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12.5 Principles to Stand Out, Attract Customers, and Grow an Incredible Brand Sticky Branding (Paperback) - Common
Sticky Brands exist in almost every industry. Companies like Apple, Nike, and Starbucks have made themselves as recognizable as they are successful. But large companies are not the only ones who can stand out. It’s achievable for any business willing to break away from the industry norms and find innovative ways to serve its customers.Based on a decade of research into what makes companies successful, Sticky Branding’s 12.5 guiding principles are drawn from hundreds of interviews with CEOs and business owners who have excelled within their industries. By following their examples your company Attract more customers- Sell more, faster- Inspire employee engagement- Become immune to the competition- Earn higher profitsSticky Branding is your branding playbook. It provides ideas, stories and exercises to make your company stand out, attract customers, and grow into an incredible brand.
Paperback
First published December 1, 2014
127 people are currently reading
474 people want to read
About the author
Jeremy Miller
3 books13 followersJeremy Miller is a globally recognized branding expert and bestselling author of Sticky Branding and Brand New Name. Over the past decade, Jeremy and the Sticky Branding team have profiled and interviewed hundreds of companies across dozens of industries to uncover how companies grow Sticky Brands. Jeremy shares his expertise as a writer, consultant, and keynote speaker. His blend of humor, stories, and actionable ideas will inspire you to innovate and grow your business and brand.For more information visit http://www.StickyBranding.com.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
March 20, 2018
While Sticky Branding wasn't a horrible book, I didn't find its concepts to be all that original compared to other marketing/business books on the market. I am not sure if I am reading too many business books, been in the market too long or what, but the concepts described in the book felt like another version of methods described in other "break out" books. I don't see it as one of my top recommend books nor one that was truly memorable.
Reviewed for publisher via Netgalley.
Reviewed for publisher via Netgalley.
April 15, 2022
Practical and includes useful exercises.
My only critique is confirmation bias and showing only an example of a company that executes on principles well vs. also showing what doing it wrong looks like. There’s one example of Enron that exemplifies what “wrong” looks like in the values section. I think some more well-meaning but poorly executed examples would make it stronger.
It gets 5 stars anyways for giving concrete actions and exercises to overcome its one weakness of succumbing to confirmation bias.
My only critique is confirmation bias and showing only an example of a company that executes on principles well vs. also showing what doing it wrong looks like. There’s one example of Enron that exemplifies what “wrong” looks like in the values section. I think some more well-meaning but poorly executed examples would make it stronger.
It gets 5 stars anyways for giving concrete actions and exercises to overcome its one weakness of succumbing to confirmation bias.
October 9, 2022
This book didn't give me any new insights and was more of a business strategy book with ties to Good to Great vs. a brand marketing book. There wasn't anything groundbreaking, but the content wasn't bad either.
June 15, 2019
If you struggle to think of your brand as something other than a mark and a typeface, you should read this. The principles, philosophies, and methods laid out here were equal parts inspiring and tactically, very helpful. Good book, strong recommend.
January 13, 2015
Position Your Brand To Win!
As a member of Jeremy Miller’s Sticky Branding group on LinkedIn I was invited to be part of the launch team for his new book “Sticky Branding”. Now I didn’t know Jeremy personally but I eagerly accepted my mission - to read and write a review of the book prior to its launch on January 10, 2015.
In my 30+ years as a marketing and sales professional and entrepreneur, I have yet to come across a book about branding that was practical to implement for a small business – well until Sticky Branding. Other books on branding that I have read were written for large corporates with big marketing budgets and access to lots of internal and external resources - something that I have never had the luxury of.
Unlike other authors Jeremy is not a theorist who just decided to write a book with a catchy name. He is a true practitioner – he lives Sticky Branding. Miller’s been in the trenches in the corporate world as well as an entrepreneur in his family’s business. He not only developed the 12.5 principles of Sticky Branding himself but has applied them and proven that they can work for you - if you work them.
