Let’s face it, marketing can be hard! In each marketing blog post, we hope you’ll find the information you need for your business marketing success.
Your Competition Makes You Better
Think about it — you know what your competitors really offer. You know, often better than the customers do (at the outset) what kind of service and product a new customer will receive from a business. “If we’ve identified our competitors wisely, we should know how our product meets their needs better than the competition,” Critical…
The American Dream Can be Your Brand
A bit of a rant today — I’ve seen several situations recently where an individual has overcome some pretty impressive life challenges, pulled themselves up against the odds, conceived of, and opened a business that is operating that business in the black in this economy. Any of those alone would be a significant accomplishment, but…
What’s Your Competitive Landscape?
Finding your unique niche in the market is both critical and necessary for your brand’s success in the marketplace. One very good method for identifying holes needing to be filled in your marketplace is a perceptual map. This can be particularly useful if your brand is not yet established, yet you know roughly what you…
Strategies for Handling Bad Press
Despite your best efforts, your brand will occasionally be maligned by well-intentioned (or otherwise) individuals and brands. Sometimes it will occur because you failed to execute something as well as you could, sometimes it will be because you’re the brand with the most top-of-mind awareness in your marketplace. Sometimes, it’s because the other brand is…
Cause Marketing for Brands
How many times has a news story broken that reveals a profound injustice? Too often I’d argue. If you’re not an Auburn fan (or you don’t know one) you may not have heard about the poisoning of the trees at Toomer’s Corner by someone claiming to be an Alabama Fan. These trees were more than a…
Branding Lessons from Trees
Although as marketers, we tend to talk about brands in never-changing absolutes – the reality is that brands evolve. They adapt. They grow. Their roots spread deeper and their ideals reach ever-higher reaching for loftier and more audacious goals – not unlike trees spreading their branches toward sunlight. Just like trees, brands need to morph, to…
3 Must-Not-Miss Components for a Non-Profit Brand
Soliciting donations is hard work for any non-profit and it’s often made all the harder because the non-profit has not laid the appropriate groundwork in creating their brand image. This oversight usually ends up costing them donations in the long run. While non-profits need to create a brand to the same degree every other business…
Your Brand as Art
A few months ago, Simon Mainwaring made a post titled, Social media explained by a 9-year-old in one sentence. In it he shares a quote that he saw at the Portland Children’s Museum by a 9-year-old Elyssa which said, “When I make my art about a flower it is not showing you who the flower is,…
How are You Better than Your Competition?
I don’t care what industry you’re in when you look at the landscape of those businesses that do what you do; you compare your business to the work that they do. And you have opinions about their work – either you respect it, or you don’t. But the thing is, you know how your business…
Starbucks without Limitations
By now you’ve probably heard that Starbucks has introduced a new logo, with intentions of moving into the realm of Apple and Nike — a logo without words. It’s a bold move, and one that not many companies have the brand equity to pull off – however, given Starbuck’s significant marketshare they are positioned better…
Preparing Your Brand for the Stage
Have you ever stopped to think about how often your is on stage in the public eye? It’s ALWAYS on stage. It never takes a break, it never retreats to the dressing room, and it certainly never blends into the audience. It’s always displayed alone on the stage under the glaring unforgiving spotlight. Your brand needs…
Informational Marketing: Position Your Brand as a Knowledge Hub
One of the most powerful ways you can (and should) use your brand is to position it as an informational marketing resource for your customers. Think about it: every one of us accumulates a significant amount of information/trivia in our given field simply because we work in that field. Remember when you were relatively new…
Your Brand is the Extra Mile
You know those moments, where you intentionally choose to go the extra mile? Do something unexpected to ensure that your customer has an experience second to none? It’s in those moments that your brand begins to take flight and to transform from the expected into the memorable. Rather than waiting until the “mood strikes” why…
Does Your Brand Have a Brand Book?
I’m not quite sure how I came across this hilarious post today from The Quietroom about their Santa brand book, but I’m glad I did — for several reasons. First (and most obviously) it’s hilarious! Having written some of these brand books myself, I have to say — this is the brand book I always wished…
Limited Money, Limited Time – Where’s the Biggest Bang for the Buck?
Lately, I’ve had a lot of conversations with business owners about where the biggest bang for their buck is when it comes to advertising their business. Since it seems to be a common theme this month, I thought you might be interested in it as well. The first question I always ask is how quickly…
Why Your Business Should be on Facebook
I was chatting with someone the other day whose experience on Facebook was that of a meat-market/single’s scene. She was (rightfully) mystified as to why her business (or any business for that matter) should be on Facebook. With that experience on Facebook, I can see why she was confused. The truth is, almost everyone is…
5 Reasons Great Brands Aren’t Selfish
As you consider creating a strong and powerful brand, a significant philosophy to consider is creating an un-selfish brand. This was important before the advent of social media, but now that many brands find themselves online in social media (Facebook and Twitter) the stakes are much higher. Here are some principles to consider: People like…