All About Them

Grow Your Business by Focusing on Others

Bruce Turkel
Copyright 2016 by Bruce Turkel
312 pages
[@]

Rating Take-Aways

8
8 Applicability • “Good brands make you feel good, but great brands make you feel good
about yourself.”
8 Innovation
7 Style • Successful brands focus on what their customers want and need.

• Technology enables instant online feedback, so everybody can be a critic.

• However, technology also spawned new socio-economic problems and a public

Focus expectation of immediate gratification.

• In this new “age of transparency,” anyone can repeat anything you say or do – and
Leadership & Management probably will.
Strategy
Sales & Marketing
• Without context, content has no meaning.
Finance • The products you sell may not be the reason customers buy from you.
Human Resources
IT, Production & Logistics • Brands must transition from being “company-centric” to being “consumer-centric.”
Career & Self-Development
• Digital devices create artificial positive feelings.
Small Business
Economics & Politics • Make sure your brand message is “cogent, coherent and consistent.”
Industries
Global Business
Concepts & Trends

To purchase personal subscriptions or corporate solutions, visit our website at www.getAbstract.com, send an email to info@getabstract.com, or call us at our US office (1-305-936-2626) or at our Swiss office
(+41-41-367-5151). getAbstract is an Internet-based knowledge rating service and publisher of book abstracts. getAbstract maintains complete editorial responsibility for all parts of this abstract. getAbstract
acknowledges the copyrights of authors and publishers. All rights reserved. No part of this abstract may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means – electronic, photocopying or otherwise –
without prior written permission of getAbstract AG (Switzerland).

This document is restricted to the personal use of Gabriel Razzotti (razzotti.g@pg.com) 1 of 5

LoginContext[cu=324300,asp=1052,subs=3,free=0,lo=en,co=BR] 2018-08-14 01:07:12 CEST

getabstract

getabstract
Relevance
getabstract
What You Will Learn
In this summary, you will learn:r1) How to build a better brand, 2) Why you must make your brand “consumer-
centric” and 3) How companies with a consumer focus market themselves.
getabstract
Recommendation
Toyota, Starbucks, Verizon Wireless and other companies succeed because they are consumer-oriented and their
branding touches people’s emotions. Such firms don’t focus on what they want; they focus on what their customers
want and how they make their customers feel. Branding expert Bruce Turkel discusses how companies profit by
advertising their focus on their customers. He recognizes that the product you sell isn’t necessarily why your
customers buy from you. Instead, they look for how you make them feel and why you’re different. Your job is to
find your “authentic truth,” the factor that separates you from the pack. Turkel’s use of buzzwords and acronyms,
especially the use of so many acronyms, gets to be a bit much, but his core message about customer focus is strong
and sensible. getAbstract recommends his actionable advice to small business owners, entrepreneurs, and marketing
and advertising professionals.
getabstract
getabstract

getabstract
Summary
getabstract
Instant Feedback from “Instant-On” Consumers
Today’s Instant-On consumers want great goods and services, and they want them
immediately. They check their smartphones constantly, feel exasperated if they have to wait
and get upset if a Wi-Fi connection is slow. Instant-Ons book hotels, airfare and restaurant
reservations online and communicate with their friends via social media.
getabstract
“The message that
matters most is what
In the late 1990s, if you checked in to a hotel and found a bug in your bathtub, you
you are going to do for complained to the front desk. If you were still upset when you got home, you wrote a letter
them.” to the hotel manager and, three weeks later, received an apology. If this happened 10 years
getabstract
ago, you would have sent the manager an email from your home desktop computer. Five
years ago, you would have sent the same complaint from your laptop or tablet. But now,
you’d take a picture of the bug with your smartphone and share it online instantly with
1,000 of your friends. If you were even more upset, you’d upload the picture and complain
via Yelp and TripAdvisor. The hotel would lose business within minutes, especially if the
management didn’t address the problem immediately.

