In short
HUNGRY Podcast Episode Notes: Espresso: How To Get Brand Traction - Seth Godin
Podcast Overview
- Title: HUNGRY
- Description: Aimed at Challenger Food and Drink brands looking to accelerate growth.
- Host: Daniel Pope
- Episode Title: Espresso: How To Get Brand Traction
- Sponsor: Unleashed - inventory management software that integrates with finance tools and eCommerce platforms.
Key Themes
- Customer Traction
- Essential for solving business problems.
- Characteristics of customers who contribute to traction:
- Repeat buyers.
- Brand advocates who refer others.
- Customers who would miss the brand if it were gone.
- Real-World Example: Scharffen Berger Chocolate
- Background: John Scharffenberger, the first bean-to-bar maker in the US, initially tried selling to pastry chefs.
- Challenge: Pastry chefs were hesitant to adopt a new chocolate due to the complexity of pastry preparation.
- Successful Strategy:
- Shifted to direct consumer sales at the Berkeley Farmer's Market.
- Offered samples, leading to immediate sales and customer feedback.
- Built a following through repeat market appearances, which allowed him to approach retail stores.
- Feedback Loop
- Importance of a positive feedback loop for brand success:
- Customer experience should lead to word-of-mouth promotion.
- If initial traction is due to luck, it can be misleading and potentially harmful if not sustained by actual customer engagement.
- Comparison with Apple Newton
- Launched successfully but ultimately failed due to product functionality issues.
- The negative feedback loop that followed harmed its reputation, illustrating how critical customer experience is to brand perception.
Key Takeaways
- Understanding Customer Needs: It's crucial to identify what drives customer interest and engagement.
- Importance of Direct Interaction: Sampling and direct consumer feedback are invaluable in creating a loyal customer base.
- Building Brand Advocacy: Encouraging consumers to share their positive experiences can be pivotal for traction.
- Caution Against Complacency: Early success should not lead to complacency; ongoing customer feedback is essential to maintain traction.
Tools and Resources
- Unleashed: The software mentioned as a tool for inventory management that integrates with eCommerce and finance systems.
- Offers a 50% discount for the first three months.
- Notable brands using Unleashed include Candy Kittens, Tarquin’s Gin, Minor Figures, and others.
Additional Notes
- Engagement with the Audience: Encouragement for listeners to subscribe and connect with the host on social media platforms.
- Newsletter Promotion: Mention of a weekly newsletter offering insights from leaders in the food and drink industry.
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Conclusion This episode emphasizes the significance of customer traction and feedback loops in building a successful food and drink brand. Through real-life examples and strategic insights, Seth Godin provides actionable advice for brands looking to enhance their market presence and cultivate a loyal customer base.
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:00We're looking for customer traction. Customer attraction solves all problems. People who come back, people who tell their friends, people who would miss you if they are gone. So going back to chocolate, the first bean-to-bar maker in the US was John Scharfenberger. Scharfenberger decided his system would be to sell bean-to-bar chocolate to pastry chefs. He know where the pastry chefs are. They're not doing anything during the day. You can go make sales calls. And it failed. It failed because pastry chefs do not increase their status by trying a new kind of chocolate. Pastry is complicated and you put a new kind of chocolate in there and the whole thing might fall apart.
0:41Not interested. So he took a bunch, sorry, he took a bunch to the Berkeley Farmer's Market. And the Berkeley Farmer's Market is one day direct to consumer and he gave out samples. And by the end of the day, he had sold a month of his inventory in one day. Because what he discovered is if he could look someone in the eye and give them a sample and they could afford to pay 20 bucks for a block of chocolate, they would. New system invented on the spot with a feedback loop. The more he went to farmer's markets, the better it did. And once he's got a following in farmer's markets, he could go to a store in San Francisco just down the street and say, I'm selling a lot of this stuff.
1:23And now he could say to his customers, you can go to this one store. Feedback loop. Customer traction. Feedback loop. customer traction if you just get lucky at the beginning that's going to hurt you because you're going to think you earned it you didn't earn it you got lucky and if you're not getting customer traction you got trouble is there a feedback loop for in terms of um the evangelist sharing the idea sharing the story sorry is that like as in friggs okay so it's like what i went to this olive oil club in like this bougie rooftop in london that's a positive feedback loop because that increases my status.
1:57Okay. Make total sense. When Apple launched the Newton, they sold 100 ,000 the first month. What was the Newton? Exactly. Okay. It was before the iPhone. The iPhone sold almost as many copies, units, as the Newton did 10 years before. The Newton comes out, 100 ,000 people buy it. That's a huge hit. And it fails. And the reason it fails is it didn't work right. And so people like me who bought one told all my friends, it's junk. Don't buy it. Feedback loop, wrong direction. What was it, a phone or was it like a... It was an iPad, black and white, that you could write on and it could read your handwriting.
2:38Two months free. Yeah, that's what Espresso sponsors Unleashed are offering. They are supply chain gurus and offer inventory management that talks to your e-com and accounting software. It's helped islands cut admin time in half, get granular clarity on your margins, know where your stock is don't miss availability brands like candy kittens tarquins gin minor figures and trip all use unleashed and i reckon you should too as i said two months free in the show notes click there and you're gonna get two months for free
From the publisher
Espresso is proudly powered by our sponsor, Unleashed!
📦 1. Wait…what is Unleashed?
Unleashed is inventory management software – but not the boring kind. It doesn’t just track stock...it connects seamlessly with your finance tools, eCom platforms, and CRM. That means one smooth system from sales to stock to cash. We use it daily at Islands, and honestly? Total game changer.
🍴 2. Why foodie founders love it
Unleashed helps you slash admin time and stay laser-focused on your margins. Know exactly where your costs are, what’s selling, and how your cash flow's looking (because yes, cash is still king).
🚀 3. Trusted by the best in FMCG
From Candy Kittens and Tiny Rebel to TRIP, Tarquin’s Gin, Three Spirit, Minor Figures, The Turmeric Co., and Volcano Coffee - some of your favourite challenger brands are scaling with Unleashed. If they’re using it, you know it’s the real deal.
📅 4. Fancy a chat?
Book a quick call with the Unleashed team here 👉 https://calendly.com/unleashed-sales-team/discovery-call-with-unleashed-hungry
🎁 5. Try it for less
Get 50% off your first 3 months if you choose to subscribe. You’ll wonder how you ever managed without it 👉 https://www.unleashedsoftware.com/
♨️Still bloody HUNGRY? Course ya are. Each week I spend 15 hours writing my newsletter. It’ll take you 5 mins to read. Full of wisdom from the biggest names in food and drink. Subscribe here 🍲
🤝 Let's Connect!
►Let’s link-up here (https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-pope/)
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