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Answer You - Revitalize Your Brand for A Better (And More Profitable) New Year
Entrepreneurs work harder than most Americans. They spend countless hours and enormous amounts of energy trying to reach business and financial goals that are often elusive. They seem to be doing all the right things: attending seminars, scouring the latest business books, networking, guerilla marketing, hoping, and praying.We all know of business owners who go through the same motions yet they are far more successful and don't work nearly as hard. And, they seem to hav
• Attribute aches
This is another easy trap in which to fall. In place of a product, companies associate themselves with one key attribute – and then pay the price. What if EconoLodge ever wants to improve its rooms and raise its rates? Is Quality Inn really the luxury leader in the hotel business? It’s not that these names can’t work, they often do. It’s just that they forev
Why is building a business foundation important to marketing?It will not matter how slick or effective a marketing program is if the business foundation is not in place. As a consultant the tendency is to look after other people’s business and not our own. It is like the proverbial cobbler and the shoes. Only the cobbler’s children go barefoot. This is very true for most consultants. The structure used quite often will not lead to effective execution of a marketing plan
“Health of my brand?” you ask.
Yes. Just like people, businesses and markets change over time. And sometimes those changes are so slow and so gradual, that we wake up to find our products and services outdated, out-of-step and out-of-shape. In short, our brand has become “sick.” Here are some of the most common culprits.
• Geographic gridlock
In this scenario, your company started in one locale and has simply outgrown the market. It’s easy to see this trend in larger companies, such as Southwest Airlines, which now flies all over the U.S. Not only are these names restrictive, they are also uninspired. If your company has a city, state or regional name, you may be telling potential customers to go elsewhere.
• Product paralysis
Much like geographic gridlock, product paralysis starts with all the right intentions. A company wants to be known for their star (and sometime their only) product. So they include it in the name. Once they’ve achieved success in capturing that market, they naturally want to expand into others. The problem is their name. So companies such as Just Brakes develops a tag line to overcome the problem. “We’re more than Just Brakes.” The irony is that marketing dollars are then spent trying to shed the now suffocating stereotype caused by their core product. Better to re-brand with a more open and encompassing name. It’s better to communicate who you are than explaining who you aren’t.
• Attribute aches
This is another easy trap in which to fall. In place of a product, companies associate themselves with one key attribute – and then pay the price. What if EconoLodge ever wants to improve its rooms and raise its rates? Is Quality Inn really the luxury leader in the hotel business? It’s not that these names can’t work, they often do. It’s just that they foreve
The key focus of every business is maintaining a client base that will ensure success and future operations. As such, it is important for businesses to engage in constant self-promotion, to keep the name, products and services on the front of the minds of their clients. There are many marketing strategies that can be employed as a part of successfully promoting your business. One effect way to keep clients talking about your organization is using printed mugs as promotional
• Geographic gridlock
In this scenario, your company started in one locale and has simply outgrown the market. It’s easy to see this trend in larger companies, such as Southwest Airlines, which now flies all over the U.S. Not only are these names restrictive, they are also uninspired. If your company has a city, state or regional name, you may be telling potential customers to go elsewhere.
• Product paralysis
Much like geographic gridlock, product paralysis starts with all the right intentions. A company wants to be known for their star (and sometime their only) product. So they include it in the name. Once they’ve achieved success in capturing that market, they naturally want to expand into others. The problem is their name. So companies such as Just Brakes develops a tag line to overcome the problem. “We’re more than Just Brakes.” The irony is that marketing dollars are then spent trying to shed the now suffocating stereotype caused by their core product. Better to re-brand with a more open and encompassing name. It’s better to communicate who you are than explaining who you aren’t.
• Attribute aches
This is another easy trap in which to fall. In place of a product, companies associate themselves with one key attribute – and then pay the price. What if EconoLodge ever wants to improve its rooms and raise its rates? Is Quality Inn really the luxury leader in the hotel business? It’s not that these names can’t work, they often do. It’s just that they forev
With the number of consumers in the marketplace continuing to increase and new businesses sprouting like mushrooms all over to respond to everyone's needs, coming up with new advertising and marketing plans can become a pain for business owners who are trying to make their enterprises stand out in the crowd.As customers come and customers go and attention spans get shorter and shorter by the second, the problem for business owners is finding a way to have a potential c
• Product paralysis
Much like geographic gridlock, product paralysis starts with all the right intentions. A company wants to be known for their star (and sometime their only) product. So they include it in the name. Once they’ve achieved success in capturing that market, they naturally want to expand into others. The problem is their name. So companies such as Just Brakes develops a tag line to overcome the problem. “We’re more than Just Brakes.” The irony is that marketing dollars are then spent trying to shed the now suffocating stereotype caused by their core product. Better to re-brand with a more open and encompassing name. It’s better to communicate who you are than explaining who you aren’t.
• Attribute aches
This is another easy trap in which to fall. In place of a product, companies associate themselves with one key attribute – and then pay the price. What if EconoLodge ever wants to improve its rooms and raise its rates? Is Quality Inn really the luxury leader in the hotel business? It’s not that these names can’t work, they often do. It’s just that they forev
The medical billing software company is a tough environment for everyone. However, it is probably the hardest on a support person for a variety of reasons. So when you're putting your company together, what do you look for in a support person? What qualities should they have? What training should they have? What kind of temperament should they have? Yes, this is very important and will be explained, as will everything else that you're going to want to look for in a suppo
• Attribute aches
This is another easy trap in which to fall. In place of a product, companies associate themselves with one key attribute – and then pay the price. What if EconoLodge ever wants to improve its rooms and raise its rates? Is Quality Inn really the luxury leader in the hotel business? It’s not that these names can’t work, they often do. It’s just that they forev
Some people collect stamps, others show off their shot glasses from around the world. There are a few people that enjoy collecting plastic pens of all types. A few collectors even have websites that show off their plastic pen collections. Just a few collections are outlined below.Suzanne’s Pen Collection, Alabama. Well over a thousand pens, this collection is primarily made up of printed plastic pens, mostly ballpoint. She is particularly fond of plastic pens that adver
• Attribute aches
This is another easy trap in which to fall. In place of a product, companies associate themselves with one key attribute – and then pay the price. What if EconoLodge ever wants to improve its rooms and raise its rates? Is Quality Inn really the luxury leader in the hotel business? It’s not that these names can’t work, they often do. It’s just that they forever commit a company to that strategic positioning. And sometimes companies outgrow one mode of service. They may no longer want to be the low price leader. Or they may find it difficult to meet the expectations created by words such as “superior” or “ultimate.” If you find yourself tired of jumping through hoops everyday, it may be time to loose words such as “Sonic,” “Speedy,” or “Express,” as part of your name.
• The Identity Crisis
This is perhaps the most dreaded category of branding dilemmas. It happens when a company’s core competency evolves to the point where they are basically in an entirely new business. In this scenario nearly everything in their business has changed over the past several years – except for their name. For instance a web hosting company may gradually transition to providing offline IT consulting. But with “web” in the name, they would forever be fighting to explain their new niche. Imagine if 3M had not re-branded and stayed with their original name… Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing. It would take more than a Post-it note to make that name stick.
Keeping a brand healthy is really no different than keeping yourself healthy. It just requires a few checkups and some simple exercises. Make sure to ask yourself, your current customers and potential customers, if your name, tag line and logo really reflect where you are as a company. Does the name evoke the right feeling and make them want to know more? Or does it mislead them, confuse them and require constant explanation. The first few seconds of an introduction are the most valuable real estate in the branding world. Make sure your brand image is h
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