There is a commercial for the Smart Car – a tiny two seater – that has all kinds of people proclaiming ‘Big’ from singers to politicians, business owners to children. At the end, one lone guy sees the Smart Car and says… Small! Implying Big is not the answer, Small is. While I didn’t think the commercial is particularly clever, it drove the point home for me. Sometimes the solution you’ve been seeking is the opposite of what you have been doing all this time. Many small businesses often start off by de-valuing their products and services to get things…

The passing of Steve Jobs this week got me thinking of another iconic American CEO who was also loved by consumers the world over. Before I reveal his identity, I have to say that Steve Jobs has been compared (this week) to Thomas Edison and Henry Ford, in their contributions to our modern lifestyle. Steve Jobs I believe, surpasses these gentlemen because of a personal connection he had with his audience – the consumer. How many deceased CEO’s can you name that have had the general public laying wreaths at their doors? Not only do their customers not mourn their…

There is not much point in addressing your corporate brand if there isn’t the will to implement the strategy developed. A worse situation is where the upper management have the desire to implement the brand strategy but there is no buy-in among the employees and other stake holders for that matter. When I facilitate my process, “Brand Navigator,” the very first step is to pick the branding team. This group of individuals are made up of the stake holders of the company from the top down. The head of the company who is the visionary is a must attendee. From…

When it comes to online marketing, one of the best ways to organically reach out to web users is by utilizing the popularity of blogs. Oftentimes online entrepreneurs will initiate their own blogs in an attempt to capitalize on their ability to link products with real people. But an ironclad tactic for the non-writers among us is to reach out to existing bloggers about providing their readers with information concerning a product or service. It’s an easy and honest way to let people learn about what you have to offer. With that said, reaching out to bloggers about using their…

The Internet is a competitive space. Since people turn to the Internet to find information about pretty much everything, marketers are trying their best to make a name for themselves online. It isn’t easy, and while it’s hard enough to even establish an online presence in the first place, it’s even harder to maintain a positive brand image over time. It isn’t something that magically happens. It takes a lot of time and effort to build up brand visibility and brand equity online but it’s time well spent since it will result in establishing trust with your target audience and…

Content marketing is all about generating and sharing content with the people. Businesses can also use it as an effective way to educate people about their company. Content Marketing is believed to be highly useful for creating brand awareness and increasing business by converting the regular contacts into clients. Content marketing is the best practice that can put your business on the map. While, properly executing your content marketing strategy can produce some spectacular results for your business, mismanagement, on the other hand, can make it go horribly wrong. There can be several reasons behind it. Some of the blunders…

You hear it all the time, “Do something you’re passionate about.” Or, “they’re successful because they’re passionate about what they do.” While at the surface I agree that it takes passion to soldier on, you have to feed that passion with a strategy to connect. I have passionate entrepreneurs reaching out to me all the time, and I reaching out to them. I firmly believe in the adage that it’s not who you know, but who knows you. If you are by nature shy, then knowing them will certainly not be enough. BUT on the other hand them knowing you,…

As a veteran, you may have a hard time transitioning to an office environment and opt for starting a small business instead. The thought can be exhilarating and daunting at the same time. Fortunately, there are some organizations that will help you start and manage your veteran owned small business by providing initiatives to aid in your success. Programs such as the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Patriot Express Loan Program or the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) VetBiz program provide veteran owned businesses with the tools to successfully run their own business; however, it is up to the business owner…

Here’s the set-up: you’re an oil products supplier to a retailer whose end user is the general public. At first glance you might not feel that the public at large is your audience so your branding needn’t concern them. That stance makes direct business sense, but not necessarily brand sense. Since you are involved in an industry laden with a plethora of chemicals and environmental compliances and your company’s end user deals with the general public, there are still brand opportunities that make good business sense to keep the general public on your radar even though they may not be…

Business blogging is a great way to share information with a target audience for many reasons. Unlike other promotional materials like white papers and EBooks, a blog tends to be a lot less formal. It’s also easy to access and update, which encourages a blogger to post frequently. While a steady stream of new, quality content on a blog is extremely important there are a few ways to take your blog to the next level. First, think about search engine optimization. SEO professionals have been touting the benefits of blogging for a long time. Since a large part of SEO…