Sticky Branding – Your Essential Marketing Tool
Consider Sticky Branding to be an essential marketing tool to help you build your own sticky brand. Use it daily to keep you focused on building stickiness for your brand.
The book is laid out such that the 12.5 chapters (principles) are divided into four key parts:
Part 1 -Position to Win
Part 2 -Authentic Differentiation
Part 3 -Outside Your Weight Class
Part 4 -Over Commit, Over Deliver
Each chapter contains practical ideas and insightful stories from other small businesses and then concludes with exercises you can follow and implement in your business. Sticky Branding’s modular design makes it easy to read and refer back to as needed.
As a small business you’ve invested money and time:
-creating / offering the right products or services that solve the problems of your target market
-establishing a competitive pricing strategy
-setting up channels of distribution
-conducting online and offline marketing campaigns
-implementing customer service policies and systems
-training and retraining staff
However if you have not designed and executed the above based on your brand strategy you’re most likely creating brand confusion in the market – which is what many small to medium businesses are doing today.
Sticky Branding – Position your brand to win!
The ability to express what your company does simply and succinctly separates average companies from Sticky Brands. It positions your brand to win.”
According to Miller, “Sticky Brands have something captivating and special about them. They stand out in their industry. The brand attracts customers and they come back again and again.” Sticky Branding is the “glue” that delivers a unified message and/or visual impression that resonates with your target market. It should be the foundation of your business which your marketing plans are built upon.
Customers expect a consistent experience no matter where they find you. Your brand encompasses every customer touch point – face to face, telephone, website, social media, and offline media.
-What mental image appears in the minds of your target customers?
-Does it immediately tell your story and what problem(s) you solve for them?
The book includes numerous examples of real companies and how they built a Sticky Brand and turned their companies around.
Why you should buy the book
Quite simply here is why you need to buy this book and commit to applying the 12.5 principles to your business. You can and will build a sticky brand that will:
-Attract more customers
-Sell more, faster
-Inspire employee engagement
-Become immune to the competition
-Earn higher profits
If you want to achieve any or all of the above then buy the book. Roll-up your sleeves, get out your highlighter, a pen and a pad of paper, read the book and do the exercises. Apply the principles to grow your business and change your life.
Best of success!
----
Leo Tintinalli
Strategic Marketing, Product Management
ca.linkedin.com/in/leotintinalli
As a member of Jeremy Miller’s Sticky Branding group on LinkedIn I was invited to be part of the launch team for his new book “Sticky Branding”. Now I didn’t know Jeremy personally but I eagerly accepted my mission - to read and write a review of the book prior to its launch on January 10, 2015.
In my 30+ years as a marketing and sales professional and entrepreneur, I have yet to come across a book about branding that was practical to implement for a small business – well until Sticky Branding. Other books on branding that I have read were written for large corporates with big marketing budgets and access to lots of internal and external resources - something that I have never had the luxury of.
Unlike other authors Jeremy is not a theorist who just decided to write a book with a catchy name. He is a true practitioner – he lives Sticky Branding. Miller’s been in the trenches in the corporate world as well as an entrepreneur in his family’s business. He not only developed the 12.5 principles of Sticky Branding himself but has applied them and proven that they can work for you - if you work them.
Sticky Branding – Your Essential Marketing Tool
Consider Sticky Branding to be an essential marketing tool to help you build your own sticky brand. Use it daily to keep you focused on building stickiness for your brand.
The book is laid out such that the 12.5 chapters (principles) are divided into four key parts:
Part 1 -Position to Win
Part 2 -Authentic Differentiation
Part 3 -Outside Your Weight Class
Part 4 -Over Commit, Over Deliver
Each chapter contains practical ideas and insightful stories from other small businesses and then concludes with exercises you can follow and implement in your business. Sticky Branding’s modular design makes it easy to read and refer back to as needed.
