| |
| |
|
Branding Information |
|
|
|
Brand Love, Part 2
Last issue, I talked about increasing your Brand Love-- meaning to increase the affection that prospects and customers feel toward your business. Why? Because increasing "affection" will build relationships. Those relationships, if made strong enough by increased Brand Love, build a bridge for prospects to become customers. To some, that bridge might be made of rope, swaying in the breeze, complete with wooden planks. To others, it will be a mighty stone structure. It all depends on how well you connect with each prospect. It also means putting more cement on the bond with the customers you already have. Locking customers in, tighter and tighter with every brand experience is a critical aspect to profitability and growth. The reason here is twofold: It costs less to maintain current customers than to gain new ones, and the best advertising is word of mouth. Sounds like a cliché ('cause they are), but... it's true, folks. So, the big question is: How to do it and do it better than your competition. Previously, I mentioned getting honest and forthright feedback from customers. Having one-on-one conversations can help. You will also get valued honesty from questionnaire cards that have a few quick answers AND some space to write in other thoughts. Actually, that could be the most important aspect of the card. Getting this kind of feedback can provide huge rewards. First, this type of "silent" feedback lets the writer give a more honest opinion, rather than talking face-to-face. They don't have to sign their name. Also, the feedback given can open up trains of thought that may not have occurred to you before. You may get insight into improving your core business. The insight may turn into a realization that leads to big discovery, such as a different product, service, or an entire market. Another way to increase Brand Love is the proper training of your employees. Nothing is more of downer (except perhaps bad merchandise) to a customer than an incompetent employee. Service should be a big part of your marketing plan, and that means involving time and expense to train your employees properly. We've all heard our economy is becoming more service-based, but we've all suffered from bad service- more often than not. Being on hold five minutes or more. Being ignored when you walk in the door. Given incorrect information, being overcharged, or having something delivered late. All bad news for customers. I once called a local outlet of a national home center chain, and I was on hold for 30 minutes! I stayed on as long as I could, just to see actually how many minutes it took for someone to answer. It was so long, I could hum their jingle in my sleep! And they never answered. Now, I go strictly to their competition. Alarmingly, it's to the point where mediocre service is so noticeably different, it gets applauded. Keeping your employees trained and caring starts at the top. So if this hasn't been a priority for you, make it one, and you'll see your referrals go up. This leads into my next point - becoming the Preferred Employer. In the marketing triangle, there are three elements: Business, Customers, and Employees. With the Business at the apex of the triangle, it cannot exist without the other two. You're not just marketing to customers. You are marketing to your employees too, because they are investing their time to work for you. When you create an excellent work atmosphere and employees find working for you rewarding, you get great performance from them AND you attract top talent. Those are two things that are priceless and almost insure success. Conversely, when you don't care about your employees, their training, or make work an unpleasant experience, count on poor to mediocre help without much care or effort. I cannot think of a faster way to drive good help and customers away. Being the Preferred Employer doesn't mean doesn't mean there are no rules in place or you pay obscenely high wages for comparable work. It simply means your employees are respected, taught to do their job well, given proper feedback when needed, and are made to feel valued. Take a good objective look around your business. Get honest feedback from your customers AND your employees. Great businesses become that way because they are constantly searching for ways to become better. Those two groups should be your most important and most depended-on allies in that never- ending search. ~ Republishing part of or entire article, in all forms, is welcomed, as long as author bio info is printed and proper authorship credit is given. As a courtesy, please send author a complimentary copy. John is a freelance commercial writer based in Omaha, Nebraska. He publishes a free monthly e-zine focusing on branding, advertising, and marketing from his web site http://www.brandedbetter.com. Speaking with both agency and in- house experience, he knows the most valuable asset of a business is its brand.
MORE RESOURCES:
Branding - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
9 Keys to an Effective Logo The right logo, with the right characteristics, will boost your visibility, credibility and memorablity - which means more business for you!These characteristics include:Consistency in use of your logo, tagline, materials. Repetition of similar elements, used in the same or similar ways, helps people to remember who you are and what you do. Trademark: Do I Need One for My Business Name and Logo? Wondering if a trademark is important to you as a business owner? Let's start with the basics. A trademark is a word, phrase, symbol, or logo that distinguishes and identifies the source of goods of one company or person from another. Corporate Branding - Dont Forget Your CDs! Companies have been branding their collateral materials such as letterhead, envelopes, business cards, etc. for years. Eye On The Pie: Branding From an Investors P.O.V. When building a business as a brand it's important to avoid a myopic view and consider another important aspect of the business game as well-- investing. After any amount of toil and hard work to create a valuable product, service or company the big game is when you go public-- when money-minded people want more, they want a piece of your brand pie. Brand Identity Company - Brand Identity Guru Hiring a brand identity company is very important. In every marketing campaign, your company should have a solid brand identity on which to hang its hat. A good logo vs. a FABULOUS logo If you had a choice, which one would you choose, a good logo or a fabulous logo? Think about it for a second here, although I know the answer is crystal clear. Because many of us settle for a good logo created by a credible logo designer just because he or she is a credible logo designer who charges low prices. Extreme Makeover - Small Business Edition Have you ever watched one of those home makeover shows? You know the scenario. The homeowners have decorated or remodeled their house all by themselves. Living Your Brand on the Web - Part 2 Now that everyone has conformed to Living Your Brand on the Web, Part 1, it's time to add a couple of tweaks that will further reinforce your brand.Tweak #1: Your Signature FileA signature file is the simple text that, once activated is attached to your email automatically. Branding Strategy - Brand Identity Today, in many organizations around the world, branding is treated as a cosmetic exercise only, and regarded merely as a new name, logo, stationary and possibly a new advertising campaign. But, to associate your "brand" with such superficial cosmetics is like saying that people are really only the sum of their name, face and sometimes their clothingBut branding is a thoughtful discipline that strongly belongs to the long-term strategy of an organization; brand strategy is, or should be, business strategy, and vice versa. Quick Tactics To Brand Your Business And Make More Sales This may come as a surprise.. Brand Image - Brand Identity - Brand Strategy - Brand Identity Guru Consumers perceive and accept many brands within a certain trade group in different ways. By personifying a brand (How would you describe brand X if it were a person?) we can find out, that for instance consumers perceive brand A as a young, impulsive, lively, attractive, energetic woman full of ideas. Picking The Design Company Which Is Right For You So you've decided to go for it-you're ready to choose a design company to create your logo and other marketing materials. It seems easy enough. Living Your Brand on the Web - Part 1 OK, so you took the plunge and purchased your internet domain. Good for you! Now what? According to Google. Brand Extension; Going from Consumer to Commercial As more and more home pressure washers are sold at leading retailers such as Wal-Mart, Sears, Home Depot, Cosco, etc. We are seeing companies offer products in brand line extension to service this niche. How to Create Your Own Mail Order Products Pick up almost any book or report on Mailorder Selling andinvariably you will find the same advice. When you select amailorder product, select one which: - appeals to a large segment of the population- is not readily available in stores- is easy to ship by mail- is worthwhile- and a product that lends itself to repeat orders Most mail order writers will also tell you to try to acquireexclusive selling rights to your product. 10 Secrets for Free Media Placement Why pay a high priced PR agent when you can get free media placement to promote your product, service, or book?Follow these top ten tips for 2005 and it will be your most profitable year yet!1. Write an attention grabbing headline. Branding: You are the Brand What's in a brand name? Everything! Think of these brands: Coke, Barbie, Hershey, McDonalds, Madonna, Pepsi, Bono, Microsoft, Kleenex, Xerox, Steven Spielberg, Dell and GM. Did you notice that brands can be things, replicas of people and actual people? Brands are the public perception of a thing or person. Brand Boring or Brand Buzz? I heard an advertisement on the radio the other day that surprised me, not because they were saying anything noteworthy, but because it was so banal. It was a national company's ad. Brand Identity and the CEO This week I spent a few hours with a highly successful CEO discussing his brand identity questions and concerns. "What do the most successful brand initiatives have in common?" he asked. Product Positioning for Enterprise Software and Information Technology Companies Good marketing positioning is like good lying. No, we're not suggesting that you lie when creating your company and product positioning.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
