Marketing Sparkler Ι

19Sep 2012 by Miss Kemya

How A Shiny Box Can Help Your Branding Strategy

Branding

Every business has competition. It doesn’t matter if you have 5 competitors or 5000, you have to be able to distinguish your business, ala your brand, from your competition. I recently spoke with a national company that couldn’t articulate anything about their brand. They had no branding strategy. If you have this problem you’re screwed! Here’s what happened: I met with a CEO who's been in business for over 20 years and she’s stuck. We started talking about marketing (of course) and I asked some basic questions. We identified a few of her key competitors, with comparable pricing strategies, similar target markets, etc. This applies to most businesses doesn’t it? Doesn’t this sound like your business? Note: I’m not talking about those companies that compete primarily on price. That’s another discussion for…

19Oct 2011 by Miss Kemya

Is Your Brand Strategy Effective?

Branding

Consider these 2 scenarios Scenario A Your brand strategy is at its best: Prospects and customers know exactly what you deliver. It’s easy to begin conversations with new prospects because they quickly and easily understand what you stand for. You close deals more quickly because your prospects’ experience with you supports everything you say. You can charge a premium because your market knows why you’re better and is willing to pay for it. Scenario B Your brand strategy is a work in progress: The market may not have a consistent view or impression of your product and company, but in general you think it’s positive. You haven’t thought a lot about branding because it doesn't necessarily seem relevant, but you admit that you can do a better job of communicating consistently with…

29Aug 2011 by Miss Kemya

Can I Find Your Product In Anytown, USA?

Branding, Marketing Strategy

Have you noticed how certain shoe brands are sold exclusively in limited retail outlets? How about clothes, ever notice some brands can be found all over the place, and yet others are only found in major cities? Notice how you can’t just go into your local office supply store and purchase a $2,000 gold-cased Montblanc writing instrument? Ok, then you recognize that where you distribute your products/services is an important component of a branding strategy! Did you know your branding strategy should help define your distribution channels? It should be a guiding principle when determining exactly how you want to position your product or service in the marketplace. This applies to both products and services alike. Here’s a few examples: If the Price Point for your product or service is…

25Aug 2011 by Miss Kemya

Brand Strategy: Establish Your Competitive Position

Branding

We’ve laid the foundation to build your branding strategy in a previous post. Now, let’s talk about your competitive position, which in a nutshell is your differentiation in the market. Now, I could bore you with a bunch of technical marketing jargon, but that’s what you’d hire a marketing pro for. Instead, here’s an easy to use quick version in lamens terms so you can begin to create your differentiator to establish your position in the market. Answering these questions will put you on the right track! Develop a market profile as related to your niche. For example, I’m a marketing strategist for small businesses in xyz industries, and I'm based in Atlanta, GA. So, I may start with finding out how many small businesses in xyz industries there are in Atlanta, how many years…

19Aug 2011 by Miss Kemya

Lay the Groundwork to Define Your Brand

Branding, Marketing Strategy, Tips and Tools

Let’s define the word BRAND as it relates to your company. In a nutshell, a brand has to convince me to spend my money, time and effort with you and not your competitor. Think about iconic brands like Starbucks, Ferrari, ESPN, and Neiman Marcus. When you hear the names of these companies you immediately think of a host of attributes for each of them. Well, it’s their BRAND you’re thinking of! Now do you understand why your brand is so important, and why you need to manage your company’s brand? Good, we’re on the same page. Consider these criteria to start defining your brand: Company name: does it say anything / mean anything to your ideal client? Is it easy to remember? Hard to pronounce? Keep in mind, you can leverage…

17Aug 2011 by Miss Kemya

Social Media Usernames Count!

Branding, Strategy

One of the fantastic consequences of our socially connected world is that we can connect to people, clients and prospects around the world 24/7. But how does this relate to your brand, from a first impression perspective? Think about it: when you meet someone face-to-face, your first impression includes their clothes, neatness, appearance, handshake, etc. However, when meeting online, the dynamics of the first impression change. We meet people online by communicating across different platforms, and what’s one of the first, if not the first, things you become aware of when you meet a new person online? Their username, not their legal given name, but their profile username. Hence the reason why your social media username is critical as you define your brand! When choosing your social media username for each…

11Aug 2011 by Miss Kemya

Can You Define Your Brand?

Branding, Marketing Strategy

So you’ve been in business for a while. Can you give me a definition of your brand? For example, I’m a small biz marketing powerhouse who comes in, peels the surface layers back to reveal the true core of your biz, evaluates and, if necessary, overhauls your entire marketing strategy, immerses your biz across the appropriate social media platforms, syncs your day-to-day operations with your firm’s long term objectives, and re-energizes your passion and perception of your own business. I ask clients to describe my brand to me and this is pretty much a summary of what I’ve been told. Do I like the way I am perceived by my clients? Absolutely! Did I strategically develop my brand into this? Nope. I just do my work, like most of you…

04Aug 2011 by Miss Kemya

Brand Communication Is More Than Your Website

Branding

Branding is all about the communication of your image to the world, yes I said world! You’re familiar with the whole six-degrees-of-separation concept right? So, in effect, your presence is global, whether or not you realize it. How Is Branding Communicated? In a nutshell, your brand is communicated in every single action you take with regards to your business, whether it’s with a prospect, client, employee, partner, vendor, etc. Most business owners know a company’s brand is communicated by a business card, a website, and customer service. But let’s dig a bit deeper shall we? Your company's brand is also communicated by: the way you answer the phone your voice mail message on the phone how you greet a person (smile, handshake, hug, eye contact) verbiage used in all communication…

Tag: elements of a brand