Company Blog

I read an article recently that I thought all my clients and business partners would appreciate. The article comes from the Vice President of Brand Marketing and Strategy Marcella Shinder who oversees American Express’s Open brand marketing program.

Here is the article

Once you’ve developed the best possible product or service, how do you turn your offering into a successful brand?

What is branding? Most of us have some idea of what it is, but — through no fault of our own — few understand its essence. Over time we have built immunity to corporate jargon, and in doing so, we have discounted the significance of branding as a useful tool in developing a successful business. Branding is not simply your visual identity, the execution of logo and design; it is much more than that. Effective branding will drive growth, increase sales and assist in attracting and retaining customers.

By definition, your brand is the distinctive name identifying your product, but beyond your name it’s the associations that people make when they think about you. It’s the telephone manner of your employees, the efficiency of your service and the memorable nature of the overall experience. Branding is the most important element in any company’s dialogue with its customer. Branding is the face, voice and personality of your business.

It signifies reputation, loyalty and emotional attachment, and any enterprise that pays no heed to the importance of branding risks anonymity and isolation. Essentially, branding is the promise you make based upon your core offering.

Of course, the principal concern for any entrepreneur is developing the best product or service in their field. With excellence as standard, a business is in an enviable position to build a brand around this core offering.

Your brand plays a key role in differentiating you from the competition, and helps communicate your key message to the consumer. On these pages are five easily actionable principles to which any business can subscribe; designed to assist entrepreneurs in every industry, these five brand tenets guide the small business owner by asking some fundamental questions.

— Why am I different?

There should be one thing imprinted on your consciousness, and even on your subconscious, and that’s the very thing that sets your product or service apart from every other in the market: your U.S.P. (Unique Selling Proposition). And if you can communicate the “Aha” moment — that inspirational flash you had at the conception of your business which still drives you forward — to your customers, then half your work is done.

— What is my vision?

The old adage that “Rules were made to be broken” simply doesn’t apply to branding. You may add or update, but the rules you create for your own brand should stand the test of time. By building a foolproof mission statement and sticking to it you are in a better position to educate and inspire those you know and those you don’t. The simpler the statement, the easier it will be to remember and convey to your customers.

— How do I communicate my brand?

Once you have identified your unique offer and vision, you have to begin packaging it accordingly. It starts with a visual system and flows through every customer (and employee) touch point. Everything — from your business cards to your business garb, from the way you answer the phone to the décor of your office, from the sales materials you leave with customers and prospects to your Web presence. Every touch point must reflect, reinforce and reiterate your core brand identity.

— How do I make sure my brand is the right one?

It is important to consider how your brand is reflected at each touchpoint with a customer: from how your receptionist greets them at the door to the materials you might leave behind after a sales meeting. Ask your customers how they perceive your brand and then ask yourself whether that is the impression you are intending. If the two are not in agreement, think about ways in which you can better get the message across.

— How do I stay true to my brand?

We can’t all wake up every day with a smile on our face and a spring in our step, but a healthy brand demands perseverance and perspiration from everyone involved. Injecting your brand with all the energy it deserves will ensure longevity and hearty returns. To promote optimism, augment your mission statement with the top five core business values that will keep you true to your brand and post these in a place both you and your employees will see every day as a constant reminder to all.

If you would like more information on brand building or other marketing and advertising services, please visit us on our website (www.designatwork.com) or call 832-200-8238.

Let us change the face of your company!

Posted by:

Brian Waraksa
Design At Work - Creative Services
832.755.6911
brian@designatwork.com
Building your brand, so you can build your business.

Houston advertising and public relations firm specializing in Logo
Design - Brochure Design - Web Site Design - Branding

You can see the article and others here on this web site. http://www.youropenbook.com/money.php?p=1

Is Social Media replacing Push Marketing?

Recently I attended a conference on social media. Their promotional materials stated that within three years social media will replace push media. I thought to myself, wow this sounds familiar. Some 10 years ago I remember hearing that because of the Internet brick and mortar stores would be replaced by Web sites. Why go to the grocery store when you can shop online in air conditioning and have your Ben and Jerry’s ice cream delivered?

Well, my Randall’s is still open for business. I have a feeling that push marketing will still exist for years to come as well.

The basis for my argument is simple. Were newspapers replaced by radio? Did radio go out of business because of television? Did the major networks shut down when cable stations like CNN and ESPN started broadcasting? Why hasn’t satellite radio finally done in that persistent radio that survived television?

Believe me, I understand social networking. I see the need for it and I participate in it. I’m on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. Although sometimes I wonder why people care what I am “doing now” when I post on Twitter. Sometimes it seems narcissistic. Who cares what everyone else is doing?

But these on-line communities are powerful. They connect people to people and businesses to their clients. Businesses can hear directly from customers and respond to their needs immediately. People can find valuable resources through other people in the form of business leads, new employees and find out about new products on the market.

But, like the fact that I still want to browse through the grocery store in person so I may get a chance to squeeze the fruit I am going to purchase, social media will not replace the desire for people to congregate in person. One of the people that hosted the social media conference I mentioned earlier was recently at a pub that I frequent. I got into this discussion with her. She is still convinced, I think because she is so close to the technology (she had her laptop with her at the bar), that social media will replace push marketing. How ironic that she was there to socialize with many of her technology buddies in person at the bar!

So what about push marketing versus social media? Well, my argument is to remove the word “versus”. They will co-exist like grocery stores and Web sites, like Twitter and bars, like radio and television and, well, you get the picture. We will still have advertising, direct mail and billboards we will just have to make room for LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.

A typical day at the office for any marketing or advertising firm can be described as… well, anything but typical. Whether it’s copy writing, graphic design, Web development, SEO or video production, every task is considerably different from the last and requires phenomenal expertise and loads of talent. Few businesses can afford to maintain a full-time staff that can master each of these fields. So what is there to do? Outsource? Exactly.

Whoa. Outsource? Yes, I said outsource. As the dreaded outsourcing monster rears its ugly head, the status quo is to beat it down as quickly as possible. But a fundamental change is under way: businesses are increasingly farming out marketing and advertising operations. According to the Harvard Business Review, a recent Forrester Research survey of 650 marketing executives found that 53% aimed to outsource more of their marketing activities. And, Global Services magazine recently reported a research study that found that outsourced marketing will grow another 14% in coming years. Why? Believe it or not, outsourcing can actually save money and improve quality.

Practically speaking, that makes sense. I mean, outsourced marketing firms maintain expertise in core disciplines, which allows them to complete requests faster and more competently than in-house staff. Most businesses get trapped in the mentality that they can hire a few of their own mass communication experts and get the same results. So the real question is: If you aren’t outsourcing your marketing and advertising already, why haven’t you?