Is Your Business Sticky Or Is Bound To Fail ?

I once was the owner of the world famous Wellesley Bread Company! Unfortunately in  2005 due to a not so pleasant divorce I was forced to close the once famous Wellesley Bread Company. “Note to self, going into business with family bad idea” So you never heard of The Wesley Bread Company?” Why is that? I was a legend. Unfortunately my bakery was not! The Wellesley Bread Company was not sticky.

Lets take the divorce out of the equation for a moment shall we, although that played a roll in the closing, it was not the reason the bakery closed. In fact looking back had I known then what I know know I might still be in business.

Let’s analyze the individual pieces that made up the world famous Wesley Bread Company. I had great product, a great staff , great location, great customers; But something was missing. I was not sticky! There you have it, The world famous Wesley Bread Company is closed because it was not sticky! In order for your business to have longevity it has to get sticky. Each part that makes up the community or whole needs to not only contribute but do its part to make it stick

If your product is great but service is not it is kinda like reusing a piece of tape over and over again, it may stick in the short term but in the end it wont have staying power.

One day one of my brand champions otherwise known as a loyal customer  said to me as she stood in my empty bakery, (Mondays were slow) “You are one of the towns best kept secrets!” For the longest time I wore that like a badge of honor. What I should of done was got fired up! I was in business to make money not be a secret better yet”the best kept!”

All the individual components that made up the world famous Wesley Bread Company were exceptional by themselves; but when made to interact as a whole did not play well together or should I say stick together. The world famous Wesley Bread Company closed its doors in the summer of 2005. My loyal customers, i.e.brand champions knew who I was but beyond that many potential customers people not yet in my community did not! I made the best bread in town, but I should have been making the best bread in Massachusetts and beyond.

“I could have been a contender! “ I wish I had made my message resonate with more people. Back in my day we didn’t have social media as it is known today I relied on it’s predecessors, word of mouth and local advertising. I made the mistake that many small business owners have made and continue to make. They rely on others to spread the word for them, as I did. If  you own a business you need to be the head cheerleader and speak louder and more often than all of the other brand champions; contribution to the community is just not enough.

So what does sticky mean and if it is so important how do I make my message stick? I am glad you asked!

The term sticky refers to your brand, your image, your messaging, and how well they not only work together but how well they resonate with the public.

What is your message? What do you want it to convey? How do you want it to resonate?

You will know when you achieved total stickiness BECAUSE your brand will begin to resonate with people that are connected to you, and their connections, and their connections, connections. When your brand, product or service become sticky it becomes synonymous with the generic version of your product or service. If the world famous Wellesley Bread Company was sticky when my community and all the communities that were connected to it thought of good bread they would have also simultaneously  thought of The Wellesley Bread Company, The connection would have been automatic. Lets look at another example:

UPS Shipping – “What can brown do for you?” UPS successfully became synonymous with the color brown. The color brown became synonymous with shipping and is therefore sticky! The color brown is sticky.” So is Real Corinthian Leather, but I digres!” Wow I just dated myself!

UPS became sticky because they have a message, what is it? “What can brown do for you? a product, and a service (and an unlimited advertising budget) all of these make up their brand. Think about some of the other well known brands on the market that continue to to remain sticky. You deserve a break today. Can you hear me now? Have it your way. Your in good hands. These brands have become synonymous with their generic forms, sticky.

Your business may not have an unlimited advertising budget. In fact you may not have any budget at all but if you can harness the power of  your community and tools like Twitter, Linked in, and Face Book,your product or service can grow viral. If worked properly and often, your business will grow and eventually become sticky.