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January 2009
STEP ONE…
"Know thyself."
Admittedly, brand building was not on the minds of the
philosopher which uttered this ancient Greek aphorism. The
principle, however, still very much applies. After all, as
Socrates points outs, complete knowledge of self is a vital
path towards truth. In the world of branding, such knowledge
leads to a path of success.
This is true if you are manufacturing a shoe line or own a
local retail shoe store. The latter is where I got my start:
Ritter’s Shoe Store. The possibility of owning a shoe store
had consumed card-night table talk for years between my Dad
and Uncle Ronnie. Finally, in 1987, the dreams that had been
set in motion during idle banter became a reality. The two
bought a retail shoe store in neighboring Scottsburg,
Indiana. It was an established store with a rich and long
history. A well-recognized brand identity already existed,
but problems were also plentiful. That rich history and
established identity included a current image focused on
words such as “outdated” and “old fashioned”.
The first step to be taken by my Dad and uncle at Ritter’s
Shoe Store was to ‘Know Thyself’. It’s the very foundation
of building a brand. This platform includes knowledge of the
functional aspects of what you do, the current brand image
of the business, including its brand personality; as well as
any business challenges being faced in the short interim.
For Ritter’s Shoe Store, the functionality was simple: Put
shoes on the feet of those that reside in Scott County,
Indiana and neighboring communities. This extended beyond
the mere selling of shoes. Quite frankly, it meant taking
care of people to the extent that the staff would do their
best to find you the shoes you need for whatever occasion
and do it with an eye on the local flavor.
The immediate dilemmas faced by Ritter’s were numerous.
Included in that list would be a stale personality best
described as “old school”, “stogy”, even “old fashioned”. An
even steeper hill to climb was the current product
selection. The shoe inventory in place at Ritter's was
limited. Selection was sparse and top names were all but
absent. There were plenty of feet in Scott County—all of
which needed shoes. However, many of those feet were
trudging to the mall, which was a mere 30-minute ride away
from small Scottsburg. Nike, Reebok as well as Sas and
Wolverine were needed on the shelves quickly. During the
summer following my junior year, my first real job was to
stock those shelves with shoe lines that were in stronger
demand. With demand that better mirrored the market, feet
soon began wearing a path back to Ritter’s. The store
experienced a strong surge of success. Step number one was,
indeed to, “Know thyself.” My Dad and Uncle Ronnie knew that
putting the right shoes on the shelf would translate into
putting shoes on feet. Further, such a strategy created a
discernable consumer benefit, enabling the winds of brand
identity to transform an “old-fashioned” image into one more
in-line with “today and tomorrow”.
Having the right product mix was vital for Ritter’s and for
that matter, any local retail establishment. Location,
product mix, pricing strategies, etc, are part of the
functional basics that need to be in place in order to build
a strong brand. They are essentially a prelude to digging a
deep foundation for a profitable future.
(CONTINUED NEXT MONTH with Part II).
© BrandVision Marketing.
2009. Matthew Scott Trueblood. All rights reserved.
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