The danger to retailers or service providers is that given the ubiquity of smartphones and the
web, everyone you encounter can rebuke, reinforce or redefine your brand in seconds. Now,
everyone is a critic in almost every realm. You can post reviews of hotels, restaurants, stores,
getabstract
“Great brands products, and more to such websites as Yelp, eBay and TripAdvisor. You can review home
connect viscerally repair services on Angie’s List and HomeAdvisor. Even professionals feel the pressure. You
and emotionally with
consumers.” can evaluate lawyers on Avvo and Lawyers.com and doctors on WebMD and RateMDs.
getabstract
By 2005, the term “First World Problem” – introduced by writer G.K. Payne in 1979 in
an article for Built Environment – became popular online. People use it to describe the
trivial problems of Instant-Ons, often stereotyped as millennials or members of gen X who
want instant gratification. While their gripes may seem minor, buyers in general also have
become harder to please.

All About Them getAbstract © 2018 2 of 5

This document is restricted to the personal use of Gabriel Razzotti (razzotti.g@pg.com)

LoginContext[cu=324300,asp=1052,subs=3,free=0,lo=en,co=BR] 2018-08-14 01:07:12 CEST

 Digital Life
Digital devices create artificial positive feelings. Every beep alerting you to a voicemail or
text message grabs your attention and releases dopamine, the brain’s feel-good chemical.
getabstract
“In today’s interactive But that buzz has a downside. “The computer is like electronic cocaine,” says Peter
environment – when Whybrow, director of the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA.
anyone can speak to
everyone – you can
no longer decide what Magazines such as Newsweek and The Atlantic have published in-depth articles discussing
your personal brand
is: Your customers the ways in which digital addiction resembles alcohol or drug addiction. Newsweek says the
make and promote that average person sends or receives about 400 texts a month, while teenagers receive about
decision.”
getabstract 3,700 texts per month. “And more than two-thirds of these normal, everyday cyborgs…
report feeling their phone vibrate when, in fact, nothing is happening.”

Despite such ubiquitous connectivity, many people report feelings of disconnection and
isolation. Digital technology evolves so quickly that people don’t always understand such
ramifications. A Daily Mail survey of more than 2,000 smartphone owners revealed that,
“the average user now picks up [his or her] device more than 1,500 times a week.” Users
getabstract average 3 hours, 16 minutes of smartphone use per day, and 40% admit that they’d feel lost
“Today, the bigger the
company, the less likely without their electronic devices.
unmanaged marketing
messages are to result
in a comprehensive, The Same Old Keyboard
cogent and ultimately Today’s technology speeds things up. Older technology was designed to slow things down.
valuable brand.”
getabstract Typists used to have problems with their keys jamming when they typed quickly. To solve
that problem, in 1873 designers created the QWERTY keyboard. They placed the Q, W,
E, R, T and Y on the top left and top middle, and put the most commonly used letters like
A, S and L at the ends of the middle row, near a typist’s weaker, slower fingers to prevent
keys from sticking together. The QWERTY keyboard favors left-handed people (5% to
30% of the population) while right-handed people (70% to 95% of the population) continue
to struggle with a system designed to prevent speed. Using this keyboard, you can type
some 300 common English words using only your right hand, while you can type more
getabstract
“While you’re busy than 3,000 using only your left hand.
trying not to offend
or upset anyone,
you’re also not getting
Branding Yourself
anyone’s attention or Remember when you were trying to get your first job? You probably said you were looking
changing anyone’s for the right opportunity to make the best use of your skills, but having that line in a
mind.”
getabstract résumé serves the candidate, not the person who’s hiring. In large firms, human resources
professionals and hiring managers could care less about your personal aspirations. In
smaller companies, the owner or CFO want to know how soon you can start making money
for them. Mark Levit, a University of Miami advertising and marketing professor, says that
your resume’s first paragraph now should state how you will make money for the company
or save it time, effort or expense.

“Content and Context” Are Different

getabstract Many entrepreneurs and inventors work simultaneously on the same product, but the
“Look for the problem
that’s not being solved, successful ones figure out their project’s context, not just its content. For example, Adolph
the itch that’s not Diesel, Gottlieb Daimler, Karl Benz and Henry Ford all worked on automobiles at the same
being scratched, the
solution that’s not being time, but only Ford recognized the context. He knew cars needed an infrastructure to support
offered.” mass production. Originally, cars were a luxury. They could travel only short distances
getabstract
due to the lack of gas stations. Cars required expert mechanics and paved roads for easier
driving. To make cars more affordable, Ford stripped production down to the basics. The
Ford Model T was available only in black because that was the “fastest drying paint.” Ford
used an assembly line and interchangeable parts to speed production.

All About Them getAbstract © 2018 3 of 5

This document is restricted to the personal use of Gabriel Razzotti (razzotti.g@pg.com)

LoginContext[cu=324300,asp=1052,subs=3,free=0,lo=en,co=BR] 2018-08-14 01:07:12 CEST

 Ford said, “If I asked my customers what they wanted, they would have said ‘faster horses’.”
Nearly 100 years later, Apple founder Steve Jobs echoed Ford’s words when he said,
getabstract “People don’t know what they want until you show it to them.” When cars and computers
“Before you start
pining for the good first appeared, people dismissed them as fads. Their inventors knew better. Most people
old days, remember don’t really care about the nuts and bolts of how things work. They care about what those
that things weren’t
that slow before. It’s things can do for them.
just that there were far
fewer people clamoring
for service, and those Selling Versus Buying
people were way more What you sell is not necessarily what your customers buy. Before cameras went digital,
willing to wait their
turn.” people used to process film by hand. When light hit silver nitrate, the other chemicals
getabstract in the paper got darker. Kodak advertised that its prints had the highest quality because
they contained the most silver nitrate. But that’s not why customers bought Kodak film.
They bought it to preserve treasured memories of time they spent with friends and families.
Unfortunately, Kodak failed to keep up with changing times and eventually died.

Digital devices have produced a new “age of transparency.” Before the Internet, if you
wanted information, you had to go to a library and search its books and card catalog.
getabstract
“People are not buying Likewise, TV programs ran at certain times, and you couldn’t replay your favorite show
what you sell; they’re if you missed it. Companies such as Netflix and Amazon democratized TV, and today you
buying who you are and
how you make them can watch almost any program from the 1960s onward anytime you like.
feel.”
getabstract
Experience for Sale
Many customers don’t buy a brand; they buy an experience. Starbucks sells coffee, but
customers can buy coffee anywhere. Starbucks is a special “third place” that’s neither work
nor home. A third place used to be a place of worship, a gym or an clubhouse, like the Elks
Lodge, but Americans’ interest in those gathering points waned. Americans today are more
likely to be secular, less likely to join organizations and more transient. Starbucks fulfills
getabstract the need of a communal gathering place.
“Chances are you
were more likely to eat
(sushi) because of its “Company-Centric to Consumer-Centric”
cool, exotic-sounding Brand messages must move from company-centric to consumer-centric (CC 2 CC).
Japanese name…
what’s the chance you
Executives need to get out of their heads and into the minds of consumers. For example,
would have eaten sushi author Bruce Turkel worked on a Bacardi Rum campaign to reach younger drinkers. Bacardi
if it went by a clear wanted to get college students of legal drinking age to switch from beer to dark rum.
description of what’s
actually on the plate? Turkel’s team created the Bacardi Cherry Bomb cocktail, a mix of Bacardi Black and Cherry
Raw dead fish.” Coke, to appeal to an audience that likes to “talk sophisticated, but drink sweet.” Usually,
getabstract
students would order something familiar like a screwdriver or a rum and Coke, so Bacardi
designed a drinking game around the Cherry Bomb to encourage sales.

