In the book, The Blond Knight of Germany, American authors Toliver and Constable detail the life of the greatest fighter pilot to ever fly, Germany's Erich Hartmann. During WWII, Hartmann recorded 352 confirmed in-flight victories. To put it into perspective, very few American fighter pilots reached 100 in-flight victories. Simply put, Erich Hartmann reached levels of greatness most fighter pilots can only dream about.
Would you like your business to achieve such levels of greatness? A common way to learn from the success of others is to look at what they did and adapt it to your situation. Here are two ways Hartmann reached success, use them to turn your company's brand into a Blond Knight.
1) Know Your Enemy: "If you are unable to beat your enemy at his own game, it is nearly always better to adopt some striking variant." - Winston Churchill (intro to Chapter 4 of The Blond Knight of Germany.)
Hartmann's Use: He created a Pilot's Handbook of Enemy Strength that outlined all of the planes his enemies flew. It detailed the strengths and weaknesses and the best approaches in defeating them. He was rarely surprised by what the enemy was capable of doing.
Your Use: Don't depend on your personality and hard work to propel your brand beyond the competition. Learn all you can about your products, your field, your competition, future competition, etc. Find out what you are up against and plan your strategy accordingly. Having a good idea, being honest, and providing "great customer service" are not guarantees to the success of your brand. Knowing your enemy's strengths/weaknesses and how you honestly match up against them (and acting on this knowledge) is the greatest insurance for your brand's success.
2) Be First: "If you can't be first, create a category in which you can be." - Al Ries & Jack Trout
Hartmann's Use: Erich Hartmann said it best, "The pilot who sees the other first already has half the victory." Playing catch up is not a fun position when you are thousands of feet in the air.
Your Use: Catch up also is not fun when thousands of your dollars are at stake. Avoid playing catch up by creating a new category. Even the slightest difference in focus can establish you as a category leader - instead of another brand in an overcrowded category. Dell computers built their brand on selling direct to the consumer. Started in 1984 by a college student (soon-to-be a college drop-out,) Dell computers currently ranks as the leader in most computer manufacturer categories across the globe. Competitors such as IBM and HP have now tried to offer consumer-direct service. However, Dell was first in the category and it appears they will stay that way.
Erich Hartmann used a one-two punch combination of Know Your Enemy and Be First to become the best fighter pilot in history - The Blond Knight. You can use the approach to help build your brand. Performed with confidence, this combination is sure to grow your business. Meaning: more customers, more profits, more enjoyment - that proves it, blonds (blond brands that is) do have more fun!
Kevin Kearns is a small business branding coach. He holds a Master of Science degree in Organization Development and is a member of the Coachville Graduate School of Coaching. With a mixture of hands-on experience, research, and fun, Kevin helps you become the only choice for your customers. Visit http://www.kevinkearns.com/newsletter.html to join The Branding Bunch - a community made of small business owners that want to grow their business the easy way.
Design is a very subjective thing, therefore, if you ask... Read More
A corporate logo design should be highly instrumental in building... Read More
Over regulation of our free markets is stifling our growth... Read More
Every day, the average person is exposed to millions of... Read More
Most people, when they hear the word branding, think logos... Read More
Companies work hard building the strength of their brands -... Read More
IntroductionGlobalisation is referred to as a set of profound material... Read More
The elements and functionality of the basic stationery system is... Read More
Large corporations spend lavish amounts seeking names for their products... Read More
We should all recognize the marketing efforts of John Deere... Read More
It is important to distinguish between corporate identity, brand identity,... Read More
You don't think twice about a business card and letterhead... Read More
My first year as a Cyberpreneur was a steeplearning-curve. I... Read More
In the book, The Blond Knight of Germany, American authors... Read More
How would you like to sell as much in one... Read More
INTRODUCTION To get any business started successfully takes many ingredients.... Read More
Quite often small business owners will ask me to reveal... Read More
In a world of co-branding, point of destination strategies and... Read More
The public buys far more than just your products, services... Read More
Make A Bold Promise Then Back It Up With An... Read More
If you could have the secret recipe and all the... Read More
Every company has a brand (how people think of them)... Read More
About once a month a few of us at the... Read More
Here's a little story about what not to do as... Read More
An artist's statement is a statement of ideas and thoughts... Read More
Successful Guru marketers have a secret weapon that they use... Read More
New designer uniforms could be the gold charm McDonald's needs... Read More
You've probably heard that people buy products and services from... Read More
When Mitsubishi launched a new car with the name "Pajero"... Read More
Successful Realtors know the importance of branding their identities into... Read More
To begin, let's define "Brand Identity," which is the combination... Read More
As more and more home pressure washers are sold at... Read More
Sometimes the best inspiration comes from hearing about the deconstruction... Read More
Become your customers top-of-mind choice.Some of these snapshots of real... Read More
Starting Business Secrets will help you to start your own... Read More
Most people, when they hear the word branding, think logos... Read More
Propose success, demand performance, and brand your market with appeal.... Read More
If you had a choice, which one would you choose,... Read More
Branding used to be a fancy business word, but it... Read More
Successful Realtors know the importance of branding their identities into... Read More
As consumers, we don't really think about the importance of... Read More
What's Your Brand?A brand is a product/company personality that helps... Read More
Visual processing is the most important way for gathering information... Read More
Make More Money Making a Name for YourselfCalling all realtors,... Read More
...or Is My Brand Working?To measure the impact and effectiveness... Read More
Every Christmas Eve, a burglar named Santa busts into homes... Read More
After more than a decade since the last attempt to... Read More
Have you ever watched one of those home makeover shows?... Read More
Building your brand into a brand leader isn't easy. There... Read More
The one thing that everyone has in common is that... Read More
We should all recognize the marketing efforts of John Deere... Read More
I submit to you that Brand Name Identity in the... Read More
A branding company's website purpose is to design websites that... Read More
Good marketing positioning is like good lying. No, we're not... Read More
As a graphic designer, I can tell you something right... Read More
Today, in many organizations around the world, branding is treated... Read More
Consumers perceive and accept many brands within a certain trade... Read More
What does it mean to be remarkable?Brian Scudamore, CEO and... Read More
The absolute foundation of your small business is your image.... Read More
The quality of your logo can mean the difference between... Read More
Franchisors often have issues when they own a brand which... Read More
Look at your company logo. Does it fade into the... Read More
How brand management can help utility organisations to create a... Read More
In the world of marketing, branding issues are always an... Read More
Having a brand image is not a "have or have... Read More
Why pay a high priced PR agent when you can... Read More
Branding |