Marketing and Advertising | The Barefoot Spirit

Tailor Your Message to What Your Audience Wants to Hear

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 17:11:17 +0000

If you want to make a statement, tell them what you want to say. If you want to make a deposit, tell them what they want to hear. Sounds simple enough, but what do they want to hear and who are they anyway?

Every successful business learns eventually that there are a whole lot of folks between them and their end-user. Each one wants to hear a different message for a different reason. Sometimes we get so excited about our new idea and how well it will go over with the general public that we forget how essential it is to get it to them. Focusing on the benefits to your end-user is fundamental, but don’t forget all the other folks in between and what each of them wants to hear.

“What’s in it for me?” is the question they all want you to address. It may surprise you that it has little to do with those end-user benefits you are so excited about. Research, experience, questioning and listening can tell you what they want to hear.

Your own staff may want to hear how they will share in your success. They may want to hear about the incentive programs, benefits, working conditions, days off, and advancement opportunities. They may also want to hear how your idea will make the world a better place. They want to hear about your previous successes and your ability to weather a storm.

All your middle men want know how your product improves their strategic position versus their competition, how you are going to help them sell it, how they can get it for less, and how much you have budgeted for marketing. They want to know who will buy it and why.

If you depend on retailers, they will want to hear how your product fits into their existing categories, what kind of point-of-sale promotional materials you have, and what kind of a warranty you provide. They want to know that you have a representative in their area. They also want to hear how you will send customers to them to buy your product.

Your idea may be a game changer, but are they ready to play a new game? Sometimes pioneering a new concept can take years to catch on. Your initial buyers may buy for reasons you never dreamed of. If you are changing the world, get ready for some missionary work and some unlikely initial customers. Be ready to change your message to stay relevant with the market as it is now and as it changes.

Does your product weigh a lot or is it inexpensive? That’s all the more reason to be ready with multiple messages. Internet product sales, with the exception of downloads, require shipping whether or not it’s included in the price. Somebody pays for it. Most heavy or inexpensive items can’t compete with conventional brick and mortar store pricing because of shipping costs. If that sounds like your product, you likely will want to go through the general retail market. Identify what each person between you and your end-user wants to hear, and give them what they want.

Don’t just make a statement, make a deposit!

Who We Are

Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey co-authored the New York Times bestselling business book, The Barefoot Spirit: How Hardship, Hustle, and Heart Built America’s #1 Wine Brand. The book has been selected as recommended reading in the CEO Library for CEO Forum, the C-Suite Book Club, and numerous university classes on business and entrepreneurship. It chronicles their humble beginnings from the laundry room of a rented Sonoma County farmhouse to the board room of E&J Gallo, who ultimately acquired their brand and engaged them as brand consultants. Barefoot is now the world’s largest wine brand.

Beginning with virtually no money and no wine industry experience, they employed innovative ideas to overcome obstacles, create new markets and forge strategic alliances. They pioneered Worthy Cause Marketing and performance-based compensation. They built an internationally bestselling brand and received their industry’s “Hot Brand” award for several consecutive years.

They offer their Guiding Principles for Success (GPS) to help entrepreneurs become successful. Their book, The Entrepreneurial Culture: 23 Ways To Engage and Empower Your People, helps corporations maximize the value of their human resources.

Currently they travel the world leading workshops, trainings, & keynoting at business schools, corporations, conferences. They are regular media guests and contributors to international publications and professional journals. They are C-Suite Network Advisors & Contributing Editors. Visit their popular brand building site at www.consumerbrandbuilders.com.

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

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Kindred Spirits, Fellow Travelers, and Strategic Partners

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 20:27:19 +0000

One of the most effective and often over-looked resources to build and grow your business is strategic alliances. “Partnerships” with other businesses and organizations who benefit by your success can help you meet your bills, get the word out about your company, and improve your image.

Who succeeds if you succeed? As your business begins to grow and gain traction, you may find new allies you didn’t know you had. Being aware of who they are and constantly looking for new ones are great hallmarks of sustainable business success.