As a small business you’ve invested money and time:
-creating / offering the right products or services that solve the problems of your target market
-establishing a competitive pricing strategy
-setting up channels of distribution
-conducting online and offline marketing campaigns
-implementing customer service policies and systems
-training and retraining staff
However if you have not designed and executed the above based on your brand strategy you’re most likely creating brand confusion in the market – which is what many small to medium businesses are doing today.
Sticky Branding – Position your brand to win!
The ability to express what your company does simply and succinctly separates average companies from Sticky Brands. It positions your brand to win.”
According to Miller, “Sticky Brands have something captivating and special about them. They stand out in their industry. The brand attracts customers and they come back again and again.” Sticky Branding is the “glue” that delivers a unified message and/or visual impression that resonates with your target market. It should be the foundation of your business which your marketing plans are built upon.
Customers expect a consistent experience no matter where they find you. Your brand encompasses every customer touch point – face to face, telephone, website, social media, and offline media.
-What mental image appears in the minds of your target customers?
-Does it immediately tell your story and what problem(s) you solve for them?
The book includes numerous examples of real companies and how they built a Sticky Brand and turned their companies around.
Why you should buy the book
Quite simply here is why you need to buy this book and commit to applying the 12.5 principles to your business. You can and will build a sticky brand that will:
-Attract more customers
-Sell more, faster
-Inspire employee engagement
-Become immune to the competition
-Earn higher profits
If you want to achieve any or all of the above then buy the book. Roll-up your sleeves, get out your highlighter, a pen and a pad of paper, read the book and do the exercises. Apply the principles to grow your business and change your life.
Best of success!
----
Leo Tintinalli
Strategic Marketing, Product Management
ca.linkedin.com/in/leotintinalli
March 14, 2017
This was a fantastic book and even greater system to design and grow an incredible brand. Whether you are just starting out, or an established company looking to reinvent itself, this book will do wonders. A+++
January 23, 2015
No doubt every business owner, should they accept or realise they have a brand, would like it to be “sticky”, being instantly recognisable and recalled by the consumer. The reality is a lot different.
Yet it is not just the big multinational companies such as Starbucks and Coca-Cola who can be a “sticky brand”. On a local and regional level or within a vertical industry niche it is still possible for a smaller company to grab, err, adhesion. This book and its curiously numbered 12.5 principles might help you ramp up your brand and make it stick. The core requirements are not necessarily so special, which is possibly why they are overlooked by so many. It can require an internal culture shift, valuing actions rather than mere words or fancy mission statements. Thinking customer-first, giving them products and services that they want and need, captivating and thrilling them. You get them hooked and then they realise that their order is just a piece of what makes the business special.
The author notes that most potential customers do not have the time or interest to sort out what your service is or what makes it special. They are not interested in building a relationship with your company. If you are lucky they might spend the time to filter your company in or out of their purchasing shortlist. You need to do a lot more. Good marketing is, on the whole, not sufficient to get them rushing to your door and pushing their money in your face! So what goes wrong? Most companies don’t make their brand easy to understand, they struggle to talk clearly and explain their business. Oh, you can read their fine brochures, look at their web site and view their YouTube videos but do you always really get it? The author doesn’t think so.
Throughout the book the author takes you through the entire process that could help define and make your brand “sticky”. It might not make you the next Apple with global domination and adoration but it can make your vertical or local presence a lot more attractive. Attraction equates potential revenue, profit and growth. Interweaved with the author’s advice are details of his own experiences in transforming a business. Some of the claims seem hard to understand at times, until you start to think about it, such as “the best time to initiate a client relationship is three years before your services are needed”, yet planting the seeds in the mind of potential buyers before they consider they have a need can be clever planning. Naturally you can’t wait several years for a future harvest to possibly develop, but a wise farmer has several crops and income streams working within their core business. Many assume you only focus on your hottest prospects and that, by definition, ignores a great potential harvest of customers. It can be a balancing act but a worthy one to try and follow.
Many examples are given of this sticky branding and marketing-type approach. Showing your prospects that you may care and are ready to be of service to them. Not everyone will bite straight away – after all they may have no need – yet surprisingly many might if only they remember you are there and already have a great impression about your company, even though they’ve never given you a cent’s worth of business.
This was a pleasant surprise of a book. One had a pre-conceived impression that was fortunately smashed into smithereens once this had been read from cover-to-cover. With its competitive price, it really could be a “no-brainer” bit of additional business intelligence that you should consider.
Sticky Branding: 12.5 Principles to Stand Out, Attract Customers, and Grow an Incredible Brand, written by Jeremy Miller and published by Dundurn. ISBN 9781459728110, 216 pages. YYYYY
Yet it is not just the big multinational companies such as Starbucks and Coca-Cola who can be a “sticky brand”. On a local and regional level or within a vertical industry niche it is still possible for a smaller company to grab, err, adhesion. This book and its curiously numbered 12.5 principles might help you ramp up your brand and make it stick. The core requirements are not necessarily so special, which is possibly why they are overlooked by so many. It can require an internal culture shift, valuing actions rather than mere words or fancy mission statements. Thinking customer-first, giving them products and services that they want and need, captivating and thrilling them. You get them hooked and then they realise that their order is just a piece of what makes the business special.
The author notes that most potential customers do not have the time or interest to sort out what your service is or what makes it special. They are not interested in building a relationship with your company. If you are lucky they might spend the time to filter your company in or out of their purchasing shortlist. You need to do a lot more. Good marketing is, on the whole, not sufficient to get them rushing to your door and pushing their money in your face! So what goes wrong? Most companies don’t make their brand easy to understand, they struggle to talk clearly and explain their business. Oh, you can read their fine brochures, look at their web site and view their YouTube videos but do you always really get it? The author doesn’t think so.
Throughout the book the author takes you through the entire process that could help define and make your brand “sticky”. It might not make you the next Apple with global domination and adoration but it can make your vertical or local presence a lot more attractive. Attraction equates potential revenue, profit and growth. Interweaved with the author’s advice are details of his own experiences in transforming a business. Some of the claims seem hard to understand at times, until you start to think about it, such as “the best time to initiate a client relationship is three years before your services are needed”, yet planting the seeds in the mind of potential buyers before they consider they have a need can be clever planning. Naturally you can’t wait several years for a future harvest to possibly develop, but a wise farmer has several crops and income streams working within their core business. Many assume you only focus on your hottest prospects and that, by definition, ignores a great potential harvest of customers. It can be a balancing act but a worthy one to try and follow.
Many examples are given of this sticky branding and marketing-type approach. Showing your prospects that you may care and are ready to be of service to them. Not everyone will bite straight away – after all they may have no need – yet surprisingly many might if only they remember you are there and already have a great impression about your company, even though they’ve never given you a cent’s worth of business.
This was a pleasant surprise of a book. One had a pre-conceived impression that was fortunately smashed into smithereens once this had been read from cover-to-cover. With its competitive price, it really could be a “no-brainer” bit of additional business intelligence that you should consider.
Sticky Branding: 12.5 Principles to Stand Out, Attract Customers, and Grow an Incredible Brand, written by Jeremy Miller and published by Dundurn. ISBN 9781459728110, 216 pages. YYYYY
January 20, 2015
I loved this book. It clarified so many aspects of branding that seemed mysterious and difficult to me. I especially loved that it was written conversationally, like a chat with an expert over coffee. He makes simple and effective points, such as : Don't completely rebrand a company because that gives the feeling of neglect for their clients. Reuse the brand elements that are already in place but update them regularly. Or, you need to form connections for brand loyalty, and you do this by creating a story that resonates with people. But stay away from stereotypes when building your story, instead try to think of deeper metaphors for you product or experience, such as Transformation, Journey, or Balance. Challenge yourself to make an impact on the mind of the prospective buyer. I received my first restaurant branding contract just prior to receiving this book from a contact at Dundurn Press, and it helped me immensely. I connected to the author, Jeremy Miller, on Twitter (@StickyBranding) and he was very kind to respond to my questions about branding an aphrodisiac restaurant in Montreal. Both the man, his life and his book blew me away.
