Free (Kindle) Lessons of a Brand Manager

[arcadata]

Lessons of a Brand Manager by Michael F. Golden

Product Description

After 150-plus years in the firearms business, customers everywhere recognized the Smith & Wesson name—but they didn't know what it stood for. For CEO Michael Golden and the team of brand-builders he put together, the management challenge wasn't just about reclaiming market share. It was about regaining an understanding of how potential customers perceived the business and how best to tap into that. Golden’s grasp of brand management, which he gained in other industries, helped him make decisions about how to engage employees, create partnerships, design marketing plans, and even structure his own role in ways that would ensure that the company conveyed a consistent brand message. Here's what you can learn from his experience.

When I took over Smith & Wesson in 2004, I felt a little like I had walked right into an ambush. As soon as I stepped inside the 150-year-old firearms giant, I was surrounded by a swarm of critical problems. The legendary company, which had an incredibly talented and dedicated workforce and a loyal customer base, was nevertheless losing money, had surrendered key customers, overlooked important technological advances, and failed to successfully expand into growth markets. Any newly appointed leader might have felt unsure of where to start. But my mood was just the opposite: I was loaded with ideas.