1. Name an AC/DC song about political strife in the third world.

2. Name a U2 song about getting drunk and getting laid.

Trick questions, both of them.

U2 consistently sings about politics, social justice, relationships, and emotions.

AC/DC consistently sings about loud music, fast cars, and hot women.

Relating that to business, people who are shopping for politically-charged rock ‘n’ roll don’t shop at the AC/DC store, and AC/DC is okay with that. Those people shop at the U2 store. AC/DC has a different set of customers, shopping for an entirely different product.

Your business cannot possibly please everyone. Stop trying.

If you sell expensive luxury furniture, don’t offer a discount price point loss-leading offer to draw low-budget customers to your store.

If you serve high-fat comfort food, don’t try lure health-conscious people in with salads.

Do the special thing you do. Do it very, very well. And do it over and over again.

Click here to instantly download or order your copy of Brand Like a Rock Star: Lessons From Rock ‘n’ Roll to Make Your Business Rich and Famous. The book will help you define your brand, tell your story, and turn your customers into raving fans.

You have no idea what you’re doing.

And that’s perfectly okay.

We all feel that way sometimes.

Our insecurities tell us that other people know what they’re doing, and we don’t. But in reality, none of us are 100% certain. We’re all trying to figure this stuff out.

When U2 first started jamming together in high school, they quickly realized that they would need to write their own songs. Why?

Because U2 wasn’t good enough to replicate the music of others.

Of course, the guys in U2 eventually became pretty damn good at their craft, but they never lost sight of the need to learn and grow. Even when they became the biggest band on the planet, they never stopped experimenting and learning.

U2 learned on the job.

We are all learning as we go.

As Bre Pettis and Kio Stark wrote in their Cult of Done Manifesto, “Pretending you know what you’re doing is almost the same as knowing what you are doing, so just accept that you know what you’re doing even if you don’t and do it.”

I’m not saying you should always “fake it until you make it”. There are many times when asking for guidance is the smartest thing you can do. But…

* Accept that all of us are a work-in-progress.

* There is no guaranteed right answer.

* You are probably smart enough to do it, learning on the job as U2 did.

* Nobody else is necessarily any smarter or better.

Click here to quickly order the paperback or Kindle version of Brand Like A Rock Star: Lessons From Rock ‘n’ Roll To Make Your Business Rich and Famous. You can turn your business into a brand that rocks!

Even as the economy slowly improves, business isn’t getting any easier. The consumer has more choices than ever, and when faced with so many choices every product starts to look the same. In that environment of confusion, they default to a buying decision on the one criteria they can easily understand… price.

That’s what customers do.

But fans are different. Fans are so engaged in your brand that the plethora of new choices doesn’t entice them, nor does the lure of saving a few bucks.

U2 fans didn’t skip the band’s 360-Tour last year and instead go see a cheaper cover band. U2 fans made the 360-Tour, conducted in a severely down economy, the most profitable concert tour in music history.

Bruce Springsteen managed to shatter numerous attendance records, including a crowd of 84,218 at Wrigley Field.

And when the Rolling Stones announce a full tour, you can bet that every show will sell out.

Yes, there are people who will skip the show because they can’t afford a $100+ ticket. But there will be 20,000 or 30,000 people in every city who will scrimp and save and somehow find the extra $100 so that they can see their favorite rock star live in concert.

Those people are fans. And your business needs more fans… and fewer customers.

Customers are shopping for the best price.

Fans are searching for the best experience.

Customers look at shopping like a sport and enjoy comparing prices and grinding people down.

Fans look at shopping like a chore and dread having to compare and grind.

Customers are looking for a salesperson so they can go home with their new bargain.

Fans prefer a friend they can trust to help them maximize their enjoyment.

Customers are loyal… until the store down the street offers a lower price. Then they’re gone.

Fans are engaged in a relationship, and their loyalty transcends a lower price down the street because they value the trust and honesty they’ve found in you.

If your business has customers, good for you. It’s a start. But watch your back. The moment your competitor has a sale, you’ll need to match him. It is a never-ending low-margin cycle. Lather, rinse, repeat. You can either settle into a life of price cutting, or you can begin to turn those customers into fans.

If your brand has fans, you’re rockin’. Give those fans everything you’ve got, like a sweaty and tired Springsteen playing a 3-hour show. Never stop pleasing and delighting your fans. Make it your personal mission to, in the words of Steve Jobs, “make their hearts sing”.

By studying the core strategies of rock stars like Bob Dylan, AC/DC, KISS, The Beatles, Lady Gaga, Eminem, and U2, you can learn how to build an army of dedicated fans instead of just a random collection of bargain-hungry customers. Click here to order Brand Like A Rock Star today and make it happen!

Jimi Hendrix made plenty of money in his too-short life, but he didn’t set his guitars on fire each night because it sold concert tickets or albums.

Last year U2 created the most profitable tour in music history, but profit is not why they did the 360 tour.

Bob Dylan is a millionaire many times over. But that’s not why he sang “Blowin’ In The Wind“.

Nearly every piece of great music was made because of a passion for creating, engaging, entertaining, connecting, and communicating.

Business is no different.

When business is done right, it is driven by a powerful passion and belief held by a person or company. The profits may flow, but they are seldom the mission themselves.

Can you imagine someone calling insurance sales a “noble profession” on par with a doctor?

According to insurance expert Michael Jans of Agency Revolution, it is. In this short video called “The Principle of Belief”, Michael explains how insurance sales, when done right, is all about protecting people. It isn’t about taking their money or selling them things they don’t need. The powerful passion and belief behind rock star insurance agents is a passion and belief that they can help protect people and help put their lives back together in times of tragedy, difficulty, or disaster.

What passionate belief makes your business a noble profession?

The owner of a pool store who passionately wants to bring people together, create lifelong memories, and celebrate summer.

The advertising sales person who passionately wants to help businesses gain more customers and thrive, even in a difficult economy.

The mechanic who passionately wants to help people safely get their families home every evening without any stress.

All of them will, long term, put their short-term cash grabbing competitors out of business.

Because it all comes down to caring, passionately, about your customer’s needs, and building your business around that passion.

Order Brand Like A Rock Star now and start building a better business right away.

When U2 recorded an album so unusual that their fans would likely reject it, they changed their name and released the album was the band “Passengers“. They were smart enough to know that the U2 brand stands for something, and if the music was going to violate those expectations… it simply couldn’t have the U2 name on it.

Let’s apply that thinking to real life business.

What does Coors Light stand for in the mind of the consumer?

Iced tea?

Of course not. Coors Light stands for beer, and nothing else.

But this spring Coors Light is rolling out a line of alcohol infused iced tea in Canada. Michelob is following with a product called ”19th Hole” tea and lemonade.

Why? Because beer consumption is down, and the beer companies want to repatriate beer drinkers who have moved on to wine and other flavored drinks like hard lemonade and coolers.

That’s a great and noble mission. But the answer isn’t to change what Coors Light stands for!

In my opinion, the alcohol infused iced tea concept is a good one. I will definitely try it! But the idea to call it Coors Light Iced Tea is a bad one. Coors Light Iced Tea waters down the very strong Coors Light beer brand.

Coors Light should take a page from the U2 playbook. Release the new alcoholic iced tea under an entirely new brand name. Make a major splash in the market with a new product that benefits from the infrastructure of the Coors Brewing Company, but doesn’t interfere with the ability of Coors Light to stand for something meaningful in the eyes of the consumer.

You’d think that Coors Light, of all brands, would have learned this with their failed foray into bottled water, a mistake that Time magazine called one of the “top 10 bad beverage ideas of all time“.

Your copy of Brand Like A Rock Star is waiting now for immediate digital download or home delivery.

PS – If you’d like to have me speak at an upcoming event or conference, contact me directly at steve (at)brandlikearockstar.com and we can make it happen. My fall scheduling is starting to fill up.

Ireland has given us some great rock stars. Van Morrison. Thin Lizzy. Boyzone.

Okay, I take back that last one.

But the greatest rock and roll band to emerge from Ireland is clearly U2. For nearly 30 years, U2 has been one of the dominant rock and roll bands in the world.

Here are five asbolutely spot-on business and branding lessons you can learn from U2.

1. Find your own voice. When the boys in U2 first started jamming, they weren’t very good. At all. In fact, legend has it that one of the reasons they started writing their own songs was the fact that they weren’t strong enough musicians to play cover songs. Whatever the reason, U2 found their own voice very early. The combination of socially-conscious lyrics, passionate and strained vocals, jangling guitars, and a solid rhythm section set U2 apart from the beginning.

2. Stand for something. Opinions are scary. Many people feel that if they express their opinions, people will disagree and not like them. Bono has never been scared to voice his opinion on issues in his home country (“Sunday Bloody Sunday”), in America (“Bullet The Blue Sky”), and socio-political challenges around the world (“Walk On”.  Those opinions do alienate some people, but they also give people a reason to love you. Accept that in order to stand out, you need to stand up.

3. Never settle for average. Seeing U2 in concert is an incredible experience, in large part because the band always goes big. Their most recent tour included a massive stage that required certain venues to upgrade their facilities in order to host the concert. U2 never settles for being just another band.

4. Know your roots. U2 started to get fairly eclectic in the 1990s, and they realized that their musical experimentation was going a little too far for their fans. So in 2000, band declared that they were “reapplying for the job of the best band in the world”. They proceeded to record the album All That You Can’t Leave Behind. They brought back producers Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois and created an album that went back to the band’s roots and recaptured the magic that their fans were seeking. Even the stark album cover looked more like The Joshua Tree than the bands 90s albums. The result includes songs like “Beautiful Day”, “Stuck In A Moment”, and “Elevation” and won 7 Grammy Awards. Rolling Stone magazine listed it as #193 on The 500 Greatest Albums of All-Time.

This St. Patrick’s Day, toss back a few pints of Guiness and salute U2 and the many business lessons you can learn from Bono, Edge, Larry Mullen Jr, and Adam Clayton.

Brand Like A Rock Star continues to get amazing reviews! Click here to get it in paperback or Kindle right away. And don’t forget to download the FREE ebook Musical Companion that serves as a chapter-by-chapter playlist to help you get the most from the book.

This Friday (November 11, 2011) the original and still-legendary line up of Black Sabbath will reunite for a press conference at the LA nightclub Wiskey-A-Go-Go, the same place where they made their North American debut exactly 41 years earlier.

Rumors are circulating that the band will announce that they are reuniting to work on a new album.

I sure hope not. 

Let’s look at the track record of legendary classic rock bands and their newer material.

THE OVERWHELMING EVIDENCE AGAINST BLACK SABBATH

Quick… how many Rolling Stones songs can you name from the past twenty years? Even for deep Stones fans, there isn’t a lot of newer music in the Rolling Stones catalog that immediately jumps to mind. The Rolling Stones aren’t stupid. They get it. That’s why since 1990 they’ve released six live albums, five compilation albums, and one re-issued album. They will reissue the classic Some Girls on November 21, bringing the total of “old material made new” to 13 albums. In that same window, they’ve only recorded three albums of new material.

The Cars reunited this year for the positively-reviewed but low-selling Move Like This album. Despite being the only new material from the band in 25 years, apparently fans would still rather hear “My Best Friend’s Girl” and “Shake It Up”.

The Eagles. Foreigner. ZZ Top. Lynyrd Skynyrd. All have watched their newer albums generate relatively little interest.

It isn’t because their new music isn’t good (some of it is quiet strong). The problem is that the bar is set so high for these legendary bands.

How can The Eagles ever replicate Hotel California? Even if they can replicate it musically, it is impossible to recapture the magic of the era and the impact the song had on people growing up in 1976.

The Stones know that they could never record an album as successful as Some Girls was. So instead, they are wisely rereleasing a new version of the album.

Even U2, continuing to release quality material, are overshadowed by their own incredible legacy.

NEW MUSIC CAN NEVER HAVE THE SAME IMPACT

Thanks to their historic success years ago, these bands have become so known for their classic songs that equally-strong new songs will never have the same impact.

As a business, hopefully you are known for something. Ideally it is something very strong, like the early hits by these classic bands.

Smart brands embrace their reputation.

GIVE THEM MORE OF WHAT THEY WANT FROM YOU

For a restaurant famous for massive thick hamburgers, the best path to future success is to eliminate the pizza and chicken from the menu. Stop trying to diversify, and instead focus on what people know you for and love you for.

For a contractor well-known for building upscale luxury homes, the best path to future success is to drop any business than isn’t upscale luxury homes. Focus on what people know and love you for.

And for Black Sabbath, famous for classic rock songs like “Iron Man”, “Sweet Leaf”, and “Paranoid”, the best path to profits is to reunite and tour the world playing those same classic songs. A new album will only dilute their legendary status as the pioneers of heavy metal music.

It is a phrase you hear variations of all the time from bands.

“We’re going back to our roots.”

Even mega-stars U2, after their strange musical wanderings of the 1990s, publicly proclaimed their mission to “reapply for the job as the best band in the world.”

When a band’s creative instincts take them away from their fans’ expectations, quite often they wise up and “go back” to find future succes.

The same thing happens in business. For example, Wendy’s is about to nationally roll-out their new Dave’s Hot ’N Juicy Cheeseburger after a few months in test markets. The burger is an attempt to reach back into the past, reviving the memory of founder Dave Thomas and taking customers back to the days when expecting a hot and juicy hamburger (instead of a dry and thin patty) wasn’t all that unreasonable.

Having not tried the new burger, I can’t say if they’ve accomplished that mission.  But I do like the direction.

Faced with upstarts like Five Guys, the award winning Virginia-based burger chain that is growing rapidly across North America, restaurants like Wendy’s are under pressure to provide a higher level of quality in their fast food.

What impresses me about Wendy’s new initiative is that they are recognizing what customers expect from them and attempting to deliver exactly that. Instead of trying to sell pizzas (like  McDonalds in the 80s) or spending their marketing money on salads (as KFC did a decade ago), Wendy’s is investing nearly $25,000 per store to accommodate a new burger that embodies all that is great about a fast food burger. It will be thick, juicy, messy, and probably immeasurably unhealthy. That’s okay, because it lives up to customer expectations.

There are certain branding truths, and one of them is the futility of trying to change minds. Customers have expectations. Those expectations are pieces of valuable mental real estate. Trying to change those expectations is nearly impossible. When you own some of that real estate, your best option is to embrace the expectations of your customers and turn them into your own expectations as well. Resistance is generally futile.

The case of U2 and the concept of living up to the expectations of your fans is covered in depth in chapter two of Brand Like A Rock Star, available now online in paperback and digital ebook. It arrives at retail on October 1, 2011.

Don’t forget to grab a copy of the Musical Companion as well, a chapter-by-chapter playlist guide to getting to know the bands discussed in the book.

The World Release Event featuring an all-star branding panel is at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino on Friday, October 7 at 4pm. Tickets just $28 and on sale now at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino box office.

CATCH BRAND LIKE A ROCK STAR THIS WEEK WITH WAYNE ENS:

Calgary, AB – Tuesday, September 27

Red Deer, AB – Wednesday, September 28 (am)

Drumheller, AB – Wednesday, September 28 (pm)

Edmonton, AB – Thursday, September 29

Think back to your teen years, when few things in life mattered more than your favorite band. When a new album would come out, you rushed out to buy it, sometimes waiting in line to get your hands on a copy. When they came to town in concert, it was the same routine.

Did price really matter? Of course not. You simply saved your pennies so you could experience the music you loved.

Even today, when tickets to see a top-tier band can run in the hundreds of dollars, those top-tier bands sell out every show. U2′s recently-completed 360 Tour was the most successful tour of all-time… with an average ticket price of $108 US. Even at that price, every date on the tour sold out. Completely. Every. Single. night.

When you are a top-tier brand, price doesn’t really matter much.

That’s why the iPad can thrive despite an onslaught of $400 tablet computers.

It is why a bottle of Glenfiddich 18 year-old ancient malt is $100 and still outsells the $50 bottles.

It explains how Starbucks can charge $4 for a coffee while Dunkin charges $1.50.

Rock star brands have it made. They never have to discount prices or bicker over nickels and dimes. Because rock star brands are all about creating value, as long as the price they charge reflects that value, customers will line up to pay it.

Unfortunately, most businesses get sucked into the price vortex.  It is sad, really. They advertise their sales and discounts, they make the terrible mistake of using Groupon, and fight to the eventual death against competitors like Walmart that can out-discount them all day long.  Customers who choose you on price alone aren’t loyal to you, they are loyal to the price tag. They’ll be gone as soon as a lower price appears, and you won’t get them back until you discount some more, cutting into your profits and margins. The price vortex sucks.

Don’t go there. If you do, your business might not escape alive.

Brand Like A Rock Star is $14.95, but that hardly matters. It is available now for immediate delivery.

Catch the “Brand Like A Rock Star” presentation in a city near you, or invite me to speak directly to your company or conference.

Join the discussion and click “like” on the Brand Like A Rock Star Facebook page.

They fill stadiums with screaming fans.
They make millions of dollars.
They are synonymous with excellence.

Rock stars.

The premise of the new book Brand Like A Rock Star is that business can learn a tremendous amount from the experiences of the legends of rock. The book deals with specific bands, specific brands, and provides specific advice to apply to your business in actionable ways.

But from a big picture perspective, what can the average business learn from the rock star? Why does the business/rock star relationship make sense?

Here are seven things you and your business can learn from rock stars.

1. Do what you love. If you do what you love to do, you’ll do it more passionately than anyone else. And if you do something with passion, the odds of doing it successfully go up infinitely. Rock stars love to rock. That’s why Mick Jagger is still singing. Do what you love.

2. Be larger than life. There’s no excitement in average. Nobody notices the business that looks and sounds like every other business. Foo Fighters is a stupid name, but unforgettable. Same with Red Hot Chili Peppers and Hootie & The Blowfish and Barenaked Ladies for that matter. Go the distance. Stand out from the crowd. Don’t be afraid to be larger than life.

3. Screw being better, just be different. Bands like the Grateful Dead and KISS weren’t at what they did, they were the only bands who did what they did. If you do something totally unique, there’s nobody to compare you to. There will always be someone better than you, but there is nobody exactly like you. Celebrate that. Be different.

4. Practice really hard. The Beatles played Hamburg for months at a time perfecting their craft. Metallica played every dive bar on the west coast before they made it big. You just don’t get to the top without a lot of practice. The same applies to business. Whatever you decide to do, perfect it. Practice really hard.

5. Find a producer. Great bands had great producers, engineers, managers, and record labels. You need people like that to see your work from the outside. Business owners are like bands, they see themselves from the inside. That’s the worst view in the world. You need a George Martin, just like The Beatles did. Get outside advice. Find a producer who isn’t afraid to tell you when you suck.

6. Take it easy. Being an up-and-comer isn’t a picnic, but real rock stars get first-class flights, penthouse hotel suites, and backstage buffets. There’s plenty of down time for true rock stars. Lenny Kravitz has a place in Bahamas. Eric Clapton kicks back in Antigua. Great business leaders know when to relax and rejuvenate their spirits. Minds that relax are minds that are open to learning and growth. Find the time to take it easy now and then.

7. Work with your friends. Eric Clapton played guitar on a Phil Collins song. Mick Jagger contributed background vocals on a Carly Simon song. Johnny Cash did the lead vocals for a U2 song. When you work with friends, you not only benefit from their contribution but you also learn from them and develop new skills. Hire great people that you love to work with and let them help you shine. Avoid unhappy people who bring you down, and work with your friends instead.

Take these seven lessons from the legends of rock to heart, and watch your business rise to the top of the charts.

Brand Like A Rock Star is now available via Amazon. You can have your copy within 24 hours! I can’t wait to hear what you think of it! It arrives at retail on October 1.

I’d love to speak directly to your company or conference about building a powerful brand using the lessons learned by rock’s legends. Contact me directly for details.

Upcoming Brand Like A Rock Star events:
Tuesday, September 27 – Calgary, AB
Wednesday, September 28 – Red Deer, AB (morning)
Wednesday, September 28 – Drumheller, AB (afternoon)
Thursday, September 29 – Edmonton, AB
Friday, October 7 – Las Vegas, NV at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino – BOOK LAUNCH EVENT!

Monday, October 17 – Moncton, NB
Thursday, October 20 – Charlottetown, PEI (Chamber of Commerce Biz2Biz Expo)
Friday, November 4 – Anchorage, AK (Alaska Broadcasters Association Convention)
Wednesday, November 23 – Winnipeg, MB
Thursday, December 15 – Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands