* Disclaimer – All images are in the public domain, and all views herein are those of British Design Experts.

This presentation does not reflect the views of The Apprentice, The BBC or those involved in making the programme.

• Your customers only care about what your service or product can do for them

• Solve their problems & highlight benefits (don’t list features)

• To sell successfully you need to make sure your brand is targeted at your customer’s needs

Neil is great at doing this…

Why would I want to buy a tent-caravan?

• Removes hassle • Saves me time • Gives me the best of both

worlds

Job done. This tent/caravan needs a clear and to the point selling technique.

More aspirational products require a different approach (luxury and high-end)

If you target the wrong customer you won’t sell anything. Don’t focus your brand around someone who: • Doesn’t need/want your product • Has no need for your service • Isn’t in the area you cover • Isn’t the final decision maker/buyer

The Deadly Dinners ready meal team really forgot about this one…

Use of skulls instantly makes the parents

think of poison (not food)

The power of the child isn’t enough to make

the parent buy

Appeals to the end user (the child) NOT

the buyer (the parent)

Where did this one go wrong?

People expect professional execution and a cohesive identity Without it you lose credibility, and with it – customers Make sure the themes of your brand follow through your business in all aspects

Nick didn’t understand what these flamingos were doing at a school themed team day, and neither did the participants…

Where is the cohesion in this school away day? • Doesn’t make sense • The participants will soon be pulling

at the threads of everything else • They had better include A LOT of

value if they want good reviews…

Lack of professional identity that carries through your business means that your credibility is questioned You have to be EVEN BETTER to get the same positive level of positive feedback

If you don’t know your target market inside-out don’t make assumptions • Prejudice turns off your customer

instantly • Beware against talking down to your

customer • Assumptions can also mean you

target a stereotype that doesn’t exist rather than your real ideal customer

Friendship & Flowers online dating site targeted the right demographic but in entirely the wrong way…

I wouldn’t sign up to this site because they don’t know me

at all

It’s a shame because I am interested in Online Dating

They seem to be targeting my Grandmother

rather than me

Forgetting that 50 is the new 30, the friendship & flowers brand talks down to their target market and gets their needs completely wrong.

The most important thing to get right is understanding who your ideal customer is and what would appeal to them. All aspects of your brand should come from that including: • Your brand values • Your mission statement • Your designs (logo, website & brand identity)

Remember It’s not about you and your business. It’s about what your customer is looking for. That’s how you create a brand that helps you to sell.

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