Here are a few types of strategic partners and how to best work with them to your mutual benefit:

Suppliers and Service Providers generally want to see you succeed because that results in greater sales of their products and services. They have at least two major concerns: First, if they give you extended credit; will you still be loyal once you get on your feet, or will you run off to their competitor? Second, will you pay on time, or will you be a beg pay? Allay these fears with a long-term contract that protects both your price and their future. Give them periodic progress reports to let them know how you are doing. When you first realize you can’t make a payment on time, call them well in advance, and give them your payment plan. Be a real partner.
Distributers and Wholesale Buyers want you to succeed because they are profiting from the sale of your product. Their goal is to sell more of your product. Help them with local grass roots promotions that send them customers. Assist them in merchandising your product. Offer quantitative discounts when you are in a cash flow bind. Increase their profitability and volume, making it possible for them to reduce the price to your end users. Your product is far from sold when you sell it to your distributer. By helping your distributors and their retailers sell your product, you will solidify this partnership.
The Media will help you get the word out. Find the press writer or blogger who will benefit from being the first to announce your company’s new offices, improved products, or other business news. By going to her on a regular basis with exclusive stories, she becomes the unofficial spokesperson for your company. She needs the latest scoops and hot news breaks to improve her reputation. She will be more likely to publish articles about your company if you go to her first with news worthy stories.
Nonprofit Organizations you support want you to grow. Your success will spread the word about their goals through your distribution channels, resulting in more dollars, man hours and donations to their cause.
Worthy Cause Marketing can be more effective and cost efficient than conventional advertising to acquire and retain new customers. Identify with a cause that resonates with you, your brand, or your business. Give the organization’s membership and supporters a social reason to buy your product. Make your business stand for more than the product it sells by getting involved in their goals.

As you set out on your journey, don’t overlook your fellow travelers. Look around you, and see who else is going your way. Then give them a lift. They will do the same for you.

Who We Are

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

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5 Ways to Increase Your Service Business

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 22:01:04 +0000

In this two part series we are addressing service businesses. Last time we identified a way of classifying your clients and customers. This time we will offer some ways to increase your business.

Your goal is to get more referrals. These are new customers who were sent to you by your existing customers. They will only do that for you if their first experience was beyond their expectations.

How then can you ensure that their first experience is a good one and establish a great reputation right from the start?

1. Stop before you start. They say that 5 minutes of excellence is proceeded by an hour of preparation. Don’t open your doors until all your people know how to make eye contact, provide personalized attention, and address folks by their name. Remember your clients buy you and your people as much as the services you provide. Reinforce your staff’s positive behavior with compensation that is based on return business.

2. Be “hustlative.” They say you can tell a lot about a person just by the way they move. Are your people moving with confidence, and a lively spring in their step? Or are they sluggish? Consider how they move before you hire them. Your clients’ and customers’ first impression is made long before your people even say hello. Opinions formed at the beginning tend to be reinforced by all ensuing events. So why not start off on the “good” foot with “hustlative” body language?

3. Develop a relationship. Your customer and clients need to feel important. More than the perfunctory, “How are you today,” they want to be personally acknowledged. Remember their names and something they told you last time (even if you have to write it down). Take an interest. Let them speak about themselves. If you are interested, they will be, and this will help build the relationship.

4. Don’t just give them their money back. When folks are unhappy with your service, show them you can still make them happy. Consider giving your complaining clients free services. If you just give them their money back, they will spend it elsewhere and not recommend your business. However, if you give them free services, you can make it right, and satisfy them. They will sing your praises to their friends, family, and associates.

5. Give them a Gift Certificate they can’t use. Only their friend, family or associate can use it. People love to give things away, especially when they don’t have to pay for them. This will not only bring in more business, but it requires your client or customer to recommend your business. This builds credibility in the mind of the new referred customer, and cements the relationship with your current customer. Free services can be less expensive than advertising and are much easier to track. .

So think about first impressions. All your new first time clients are shopping. That’s how they found you. Will they stay? That’s really up to you. The way you and your people treat them will form their first and strongest impressions. You can’t unring the bell. So make its first sound music to their ears.

There’s much more to be said about service business and we will address this important part of our economy again. We hope these simple and basic steps help you get more return customers.

Who We Are

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

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Strategy for Good Summit

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 01:14:17 +0000

Title: Strategy for Good Summit
Location: Your phone – it’s a Telesummit
Description: Hear from 30 Thought Leaders on Business in Society, including Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey – All in One Place Via Telesummit – Sharing Their Unique Perspectives, Tips, and Strategies on Social Good, Corporate Philanthropy and Community Involvement. This Telesummit is from February 27 – March 2 with speakers scheduled at different times throughout these days.
Michael and Bonnie are starting a movement to encourage businesses to get the word out about their brands while improving the planet by using Worthy-Cause Marketing instead of relying on advertising alone. Learn from the Barefoot Wine Founders as they share real world experiences and tips on how to build a successful brand the smart way. Mark your calendar for Feb 29 from 3:00pm EST to 4:00pm EST. (If you’re on the West Coast, that’s 12:00 noon to 1:00pm Pacific Time). Click here for the schedule and scroll to the bottom to register online.

Date: Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Start Time: 3:00pm EST (12:00pm Pacific)
End Time: 4:00pm EST (1:00pm Pacific)

Who We Are

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

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Positive Company Culture is critical to Growth and Survival – Part 2

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 20:19:28 +0000

A company survives and grows due to sales and the loyalty of customers and staff. Sales are based on price, value, dependability, integrity, availability and perception. The basis of perception is image, networking, and more recently, the transparency of the producer.

Transparency is what the brand stands for, its authenticity, its identification with higher values, and the actions it takes to demonstrate those values.

When companies subscribe to a higher order of value, beyond the products they sell, they have an advantage in today’s marketplace. Employees excel, and tend to stay with these companies, providing long-term relationships with retail buyers, customers and complementary organizations.

The Culture of Customer Service

At the time Barefoot Wine was founded, the business model was considered radical. The founders viewed it as more of a “service” rather than merely a product. At Barefoot’s price point, which we termed the “velocity price point”, it was clear that it could not survive without becoming “America’s Personal House Wine”. From the beginning, it was understood that it had to sell massive quantities to stay in business.

“Personal House Wine” was defined as the wine one serves in one’s own house as a staple: “Tuesday night wine, picnic wine, beach wine”. It was the wine to always keep on hand. It was the brand you discovered that consistently delivered the quality and value you had come to expect from your own “personal house wine”.

The company knew that customers (“foot fans”) would be loyal to the brand as long as the price remained stable (at the velocity price point), the taste profile was consistent (delicious), and it was available and easy to buy (in stock).

The original Barefoot culture wa based on the most comprehensive definition of customer service. Imagine a company that, through worthy cause promotions, encouraged customers to go into specific retail establishments to buy their brand. Imagine a company that viewed its displays as retail entertainment, adding color, fun, and theme sets for the enjoyment of its customers! This is the ultimate in customer service to your retailer, your end-user, and to your community.

The Culture of Acknowledgement

People are motivated by goal achievement, but also by public recognition. It not only validates their creativity, but it send a message to the rest of the troops that this type of behavior is not only appreciated, but also identified and exemplified.

Appreciation goes a long way toward building team spirit and encouraging everyone on the team to be creative in a productive and fun way. They know that top management and their teammates will recognize their achievement and are not afraid to speak up about it. They are encouraged to create imaginative promotions and fun events.

Public acknowledgement, especially in written form, circulated to all staff, is validation. Employees want to know that they are contributing, and that their efforts are being appreciated. Third party validation from managers, peers, customers, associates and non-profits builds confidence to go out and do more of the same, or better! It also give your people an appreciation of what their team mates are doing to improve everybody’s circumstances.

Positive company culture is the foundation of company success. It reduces turnover, improves morale, cooperation and overall team spirit, all of which result in increased imagination and productivity. Next time we will examine the culture of Common Causes.

Who We Are

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

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Is Your Company Doing these Things?

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 19:30:00 +0000

Recently, while attending a Wine Industry Symposium, I had the good fortune to sit next to a fellow consultant, James J. Downes of BBK, an international business advisory firm. Over lunch, the conversation quickly got down to what we each thought were the biggest mistakes growing businesses make today. Jim’s list sounded strangely familiar because my own company had been guilty of several!

Jim says according to Dun and Bradstreet, a US corporation fails every 3 minutes, and Business Finance Magazine says 96% of all companies fail within 10 years. I felt somehow relieved since my company lasted for 19 and was successfully acquired. Even so, his list was so compelling, I wanted to share it with you. I’ve included my suggestions for ways that may help:

1) “Spending money on marketing that isn’t working.
Money spent on marketing is typically not linked to results……big mistake.”

Suggestion: Avoid blind advertising as much as possible. Invest rather in promotions that can be measured. Also, consider worthy-cause marketing. Go direct to your consumer with samples, and where-to-buys.

2) “Not defining a proper sales process/system.
Individual sales people not taking advantage of company and industry best practices.”

Suggestion: Hire veterans from your industry. Ask your buyers, who know who they are. Document what works and what doesn’t. Don’t reinvent the wheel. Sell everyone between you and your ultimate consumer.

3) “Not focusing on becoming a lean organization.
You must measure and manage productivity in all departments of your business.”

Suggestion: Create two divisions: Sales, and Sales Support. Compensate everyone based on sales and profitability. Avoid silo-ing and the attendant job preservationists view of information as currency.

4) “Focusing too much on sales growth and not enough on profit growth.
Fast growing companies sometimes focus too much on the top line rather than the bottom line.”

Suggestion: Create incentives and bonuses based on quarterly profitability. Include the whole team in the quarterly numbers, the development of budgets, and what’s in it for them.

5) “Incentive plan incents the wrong things.
Incentive plans not tied to generating margin or profit.”

Suggestion: see #4

6) “Continuing to fund a business with an antiquated business model.
Doing things the way we always have and ignoring industry trends can lead to expensive mistakes.”

Suggestion: Review the viability of your business model annually. Reorganize the business regularly to address the changing environment.

7) “Not measuring the customer experience.
Not asking your customers how you are doing can be deadly.”

Suggestion: Put 800 numbers on everything. Consider your customer service department as critical to product improvement. Beyond satisfying customer complaints, they can provide production and marketing with vital information that will save everyone’s job.

8) “Poor financial management, i.e., budget/ forecasting/inventory/receivables.
Not managing the money side of your business can cause you to run out of it.”

Suggestion: Make your suppliers strategic partners. Call your soon-to-be-overdue payables with a payment plan way before the due date. Know the significant questions to ask of the data beyond conventional accounting.

9) “Launching new products/services without doing adequate financial diligence.
Losing money on new investments because there was not a proper business plan at the start.”

Suggestion: Avoid the tendency to proliferate products. Respect the limited bandwidth of your own people and the entire distribution system. Get strong with a few products and make a name for yourself.

10) “Putting up with mediocre performers.
Not outsourcing people when appropriate can be costly.”

Suggestion: Recognize when the company has outgrown former key staff who were critical to the start-up but did not expand their skill set to keep up with customer demands. Pay for performance. Outsource everything you can except quality.

Thanks Jim, for summarizing the ten biggest operational mistakes companies make, and why we should focus on eliminating waste and inefficiency. For more information about BBK, go to their website.

Who We Are

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

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Does Your Company Culture Give Rise to Great Ideas?

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Tue, 24 May 2011 16:32:06 +0000

Some people think “culture” is what you get in your yogurt. So called “company culture” starts from the top and permeates throughout your organization. The attitudes, principles, philosophies and values of owners like you and your managers shape the decisions, actions, and motivation of your employees.

The morale of your people and the impressions of your vendors and customers are greatly impacted by your company’s culture. If your staff treats information as a jealously guarded currency, if the division of labor is creating turf battles, if good ideas are being suppressed, or if job preservation is taking precedence over customer service, you can expect to lose your best and most creative people. Your company will be upstaged in the marketplace by competitors who allow and encourage creative ideas.

Each of the following concepts helps you build a positive company culture, and will receive more attention in later posts. Here is a brief summary:

Create Two Divisions. Your employees are either in Sales or Sales Support. Ultimately, everyone in your company gets paid from sales. No matter what their job or profession, make sure each of your people know how he/she affects sales. Emphasize the point by finding ways to link their compensation to sales. When you keep them up to date on your sales and get their feedback, you will be surprised at the improved team spirit.
Give Your Staff Permission to experiment, take chances and even make mistakes, so long as they document the changes needed to prevent them from occurring again. In the process, they will improve the company’s policies and procedures while coming up with out-of-the-box solutions and innovative improvements.
Improve the Planet. Your people want to make a difference. Show them how your product, sales program, and groups you support are making the world a better place. When they know that they are part of a higher value than just selling a product, they will approach their job with the added enthusiasm, knowing they are making a difference.
Give Congratulations. Your people are motivated by goal achievement, but also by public recognition. It not only validates their creativity, but it sends a message to the rest of the troops that this type of behavior is identified, appreciated and celebrated. Appreciation builds loyalty, encourages achievement, and builds a productive environment.

Everyone in your company is playing by a set of rules. Instead of letting those rules evolve by divisions of labor, hierarchy, and apathy, take charge of your company culture and build it in a positive and nurturing direction. Culture is not just found in yogurt!

Who We Are

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

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How To Get Your Product To The Market

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Mon, 09 May 2011 08:59:33 +0000

You may have a great product at a great price, and people may really want it, but that doesn’t mean you can get it to them. If your product is sold in retail stores, like most consumer goods, it probably has to go through conventional distribution channels. In order to get to the end-user, you must customize your pitch to everyone along the way. You must make all of the seven sales. They are:

Your Own Staff. Both your sales and office staff have to be proud to represent your product. They also need to know what it takes to keep the quality up, the cost down, and the pipeline filled. Help them understand how their compensation ties directly to customer service and profitability, and show them how they fit in and how their skills contribute to the company’s success. We communicated this effectively using a detailed money flow chart that started with the end-user and ended with their paycheck.
Your Distributor or Jobber’s Ownership. Make sure they realize there are a variety of reasons they want to carry your product, and that they may differ from market to market. Remind them that beyond profitability, your product may fill a void in their book of product offerings, or that it may be something they want to keep away from their competition. Let them know that buying your product could increase their business with an important retailer in their territory.
Your Distributors’ Sales Managers. Help them understand they may want it because it’s easy to sell, or because you will support it with program dollars. If you have a representative in their territory, remind them it will help their sales staff meet their numbers.
Your Distributors’ Sales Persons. Make sure they know you will help sell it for them into new accounts in their territory, and remind them when there is a bonus in it for them. If your product moves quickly, let them know their retailers will appreciate them for introducing it and keeping it in stock. Sales people are motivated by anything that makes their jobs easier and puts more money in their pockets.
Your Distributors’ Retail Buyers. They will be more eager to buy your product when you tell them you will support it with effective point-of-sale marketing signs. If it got a great write-up or review somewhere, make sure to get it to them. Your product may be attractive because it’s value-priced in a smaller category. Let them know your company rep may come to their store, do demonstrations, and help sell it for them. Make sure they know you will refer customers to them.
The Retail Buyers’ Managers or Clerks. This is where the rubber meets the road. They talk directly to the end-users daily. They can recommend your product. They will “buy” it if you give them personal attention and recognize their value to your success. Your appreciation may be why they keep it in stock and on the shelf on a regular basis.
And finally, if you’re diligent enough to get this far, the General Public. They will buy your product first because it’s in stock and on the shelf. Value, price, packaging, and dependability are the qualities they look for. Good shelf position will catch their eye, as well as informative and compelling third-party endorsements. They will buy your product if they like what your brand stands for. This is how you build brand loyalty.

Everyone in the channel buys for a different reason. Understand and address each reason. Your success depends on mastering all of the seven sales.

Who We Are

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

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10 Tips For a Start-Up Business with No Money

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 13:57:16 +0000

OK, you need some money to get started, but you can seriously reduce the amount if you take advantage of some of these suggestions. Every one of them worked for us:

Start in the garage, a spare bedroom, even the laundry room the way we did. Go anywhere you won’t have to pay rent.
Get your family to help. Retired grandmas, aunts and uncles would love to make a difference in your life, and they’ll probably be thrilled to do something new and help the family business get started. Who knows, they may do a lot more for your start-up than just add manpower. They can also provide objective opinions and common sense insight. Bonnie’s mom came up with the term,”Barefoot Bubbly”.
Assume someone else’s excess inventory. Find a way to sell or repurpose unsold merchandise. When you do, you’ll find sales cure-all ills.
Outsource everything except quality. With outsourcing, you usually pay only when the product is produced – and produced to your quality specs. Oversight is critical. What little money you may have is better spent on marketing than production facilities.
Use ‘Worthy Cause Marketing’ to advertise your product or service. Find and support a non-profit that resonates with both your core values and your target customer – their members will have a social reason to buy your product. Help them by getting the word out about their cause through your distribution channels, and they’ll help get the word out about your product.
Trade the goods and services you have for goods and services you need. Many start-ups besides yours, especially in their early days, will prefer this option to spending money, just the way you do. So find other start-ups that have what you need and need what you have.
Forge strategic growth alliances with suppliers. You help them grow their business when you become a bigger and bigger customer. They help you grow by extending terms and providing special discounts. Get your suppliers to extend your credit because they like the way you pay your bills. Call them as soon as you know you will be unable to pay on time and give them a workable payment plan.
Give discounts for cash and large volume purchases. It will put you ahead of your bills. Your buyers will sell your products faster putting them on special and advertising them to quickly recover their warehouse space.
Sell your product overseas. Most international transactions are cash sales based on a signed ocean-going bill of lading through a letter of credit. It’s kind of like an escrow account where you get paid when they take possession.
Produce just-in-time inventory – a product that is ready just in time for the sale rather than filling a warehouse with your product. Ideally get the Purchase Order first. If that’s not practical, operate with the minimum inventory you need to satisfy your customers, assuming a reasonable growth factor that you reassess every month.

These are just a sample of the cost saving measures Barefoot Wine used to survive and grow in its early days. Being undercapitalized was one of the things that forced us to be resourceful and think creatively – just some of the advantages of being broke with a good idea.

Who We Are

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

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