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DESIGN & BUSINESS

Small Biz, Big Buzz

Branding—the hottest topic in today’s business world. The most discussed— the most written about— the most taught in business schools— and by far the most over inflated and confusing strategy in today’s business climate. It made Coca-Cola a global giant, it increased Nike’s revenues by billions, it saved Apple Computer when all appeared lost. It’s the business cure-all elixir of the new millennium. A patented medicine that is good for all takers and all ailments.

All well and fine, sounds great. But even if it’s true, how can it apply to small and medium sized companies? And, more importantly, how can a small company afford to implement a business strategy that’s used by major corporations?     read more



INTERESTING READING

Brand Harmony

So much has been written about branding and honestly, some of it is pretty boring. One of the better books out there is "Branding Harmony" by Steve Yastrow, which describes four scenarios about company branding that are worth repeating.

1.) Brand Dissonance exists when clients receive conflicting messages. Your advertising says “customers are our #1 priority” but there is no solid customer service to back it up.

2.) Brand Irrelevance is created when messages don’t conflict with each other like in Brand Dissonance but they don’t have anything to do with each other either. For instance your marketing materials scream a “we listen” message and in fact, your sales associates do listen. They just don’t take any action.

3. ) Brand Consonance happens when messages are blended together making a confusing effect with no compelling message. If your advertising, collateral pieces and web site each tell a separate story, the brand has no distinctive message.

4.) Brand Harmony is the holy grail of branding! All product experiences blend together for a cohesive message. Advertising supports collateral, which supports web design, which supports associate service skills. It all looks and feels right together and your customer gets it, wants it and knows where they can find it.



MARKETING CONCEPTS

Focus on What’s Important

Sometimes as we work to sell our services and products we lose sight of what the key selling points are to our customers. Your expertise has value and in direct one on one selling to a customer details are a deal maker, but in advertising and marketing more information can mean less impact.

One of the buzz phrases in marketing is ‘overt benefits” which just means finding the customer’s perspective on why they purchase and more importantly, why they should purchase from you. Most often customers and clients look for what’s in it for them. Is your product dramatically different than others that are available? Does your service offer guarantees or a track record of exceptional performance that differentiates you from other service providers? Is your business closer, less expensive, bigger, better?

Find that hot button and you can build a marketing campaign around it that might include advertising, collateral pieces, direct mail, web design, even the way you answer your business phone.