January 2, 2015
This is not a book, this is a key to the door of success for the business owners and leaders of SMEs.
As an entrepreneur, business owner and leader with twenty plus years experience, I read between twenty and forty books per year.
When it comes to practical, no nonsense, simple and straight forward advice... if you want to know HOW to ensure that your business and brand stands out, if you want to know what exactly to do, and ensure that you are able to sell more to more for more, much more.
This is the book you should read - NOW!
Or put another way... if there was only one book/ set of tools I could use as the owner of an SME, it would be this book - there is no-thing which comes close.
Whatever you pay for this book times the price by thousands of dollars and you will not come close to the value you are acquiring through purchasing this book.
Buy it before your competitor can.
Robert Wright
As an entrepreneur, business owner and leader with twenty plus years experience, I read between twenty and forty books per year.
When it comes to practical, no nonsense, simple and straight forward advice... if you want to know HOW to ensure that your business and brand stands out, if you want to know what exactly to do, and ensure that you are able to sell more to more for more, much more.
This is the book you should read - NOW!
Or put another way... if there was only one book/ set of tools I could use as the owner of an SME, it would be this book - there is no-thing which comes close.
Whatever you pay for this book times the price by thousands of dollars and you will not come close to the value you are acquiring through purchasing this book.
Buy it before your competitor can.
Robert Wright
December 24, 2014
Jeremy Miller has created a simple, strong playbook for small and mid-sized companies to follow in order to create a memorable brand people want to engage with -- what he calls a sticky brand. The concepts are smart and clear -- simple clarity, tilt the odds, function that resonates, engage the eye, and so on. Take your company through Miller's dozen or so principles and you'll have customers flocking to your storefront, whether virtual or real. This book is perfect for you if you're trying to figure out your brand in an information-saturated age.
January 11, 2015
Great, quick-read primer on branding
As Jeremy Miller notes, there are many books on how major corporations built their brands but few aimed at the vast number of businesses that are still in the startup or second stage. Unfortunately, we've found "branding" is one of those terms everyone uses but few truly understand. Jeremy Miller explains branding well in a way that small and mid-sized businesses can understand and follow.
As Jeremy Miller notes, there are many books on how major corporations built their brands but few aimed at the vast number of businesses that are still in the startup or second stage. Unfortunately, we've found "branding" is one of those terms everyone uses but few truly understand. Jeremy Miller explains branding well in a way that small and mid-sized businesses can understand and follow.
October 2, 2016
A lot of what's written in this book is for companies with employees. There are a couple nods on what to do it you're a solopreneur.
Still, there's a lot of food for thought in this book! I highly recommend it if you're running your own business! Miller spends a lot of time helping you get to the core of your brand and how others see it.
Still, there's a lot of food for thought in this book! I highly recommend it if you're running your own business! Miller spends a lot of time helping you get to the core of your brand and how others see it.
December 30, 2020
The fact that this book is mainly focused on small to mid-sized businesses (whose managers/founders are usually the ones in need of such books) and the wealth of cases it provides, makes it a must read.
I felt it was so useful, that I plan to read it again while writing down highlights and summaries from each chapter to refer to later on.
I felt it was so useful, that I plan to read it again while writing down highlights and summaries from each chapter to refer to later on.
October 6, 2016
If you're not sticky then you won't stand out and you'll get a "who ?"
Given the choice a sticky brand is far better than one that isn't and this book gives several doable ways of making it happen.
Given the choice a sticky brand is far better than one that isn't and this book gives several doable ways of making it happen.
October 20, 2015
Pretty general, could have fit into half as many pages.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews