The Bulls Roar » Advertising and Marketing

Branding You and Your Business Pt.2

AnnieInfinite — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 02:28:50 +0000

: Image by Nicola photographs……. via Flickr

Carrying on from Part 1, this list will grow in length and intensity according to priority. Be prepared to find some real gems in this list and some things that just might push a button or two.

11. Do good and Make a difference: create brand awareness for doing good in your niche, your community or globally. Host a community event, donate a part of every sale to charity, sponsor a scholarship, change the face of your niche by leading the way. You never know you could end up with television, newspaper headlines and more… plus the feeling of knowing that your organisation has made a difference.

12. Speak up: Get out into your community and speak to groups, associations and give valuable advice, become known for giving great advice not just speaking in generalisations or hinting at an expert tip as so many speakers do. Your company will gain respect as a trusted source of expertise – invaluable!

13. Be unforgettable: create a unique experience for your clients or customers. Do something so unexpected that your customers spread the word (in a good way). Throw in something for free, add in a free glass of champers somewhere unexpected – like when having your windscreen changed or serenade your customers as they wait for their oil change. Create that unforgettable experience and good will and your business name will be spread far and wide.

14. Allow your customers to market for you: Create opportunities for your clients/customers to be a part of your marketing, use video testimonials and let your customers tell the world why you are better than your competition. Play these in store, and on your website – nothing beats the power of genuinely happy customers.

15. Utilise the WOW factor: Push the boundaries (without offending your customers), surprise your customers, get them to think, “WOW that’s gutzy!” Again this uses the power of the unusual to keep your company’s brand on everyones’ lips.

16. Use competitions: give your customer the chance to compete in your arena. I once played a new Playstation game instore and ended up with the highest score of the day and won the game. Everyone else who played also bought the game, and most of the audience did too because of the enjoyment, the spirit of competition and the excitement creating just the right atmosphere that everyone wanted to take that new game home. How can you create the same marketing vibe through a competition in your business?

17. Ask what your customer needs or wants: the simplest way to find out what your customer needs or wants from you is – to ask them. Find out what causes them pain, what lights their candle and create a campaign or product that addresses these issues. Knowing your customer and responding to their needs is vital for establishing a rapport with them that will create a loyal customer base. That way even if your prices go up, your customers will stay and pay just to know that their needs will be met.

18. Add spiritual element to your marketing: Set your organisation apart from the rest by showing your company as caring, heart centred, trustworthy and conscious.

19. Don’t sell!: People never buy products they buy relationships, let people get to know you before pitching to them. Offer your business as a recommendation in response to something in the conversation rather than pitching it up front. In face if you are really game, you can avoid talking about your business altogether until they ask and even then say little and ask instead how you can help your new aquaintence to build their business. Your rep will grow amazingly and everyone will want to do business with you.

20. Be the brand: let you as an individual stand as the brand of your business. When you allow your real authentic self to represent your company, your company never has to hard sell itself. You will never need to advertise, merely market as an aside to standing in your truth and allowing the passion you have for what you do spill over into everything you do and everyone you meet.

Let me know if you can add to this list by commenting below, I would love for these posts to become a real resource for everyone who has ever had a question about branding.

Brand Booster 21 Day 19: Get Out There & Nuture Your Brand (smallbusinessbranding.com)

© AnnieInfinite for The Bulls Roar, 2009. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Advertising and Marketing, Brand, Business, Competition, Customer base, Marketing, Website

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Branding You and Your Business – Get Noticed! Pt.1

AnnieInfinite — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 02:25:52 +0000

: Image via Wikipedia

As we all know branding is very important in business, however your brand is not just your logo or company name, it is who you are percieved to be on and offline.

It is the sum total of your identity your company’s identity and your own, you cannot have one without the other. Do you know how your company is percieved? What about yourself, do you know how you are percieved by your clients and customers?

If not find out and if you are not completely happy about your ‘branding’ take steps to change it to one you do want your company and yourself percieved as. This may mean making more effort to figure out exactly what your intended company and personal profile is, what you would like people to be saying about you and your company.

Once you have done that you will be able to use some of this list to -GET NOTICED!

1. Be Unique! – Decide what your company’s USP (Unique Selling Proposition) is. What is it about your business that differentiates it from all the other businesses in your field? If you haven’t got that figured out you have no basis to begin branding yourself. I have seen some very strange branding in my time (e.g. “The Go Getting Granny”, “The Lazy Entrepreneur”) but even strange branding is better than no branding!
2. Be Yourself! – Please stay yourself, be real, be authentically you in all that you do. Be honest and ethical at all times. Creating trust in you and your brand is more than half the battle when it comes to marketing, if people don’t trust you they will not recommend you and word of mouth marketing is marketings holy grail. Please don’t brand yourself as unethical, dishonest and therefore untrustworthy.
3. Support Your Customers! – A great man once said, “You can get everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want.” -(Zig Ziglar ) You can do this by supporting your customers business, cross marketing with your customers and investing in your customers success. Look for win/win outcomes in your dealings with them.
4. Create a Value Niche! – Get together with others and brain storm ways in which you can create a unique value add to your product or service. Make it something you know everybody needs or wants, find a way to add such value to your selling proposition that it is impossible to say no.
5. Be your Company’s Best Asset! – Do whatever it takes to be your company’s best asset, educate yourself, be outgoing, make sure you connect with your customers personally in some way. Doing this means that your customers feel important to you, get out and do your own presentations, answer questions on social media, be available in some way to your customers. One of the best examples of this is Richard Branson who makes it his mission to shake hands for 20 mintues or so at each of his airports every year and holds parties annually in each major city for members of his airlines frequent flyer clubs.
6. Know what you customers want and need and then give it to them! - Do this whether you have the product or service they need or not. If you cannot personally provide the product or service make sure you and your company become a resource for your customers by forging alliances with firms all around your niche and recommending them and they you, this will pay off in spades!
7. Put the extra in Extraordinary! – Offer a package of products or services out of those that are often purchased together. If needed JV with another company to offer something outstanding that is offered nowhere else. Make your company the most convenient option.
8. Become a Movement! – Turn your company into a movement rather than just another business. We brand ourselves as ‘The Authentreprenuers Resource’ a place where you can educate yourself on authentic marketing and business strategies and ethical hosting and website design. Our mission is to change the face of online marketing and create a new paradigm where authenticity is the new norm and hype a thing of the past We attract everyone who wants authenticity as their bottom line vision for their businesses therefore we are a business that is a movement.
9. Be the Guarantee! – simple and totally effective. You and your company guarantees your guarantee! When you make a promise you and all of your employees do what you said you were going to do and do it when they say they were going to do it.
10. Anticipate your customers needs and wants! – Know what the upcoming trends are and offer them before anyone else. Know what products or services are most often needed together and offer those as a package, know when your clients or customers might need to update, renew or reschedule the product or service and send them a reminder.

Part 1 – part 2 coming soon!

How To Develop a Unique Selling Proposition (digitalprintink.wordpress.com)
Four reasons why new websites flop (woorkup.com)

© AnnieInfinite for The Bulls Roar, 2009. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Advertising and Marketing, Business, Internet marketing, Marketing, Richard Branson, Unique Selling Proposition, Website, Word of mouth

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The Bulls Roar » Advertising and Marketing

Branding You and Your Business Pt.2

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Branding You and Your Business – Get Noticed! Pt.1

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