Beware The Deadly Customer

Many businesses suffer from catering to deadly customers.

Deadly customers aren’t customers that hate you. They like you and probably account for a large portion of both your current base and target market. Chances are that, collectively, they purchase a lot from you. Playing to deadly customers may seem lucrative: there’s a lot of them out there and they likely contribute a significant portion of your bottom line. And, they’re easy to make happy.

The problem is: they don’t push your business forward.

The deadly customer is happy with the status quo—they don’t ask for anything new; in fact, they may not want anything new. They may make you think you’re doing better than you actually are. Serving the deadly customer encourages stagnation instead of innovation. By focusing on the deadly customer, you hand an unfair advantage to your competition in the future.

Are you catering to deadly customers?

December 22, 2017 by

Apple’s Archetype

Archetypes are at the core of effective marketing. They provide the most powerful way to attract the right customers. But archetypes are often misunderstood. This week, we examine the archetypal power of one of the world’s strongest brands.
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December 8, 2017 by

Building Brands Through Archetypes

 

Cult Branding was founded on Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Human Needs.

Maslow’s hierarchy offers a simple framework for understanding consumer behavior: Humans have inherent needs (physiological, safety, love and belonging, esteem, and self-actualization) that they try to fulfill. And, consumer behavior is motivated by the fulfillment of some combination of these needs.

Although Maslow’s hierarchy offers significant explanatory power, it does not provide a complete explanation of brand loyalty.

A more comprehensive understanding of branding involves placing Maslow’s work in the context of the works of biologist Antonio Damasio, psychiatrist Carl Jung, and psychologist Ivan Pavlov.

Don’t worry, it’s not as complicated as it reads. We created a presentation so you can absorb the info quickly. Check out our Archetypal Branding presentation.

What is your companies primary archetype?

December 1, 2017 by

52 Marketing Strategies To Inspire Strategic Thinkers

You know it, it takes a lot of time and effort to develop and maintain marketing that resonates with your audience. As a strategic thinker, however, the development of cult brand takes even more consideration.

After all, we’re always searching for ways to gain the oh-so-important competitive edge. If you find yourself in that situation, then you may want to check out these fifty-two marketing strategies that will ignite your strategic thinking, and with over 1 million views for our SlideShare, we know that these marketing tactics will spark your creative energy.

Onwards!

November 24, 2017 by

Cultivate Workplace Passion

“At Zappos Adaptive our passion is to make our customer’s life easier, we completely focused on a market that has been underserved, all because of one amazing customer interaction.”
– Saul Dave, Senior Director of Enterprise Systems, Zappos.com

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October 20, 2017 by

The Changing Face of Retail

Insights from SAP, Cult Branding and Life is good.

“For retail, it’s no longer about buying stuff and putting it in the window. Those days are over.”
-Bert Jacobs, CEO of Life is good

Today’s retail landscape has changed (drastically!).

Our goal is to help clients create authentic brands that win in this new retail space. A large part of the work we do with clients is research-based: consulting on existing data, guiding new research with a customer focus, and completing our Customer Playbook—a tool that provides a comprehensive understanding of the customer within the context of the business and industry, guiding decision making and future research.

Join us at the SAP Retail Executive Forum and find out how we and these 10 visionaries have embraced the new normal to cultivate businesses that thrive instead of just survive.

  • Dick Johnson – Chairman, President, and CEO of Foot Locker
  • BJ Bueno – CEO of The Cult Branding Company
  • Jim Sinegal – Co-founder and Director of Costco
  • Doug Wood – CEO of Tommy Bahama
  • Betsy Atkins – Three-time CEO and serial entrepreneur
  • Paul Fipps – CIO & EVP Global Operations of Under Armour
  • Scott Galloway – CEO of L2 and professor at NYU Stern
  • Andrea Weiss – CEO of The O Alliance
  • Leslie Sarasin – CEO of Food Marketing Institute
  • Matt Shay – CEO of National Retail Federation
  • Scott McKain – CEO of The Distinction Institute
  • Robin Lewis – CEO of The Robin Report

See you in New York!

Best regards,

BJ Bueno + SAP Retail

October 13, 2017 by

Retail Executive Forum 2017


You know the big names. You read the news. You stay up-to-date on what’s happening in retail.

But hearing insights from top retail CEOs and industry thought leaders in person is a totally different experience – and we’re betting that you’ve probably never had the chance to hear from 11 of the most successful retail leaders, all in one place

Until now, that is.

We’re so excited to share this line-up of C-level SAP Retail Executive Forum presenters – because they’re the type of leaders who don’t color inside the lines. They build their brands and run their organizations with confidence. And they know how to deliver exactly what their customers want.

Today’s retail landscape has changed (drastically!), but these 11 visionaries have embraced the new normal, and their businesses aren’t just surviving; they’re thriving.

Intrigued? Register today to join us in New York City on October 17–18, and hear from:

  • Dick Johnson – Chairman, President, and CEO of Foot Locker
  • BJ Bueno – CEO of The Cult Branding Company
  • Jim Sinegal – Co-founder and Director of Costco
  • Doug Wood – CEO of Tommy Bahama
  • Betsy Atkins – Three-time CEO and serial entrepreneur
  • Paul Fipps – CIO & EVP Global Operations of Under Armour
  • Scott Galloway – CEO of L2 and professor at NYU Stern
  • Andrea Weiss – CEO of The O Alliance
  • Leslie Sarasin – CEO of Food Marketing Institute
  • Matt Shay – CEO of National Retail Federation
  • Scott McKain – CEO of The Distinction Institute
  • Robin Lewis – CEO of The Robin Report

Plus, check out our updated agenda to see what we have planned for you. Don’t miss out!

* Note: The messaging and content for this year’s Retail Executive Forum will be targeted towards an executive audience. Because of the focus on executive leadership development, invitations are limited to business leaders at the director level or higher.

See you in New York!

Best regards,

BJ Bueno + SAP Retail

October 6, 2017 by

True Excellence

The companies that survive longest are the ones that work out what they uniquely can give to the world—not just growth or money but their excellence, their respect for others, or their ability to make people happy. Some call these things a soul.
—Charles Handy, “The Search for Meaning” in Leader to Leader

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September 29, 2017 by