to stay connected to customers, as opposed to constantly emailing or direct mailing them, because they can opt-in.Sure, social media how lower response rates than email, but its a better vehicle for building relationships that could be more profitable in the long run. We live in a world of happenstance, where we cant constantly be monitoring everything relevant to us at all times. Social media is a better way to connect with customers because it keeps the brand at the top of their minds

without bombarding them with so much information they opt out. Your fans may not purchase today, tomorrow, or even three months from now; but when they need the product or service you are offering, they will remember that you give lots of coupons, or have lots of people who like your updates, or share lots of useful and relevant information. They will come to you first.

Brand loyalty depends on high switching costs

Creating higher switching costs is an easy way to keep customers from going to a competitor, but make sure you do it right! The most notorious industry for high switching costs is the cell phone industry, with exorbitant contract cancellation fees. I am not advocating that you take the same stance as the cell phone industry by any means. But I do think you can create high switching costs no matter what your product or service is. For example, take Dan Schawbel. He is simply THE authority in personal branding. Were friends, but even if we werent, I couldnt stop following him on Twitter and Google Reader if I tried. He shares the best, most comprehensive content about personal branding today. Even if I only read a fraction of what he puts out, Im fairly up-to-date on what I need to be doing to manage my career in the social age. Thats a switching cost. It costs me energy to switch to another source for personal branding advice. How can you introduce switching costs to your personal brand?

Brand loyalty means rewarding your customers

One easy way to create brand loyalty is a customer reward program. The program doesnt have to be anything fancy. Here are some ideas: sharing coupons with fans and followers on certain social media accounts emailing special promotion codes to customers who purchase a certain amount hosting giveaways specifically for repeat customers celebrating a holiday like Alice is doing with Earth Day providing a special free report in your subscriber footer These programs also dont have to be expensive. You can offer products and services you already have as incentives, as many companies do. And why not? True fans want more of what you already have.

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Talkative brand loyalists are the most valuable asset any company can have

In the book The Influentials, the authors explain why one American in ten tells the other nine how to vote, where to eat, and what to buy. Wouldnt you like to get your products and services into the hands of these people? Well, chances are, a percentage of your customers are already influencers in your category; you just need to find them and activate them. Your most loyal customers are your fan base, and often are the best people to share their experiences with your company. Its not enough just to have influencers; you also need to give them a conversation starter and a place to have that conversation. For example, many companies offer brand loyalty incentives, such as a gift card when you refer a friend. By giving your loyal customers reasons to talk about you, you can create buzz and gain new customers.

Brand loyalty is not just about discounts; its about training your fan base to visit

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When companies continuously give coupons to their loyal customers, it effectively lowers the price of the product. One retail chain in St. Louis put coupons for 15% off in the weekend paper, every single weekend. Their customers became accustomed to discounts, and stopped purchasing anything at full price! Brand loyalty is not just about coupons, promotions, and discounts. Its not just about giving everything away for free on your blog. Those are merely vehicles to get your fan base talking or give your fan base a reason to stop back. If you plan to use discounts to create brand loyalty, make sure your promotions are irregular and unpredictable. This even gives customers more incentive to follow you on social media outlets.