An impeccably dressed middle-aged man walked in during Turkel’s marketing presentation

for the Bacardi Cherry Bomb. When Turkel said the targeted age group didn’t care about
Bacardi’s usual hallmarks of tradition and quality, the man said, “Excuse me, but our brand
getabstract has not been created for people who want to ‘drink sweet,’ as you say. It is created for
“Patagonian toothfish
was considered an people with discerning palates who want to savor the finer things in life.” It turned out
unsellable over-catch that the visitor was a member of the Bacardi family. He described his family’s history and
until some marketing
maven renamed it journey from Cuba to Puerto Rico.
Chilean sea bass.”
getabstract
Turkel respectfully asked him when he last bought Bacardi rum. The man said he always
drank Bacardi. Turkel asked when he last paid for Bacardi rum. The man told Turkel he
never paid for Bacardi nor thought about its price nor understood why or why not kids
might drink Bacardi rum. Then the gentleman urged Turkel to continue.

All About Them getAbstract © 2018 4 of 5

This document is restricted to the personal use of Gabriel Razzotti (razzotti.g@pg.com)

LoginContext[cu=324300,asp=1052,subs=3,free=0,lo=en,co=BR] 2018-08-14 01:07:12 CEST

 Shark Attack
Some brands use too much jargon or rely on fear. The Australian company Shark Attack
Mitigation Systems (SAMS) makes wetsuits, including some that are designed to protect
surfers and divers from shark attacks. The firm hired scientists to help it design camouflage
in patterns likely to repel sharks. But in reality, shark attacks are rare – resulting in only
getabstract four or five deaths worldwide each year. But, “SAMS is not investing all its money out of
“Figuring out your a desire to keep people safe from shark attacks; they’re hoping to profit from people’s fear
own authentic truth
and applying it to your of being killed in one.”
messaging and your life
may be difficult, but it is
the key to building your “Authentic Truth”
brand value.” What’s your authentic truth? Why do customers buy from you? You might think Tom
getabstract
Monaghan of Domino’s is in the pizza business, but you would be wrong. As he explains,
“We’re not actually in the pizza business. We’re in the ‘it’s 7 p.m. on a school night, and
I don’t feel like cooking’ business. We’re in the ‘guys just got here to watch the game and
there’s nothing in the fridge to eat’ business.”

Monaghan knows Domino’s real business is delivering hot food in 30 minutes or less.
Your authentic truth is something only you can provide. It’s what differentiates you from
getabstract your competitors. Find your authentic truth before you transition from company-centric to
“Truth might be
stranger than fiction, consumer-centric. If you don’t define your truth, others will do it for you.
but oftentimes fiction
is more interesting,
more exciting, Your brand has to be more powerful than what you do, what you believe in or how you
more replicable, spend your free time. It must go beyond what your business card says, your logo design
and ultimately
more powerful and and how you market yourself on social media. Those are all aspects of what your powerful
compelling than the brand is not.
truth.”
getabstract
The Brand Pyramid
Think of a five-level pyramid. Starting at the bottom, the base is made of your product
features and benefits. This level includes everything you offer. The second level shows
points of difference” or “points of distinction.” List how you differ from your rivals. The
third level holds your “functional benefits.” What does your customer get from doing
business with you? Many companies stop here with branding, but two more levels remain
getabstract
to get to the top. The fourth level identifies your customers’ emotions. How do they feel
“Success actually after they do business with you? The top of the pyramid states your brand promise, which
requires more than must connect with consumers emotionally.
virtuosity. It calls
for perseverance,
marketing, attention to “Cogency, Coherency and Consistency”
detail and more than a
little luck.” To increase your brand consciousness, follow the “three C’s” – cogency, coherency and
getabstract consistency. You need a logical, sensible message that’s specific to your audience. Your
customers don’t care about whether you’ve won advertising awards or how creative you are.
They don’t care about the difference between “online” versus “traditional” media or about
marketing that’s “above the line” or “below the line.” Your customers need to hear the same
clear, strong, memorable message regardless of the medium: you are there to serve them.

getabstract
getabstract

getabstract
About the Author
getabstract
Branding specialist and consultant Bruce Turkel contributes weekly to Fox Business Channel and has appeared on
CNN and ABC as a branding and marketing expert.

All About Them getAbstract © 2018 5 of 5

This document is restricted to the personal use of Gabriel Razzotti (razzotti.g@pg.com)

LoginContext[cu=324300,asp=1052,subs=3,free=0,lo=en,co=BR] 2018-08-14 01:07:12 CEST