PREFACE

Rocket is dedicated to the proposition that mere mortals can create immortality. You can build a brand that lasts forever. You can grow faster than your rivals. To do this, however, you need to understand the theory that a very few people—the very few focused consumers—create most of the value in any business. If you have loyal consumers and you turn them into your apostles, they will spread the word about you, and they will propel you to growth. Rocket is your guide to understanding the physics of growth.

We tell 16 stories about entrepreneurs in the retail, consumer packaged goods, and travel sectors who have done precisely this. They are stories of love and emotional connections. These entrepreneurs focused on their core consumers. They vowed to understand those consumers’ hopes, dreams, and wishes. By doing this, they created businesses that have grown to be worth billions of dollars.

In the book, we talk about an eight-to-one ratio. One loyal consumer—an apostle—can generate eight times his or her own consumption through word-of-mouth advocacy to friends and family. Also, we talk about a rule called 2/20/80: 2 percent of your consumers directly contribute 20 percent of your sales and drive 80 percent of the total volume by their recommendations. They deliver more than 150 percent of your profitability, buying products and services without discounts and they do it year round.

Rocket is a storybook about how to create a great brand. Yet it is not about genius. It is not about accident or luck. It is about the apostles, the cravers, the brand ambassadors—and what you need to do to nurture them.

Most companies don’t get this. They still do research with the general population. They still launch products that end up largely cannibalizing their own business. They still launch products that consumers dismiss as “me too” products.

If you run one of these companies, you need to change your strategy. Conduct research with the consumers who count, the consumers who really matter. Focus on the 2 percent who drive the 20 percent who drive the 80 percent. Learn how to rocket toward stellar growth with your best consumers.

None of the master branders in this book started with a master plan. None of them laid out a strategy on a sheet of paper on their first day and said, “This is what we’re going to be.” Each of them found his own way to success. Nevertheless, their stories do share many truths.

To be successful, you must demonstrate a presence at multiple levels—emotional presence, intellectual presence, and presence in the moment. It’s about curiosity. It’s about humility. It’s about a secret sauce. It’s about invention. It’s about learning every day. It’s about not spending a huge amount of money on R (research), but spending a lot of money on D (development). It’s about not believing that the first time you launch a product is the end of the story. It’s about leaders who care about their followers, who consider them full partners. It’s about managers who treat the consumer as the boss. It’s about being both fearless and fearful: fearless in the sense of being willing to take risks; fearful in the sense of worrying constructively every day.

Your starting point should be what we call consumer “demand spaces,” as we will explain in the book. Create an understanding of demand by occasion and you will understand what really drives consumer choice. We dedicate this book to your success and to the businesses you invent—or reinvent—as a result of reading the stories and fully integrating the lessons.