Through the process of building and growing Snoloha, I’ve written quite a bit about Jimmy Buffett and Life is Good.  Both brands continue to be sources of inspiration.

There’s a great interview over on Entrepreneur.com with Bert Jacobs of Life is Good.  The branding tip that he gives:

You can have the greatest ideas, but the smartest people in the world can’t build a brand. Customers build a brand.

I get what he’s saying.  Though I also agree with the Steve Jobs philosophy that customers don’t know what they want until you show them.

So as with anything, it’s a fine juggling act.

With Snoloha, I’m still learning how to juggle both concepts.  I think market research is a giant waste of time.  So are focus groups.  And surveys.  I completely ignore the nay-sayers, armchair quarterbacks and critics (this took some time to get use to).  I listen only to my customers, that little voice in my head…and my gut.

I’ve never wanted to paint Snoloha into a corner where it was stuck just as a clothing brand.  I’m in the process now of sorting out what’s on the immediate horizon for the brand.  Don’t worry, the clothing is not going anywhere…I’m talking about extending the brand.

So here I am juggling being the stubborn and focused visionary of the brand, and soliciting customer input.

The input?

Outside of clothing…how do you see Snoloha?

Simple question.  Not too sure how simple the answers are though.

I’ve got my thoughts…I’d LOVE to hear yours.  Email me – rod@snoloha.com