Lesson #3: Give Your Company a Shock Treatment
Lesson #3: Give Your Company a Shock Treatment
It sounds simple enough, but that is only because van Stolk has mastered the formula that propelled his oddball beverage company to success. One of the most important ingredients in that formula? The shock factor.
Around every corner, Jones Soda was able to surprise its customers. With every new and wacky flavor, and with the company’s unique promotions, fans of the company were never left disappointed. How was he able to keep the surprises coming?
“It’s us making fun of ourselves. We look at our role as providing you with a treat,” says van Stolk. “I’m a firm believer that soda is an indulgence. You drink or eat a treat on an occasion that puts a smile on your face. You don’t drink and eat one every five seconds. A treat should be fun. And if you’re putting out turkey and gravy or pea-flavoured soda, people are going to laugh. It’s easy to play and get people excited if you don’t take yourself seriously.”
But unique flavours were not the only surprise van Stolk had up his sleeves. Jones Soda has become a pioneer of many novelties in the industry. Take for instance, sugar. Jones Soda has become one of the few companies to actually promote sugar in its products.
“If we promote sugar, that changes the game quite a bit. The largest use of corn right now is high fructose corn syrup. If you remove corn syrup and put sugar back in the drinks, then you have a crop that could actually be used for ethanol,” says van Stolk. “Maybe it’s my own fantasy, but that’s it. To me it sounds good and real, and that’s important.”
Van Stolk was excited about switching to pure sugar, a move he thought could revolutionize the beverage industry. “The Toyota Prius led the way, so now hybrids are real. Look at what Chevrolet and Ford are coming up with now — hybrids,” he says. “Selling a Prius won’t stop greenhouse gases, but it sets the example that will eventually stop greenhouse gases. If you don’t take that mentality, nothing changes.”
Other firsts for the company included carbonated candy, a line of Easter, Halloween, Holiday and Chanukah Sodas (with flavours such as Latke, Applesauce, Little Bunny Fufu, and Candy Cane), and flavoured lip balm.
“In business, you have an opportunity to lead and you have an opportunity to follow,” says van Stolk. “Companies and entrepreneurs that are successful tend to lead.”
From drinks, van Stolk continued to eye expansion. Specifically, since he sees his soda brand as “a state of mind,” van Stolk thought clothing would be the next logical step. “I think we can go mainstream but remain really cool,” he says. “It’s like VW. They’ve gone from the Bug to introducing a $100,000 car.”
Lesson 3 Give Your Company a Shock Treatment
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“The three rules we have right now are to be really consistent in the quality of our product, to be unpredictable, and to create emotion. That’s it,” says van Stolk.
It sounds simple enough, but that is only because van Stolk has mastered the formula that propelled his oddball beverage company to success. One of the most important ingredients in that formula? The shock factor.
Around every corner, Jones Soda was able to surprise its customers. With every new and wacky flavor, and with the company’s unique promotions, fans of the company were never left disappointed. How was he able to keep the surprises coming?
“It’s us making fun of ourselves. We look at our role as providing you with a treat,” says van Stolk. “I’m a firm believer that soda is an indulgence. You drink or eat a treat on an occasion that puts a smile on your face. You don’t drink and eat one every five seconds. A treat should be fun. And if you’re putting out turkey and gravy or pea-flavoured soda, people are going to laugh. It’s easy to play and get people excited if you don’t take yourself seriously.”
But unique flavours were not the only surprise van Stolk had up his sleeves. Jones Soda has become a pioneer of many novelties in the industry. Take for instance, sugar. Jones Soda has become one of the few companies to actually promote sugar in its products.
“If we promote sugar, that changes the game quite a bit. The largest use of corn right now is high fructose corn syrup. If you remove corn syrup and put sugar back in the drinks, then you have a crop that could actually be used for ethanol,” says van Stolk. “Maybe it’s my own fantasy, but that’s it. To me it sounds good and real, and that’s important.”
Van Stolk was excited about switching to pure sugar, a move he thought could revolutionize the beverage industry. “The Toyota Prius led the way, so now hybrids are real. Look at what Chevrolet and Ford are coming up with now — hybrids,” he says. “Selling a Prius won’t stop greenhouse gases, but it sets the example that will eventually stop greenhouse gases. If you don’t take that mentality, nothing changes.”
Other firsts for the company included carbonated candy, a line of Easter, Halloween, Holiday and Chanukah Sodas (with flavours such as Latke, Applesauce, Little Bunny Fufu, and Candy Cane), and flavoured lip balm.
“In business, you have an opportunity to lead and you have an opportunity to follow,” says van Stolk. “Companies and entrepreneurs that are successful tend to lead.”
From drinks, van Stolk continued to eye expansion. Specifically, since he sees his soda brand as “a state of mind,” van Stolk thought clothing would be the next logical step. “I think we can go mainstream but remain really cool,” he says. “It’s like VW. They’ve gone from the Bug to introducing a $100,000 car.”
Lesson 3 Give Your Company a Shock Treatment
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John PowerJohn Power, founder of Biltmore Franchise Consulting, has extensive experience developing and marketing franchises and business opportunities. He has been in and around franchising for over twenty years. From 1980 through 1990 he conceptualized, organized, and developed the American Video Association. He grew AVA to 2,000 national members, before selling the company it 1990. It was later merged into another home video marketing company. From 2000 to 2005 he worked as a contract marketing and human resources consultant to several local and national companies. In 2005 Mr. Power began working as a franchise development consultant on a full-time basis. Since that time he has helped more than three dozen companies initiate and develop their franchising program. He notes that there are many companies interested in developing a franchise program, and who need his specialized assistance. Mr. Power is a “hands-on” franchise consultant. He said, “I am the ‘nuts and bolts’ person who tends to the details for my clients.” Mr. Power holds a B.S. degree with a major in Marketing. See: www.biltmorefranchise.com You may contact Mr. Power at: jpower@biltmorefranchise.co - Visit John Power's Website |
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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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Joe DagerJoe Dager is President of Business901, a progressive coaching company providing no-nonsense direction in areas such as Lean Six Sigma Marketing and organized referral marketing. What others say: In the past 20 years, Joe and I have collaborated on many difficult issues. Joe’s ability to combine his expertise with “out of the box” thinking is unsurpassed. He has always delivered quickly, cost effectively and with ingenuity. A brilliant mind that is always a pleasure to work with.” - James R. If you want to learn more about Business901, start a conversation with us. We can be found @ Web/Blog: Business901.com Web/Blog: FundingYourNonprofit.com LinkedIn Profile Follow me on Twitter - Visit Joe Dager's Website |
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Staging DivaDebra Gould, aka The Staging Diva®, is President of Six Elements Inc., an internationally recognized home staging company. Inspired by many requests from aspiring home stagers wanting to start similar businesses, Gould created the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program. Gould has trained over 1000 Staging Diva Graduates worldwide to start staging businesses. Buying decorating and selling six of her own homes in four years lead to an interest in real estate staging which she turned into a career with the launch of sixelements.com in 2002. Since then she has staged hundreds of homes in addition to teaching home staging training. Gould is the author of several home staging resources including a series of popular ebooks made up of a Design Guide, Color Guide and Portfolio Guide. For more information about Debra Gould visit stagingdiva.com. - Visit Staging Diva's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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Jay Kubassek(Jay's Full Bio: EvanCarmichael.com/jaykubassek) In five years, Canadian-born entrepreneur Jay Kubassek went from selling mufflers at a Midas franchise to revolutionizing Internet marketing with the 2004 launch of CarbonCopyPRO, a online marketing education company, now worth over $20 million with customers in over 160 countries.
As an independent film producer, his upstart film fund Aliquot Films is currently producing a films with Spike Lee and Abel Fererra (starring Ethan Hawke and Dennis Hopper.)
Jay's entrepreneurial spirit is irrepressible. He’s the owner of five companies, a professional speaker and trainer, international real estate developer/investor, extreme sport enthusiast and emerging philanthropist. Jay resides in NYC with his wife Jamie, son Milo and dog Cooper. Visit Jay's official website: www.JayKubassek.com - Visit Jay Kubassek's Website |
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