Small Business Branding and Marketing Advice and Commentary
If your company has finally taken the initiative and taken on the task of developing a brand strategy then give yourselves a well deserved pat on the back. Chances are you’ve put a lot of effort into developing your strategy and you believe that you’ve developed something that will differentiate you in your market place.
Now comes one of the most difficult stages in addressing your brand strategy – initiating it. [Read more...]
5 minutes – that’s all it takes to start you on the path to concentration success.
Ok so what am I talking about? Well when I first started out I found that I had so many areas of the business that were all vying for my attention that it was really hard to focus. No I mean really hard…on top of that I had other external issues wanting my attention too, kids, housework, leisure time etc…there just never seemed to be enough time in the day for everything. I’m sure you’ve been there, done that right?
It was then that I decided to focus.
Bulky-package promotions are 3 dimensional materials that are delivered to an intended target to get a meeting with them. While many direct mail materials end up in the trash, sending a bulky-package eliminates this hazard. We’ve never had one that was not at least opened and viewed.
The largest one we did was send a folding chair via a courier with our promotional brochure glued to the seat back. The return label was generic to avoid tipping them off that it was promotional in nature. The message delivered was our intention to get a face to face with them, and to facilitate this we are providing our own chair. In each delivery the follow-up call was taken because they were curious about the originator of their package, and in most cases we got an audience with them.
In another case, we were approaching commissioned sales people in a specific industry. Since their motivation is money, we printed up American ten dollar bills in a long line and rolled them up to look like an actual roll of cash. This was then placed in a fancy box and sent out. The outcome was successful in getting the desired number of high caliber sales representation.
One of the best examples of bulky-packaging was done by a financial services CEO.
[Read more...]
When we speak in front of an audience, what is it we are saying about ourselves?
You have to agree that speaking in public involves many dynamics. We have witnessed all styles of presenting. Some out there use a script, while others do not. Many speakers use props, side men and games. Do you like a podium or do you opt for a lapel mike? What about support materials such as presentation graphics? Do you have follow-up products to distribute or sell? Do you position yourself as a paid presenter or do you use speaking engagements as a marketing exercise to gain new leads?
What ever your intention, it is important that you look at the entire picture when you are presenting to your intended audience. Whether your audience paid to be there or not, you are using their time which is valuable. They have taken the time out of their busy schedules to hear what you have to say and hopefully they can get some tip as to how they might make more money from what you have to say. If you are going to present as an expert in your field you have to present that image also.
One successful technique for engaging an audience is:
[Read more...]
In North America’s industrial heartland where the automobile is king, industry is going through some trying times. As a result of this downturn many support industries are also feeling the pain. If you are in this demographic – you know exactly where I’m coming from. Sales are flat and the sales team is getting very frustrated and are looking at last years numbers as something to aspire to. They’d be happy to just hold their own.
Of course as the visionary of the company, you can’t fulfill your dream just holding your own. You are also keenly aware of the economy but being the optimist, you are out here in the blogisphere looking for solutions. I would suggest you look at your brand positioning and see if it truly differentiates you from the competition. My guess is that within your market and category everyone is playing follow the leader. As a matter of fact over the many years you and they have been in business, you’ve all done quite well following this model. After all, you’ve sawn off a respectable chunk of business and have put the kids through college doing it.
Would you consider entertaining a bold direction that would help your company to grow in slow times?
Would you be interested in invigorating your sales team and move them away from their status quo mentality?
Sure you would!
Wouldn’t this be better than waiting for the marketplace to come back, and you leave you carrying on as a commodity?
Of course it would!
No brainers right?
What’s the solution?
[Read more...]
Once a company identifies their brand, they quickly move to communicating that brand to their marketplace. Excellent – just as they should. But in most cases, they stop short.
If I said to you that we were re-branding your company, what is the first thing you’d think of? In most cases, you’d think – “we need a new logo then.” And then, you’d quickly add, “and a graphic standards manual.”
Both observations are true. But not enough.
One of the most powerful and overlooked aspects of your brand is your brand’s voice. Just like consistency in your brand’s visual presentation (logo, color palette, fonts etc.) is critical to building brand awareness and understanding, the same can be said of the voice.
Not sure what a brand voice is? Think of Apple. If you saw an ad for a Mac computer and the copy was very technical and dry, would it feel right?
Of course not, because that’s not Apple’s voice.
During our college years, many of us probably heard the urban legend about the final exam that had only one question. The question was: “Why?” The student that received an A+ on the exam simply answered: “Why Not?”
The same holds true for your business:
Why launch that new product?
Why build your new facility?
Why move your business to Hawaii?
Why upgrade your website and sales material?
Unfortunately, in the real world, the answer is not as simple as “why not”. However, I believe the answer to that question is not “why not” but: “Is my management team up for the challenge?”
[Read more...]
Our Success Mindset Report will show you how to plan for success & keep a positive mindset. Get this report now when you sign up below. Just enter your name & email address:
