YOU ASKED FOR IT

“Everything happens for a reason.And sometimes the reason is

you’re stupid."

—Unknown

October 24, 2012AND THE WINNER ( ER, LOSER) IS...

BRAND OBSERVATIONS OF THE DAYFrom my random collection of info sources, here are some highlights related to the brands of our times...

• Lifehacker.com has a feature called “Hive Five” where they poll readers on the best five in some random category. Well, they turned the tables last week and asked readers to vote on the five WORST companies when it comes to customer service. I have to be honest...when I saw a couple of the names, I smiled thinking that perhaps justice was finally being served on those scoundrels and maybe—JUST MAYBE—this kick in the pants will be exactly what they need to finally get their act together. Here are the top (bottom?) five: #5 - Verizon#4 - Time Warner Cable#3 - AT&T#2 - PayPal...and the company with the WORST customer service...#1 - Comcast

• Denny’s launched a new menu inspired by The Hobbit. They probably should have spent a little more time naming the entrees, though. Not sure I’ll EVER get the hankering for a “Hobbit Hole Breakfast.”

• Neuromarketing firm Buyology did a study of the brands men and women desire most. The number one most desired brand by BOTH men and women: Southwest. And Southwest’s New York Stock Exchange ticker symbol? “LUV.” How appropriate.

JIM HUEBNERj imh@huebnerpetersen.comCELLULARTELEPHONE970-420-3382

Hmmm.

Brought to you by popular demand of a client, my mom, and some folks I met at a church potluck

From the remaining gray matter of Jim Huebner

Information that will make you smile, groan or think...

From my “Signs lost in translation?”

file

© 2012 Hmmm by Jim Huebner

An article about the way food affects your brain and your productivity caught my eye last week. Written by efficiency and customer happiness blogger Leo Widrich, the article discussed the types of food to eat, the way food should be eaten, and when to eat food to maximize your brain’s productivity.

It was all very interesting stuff. I even jotted a few of the concepts down, thinking that maybe someday I would actually apply some of them to my own daily eating habits. (Please don’t ask me later if I followed through with it!) However, it was one of the graphics the writer used in the article that really grabbed my attention. (far right)

Widrich said one of the best proven techniques for food portion control was to use a smaller plate. Loosely based on the illusion experiment developed by Delboeuf many years ago, the theory is this: The same amount of food on a smaller plate will always fill you up more than if the same amount of food is on a larger plate.

And—marketing guy that I am—a pretty quick connection popped into my mind between plate sizes, food portions and how a product or service brand positions itself.

Think about this: There’s a big plate of things your competitors are trying to sell to your prospects. So what do you do? You narrow your focus. You specialize instead of generalize. You “niche-ify” yourself. And as soon as you do this, you have suddenly made your plate a lot smaller. Smaller because there are now very few competitors who do exactly what you do, exactly the way you do it. And the real kicker? Your customers are

actually more satisfied because they know they’re buying from a company who “specializes” in offering exactly what they need.

This is precisely the reason HuebnerPetersen made a conscious decision years ago to focus our efforts on manufacturers. We don’t do hospitals. We don’t do insurance companies or restaurants or colleges or attorneys or banks. We knew we couldn’t be all things to all people, so we went deeper with our expertise in one category...and that started making our plate a whole lot smaller.

So ask yourself this:How can you make your plate smaller? How can you truly differentiate your products or your services and begin making your competitors irrelevant because of it?

Figure that out, and you’ll never go hungry.

Jim Huebner is President of HuebnerPetersen Marketing Communications.The firm was established in 1989 and specializes in helping make manufacturers heroes to their dealer and distribution networks through strategic brand positioning, integrated marketing, and front lines marketing services. You can reach Jim at jimh@HuebnerPetersen.com or on LinkedIn.

WORDS TOLIVE BY

For the Lord gives wisdom; From His mouth come

knowledge and understanding.

He stores up sound wisdom for the upright;

He is a shield to thosewho walk in integrity.

–Proverbs 2:6,7

How small is your plate?

...and on its way to the HuebnerPetersen blog...! PAGE2

Research shows that the same size

portion on a smaller plate is a lot more satisfying

than it is on a bigger plate.