allergies: กุมภาพันธ์ 2009

วันพฤหัสบดีที่ 5 กุมภาพันธ์ พ.ศ. 2552

Why Should I do Business With You?

It's the question that is on the minds of all our customers regardless of what products or services we are offering. Potential customers want to know what makes you so different and why should they do business with you as opposed to one of your competitor's.

Price at one time use to be a determining factor in the decision-making process when it came to a purchase, now, that is not always the case. Our customers are much more informed and savvy when it comes to buying and while they want the BEST deal (I mean don't we all?) it goes much deeper than that. Many have said that they will spend the extra money on a purchase because they are getting better care, better customer satisfaction?whatever "better" is in their minds. "Care, Customer Satisfaction, Service" these are all "values." These values, when visible answer that important question

"Why should I do business with you?"

And these values are what sets you apart from your competition.

Ok, so this is all well said and good, now what do you do? What you need to do is sit down and determine your values. If you have a downline then hey many heads are better than one, set up a training night and brainstorm. Make a list of ALL the values that set you apart from the competition and the best place to start is why you got into the business or joined a specific program in the first place. Chances are it's those VALUES that will attract people.

When I say list VALUES, I am not referring to the aspect of a specific company having TUV dollars in assets and it is run by so and so. While that shows company stability they are NOT values. People don't care how much in assets or who the person is - THEY WANT SOLUTIONS TO THEIR PROBLEMS.

If you know what sets you apart from the competition then make it known and visible. Don't keep it a secret, include it in all your emailing campaigns, put them up on your web site. These "values" can be known in the form of testimonials which are an excellent way to set you apart from the competition AND adds credibility because they were written by unbiased sources. Another thing you could do is include "Your Story." Explain your situation as to why you got involved with a specific program or why you are in the business you are in. People like to align themselves with "like-minded" people, they want to know that "hey this guy is just like me!"

When you make your values visible you are really setting the "bar" for the competition as well. They have to step up and exceed this bar now. They have to work that much harder to keep and attract customers. From a business perspective which would you rather be??

Make your values visible and make it obvious WHY a person should do business with you as opposed to your competition.

Denise Ryder is a Marketing Coach writing from her home office in Northern Ontario (Canada). Hey...are you a do-it yourself marketer? Are you struggling a little? Need just a little help??? Can you imagine how far your business could grow with a Marketing Coach in your pocket??? Take a no cost Test Drive TODAY!

<a target="_new" href="http://www.profitspace.com/coach">http://www.profitspace.com/coach</a>

Im Just Starting, Why Do I Need a Logo Design?

Businesses eager to open often give little thought to their identity. With so much to get done, designing an appropriate logo hardly seems like a top priority. However, this oversight can prove to be a costly error in the long run.

While it's admirable to let your uncle's wife's cousin take a crack at designing your logo, it might not be very wise - especially if it's not what they do professionally day-in and day-out. You don't let just anyone contact your best clients. Nor do you let just anyone develop your mission statement. You get the idea here. The good news is that there are now many online, cost-effective ways to have a professional work on your design projects (eg., http:// www.bullseyelogo.com). You get high-quality without having to pay the traditional ad agency prices.

? A new business must compete with established companies. A quality logo is one of the easiest ways to gain credibility and professionalism right from the start, when you need it most.

? A new business usually has to attract customers away from competitors. A distinctive logo stands out in peoples minds, and is much easier to remember than a name alone.

? A logo adds visual appeal to any document or website, and increases the impact of your promotional materials.

? Eventually, the time will come when the need for a professional logo is evident. Having already begun to establish the presence of your company, you now risk diminishing your existing brand equity. Additional money will have to be spent to promote the change or introduction of your logo, in order to avoid loss of business due to confusion.

Get off to a great start!

A well designed logo signals the existence of a company, its strength, services and products offered. The aim is to create a lasting impression on a customer's mind. A stong identity becomes your SILENT SALESMAN 24/7! That's a great way to get your business off the ground.

Article written by: Umberto Micheli <a target="_new" href="http://www.bullseyelogo.com">http://www.bullseyelogo.com</a>

Umberto Micheli is the Creative Director at Bullseyelogo., a logo design firm that designs high quality corp. logo design and corporate identity packages for businesses worldwide.

How to Write Classified Ads that Get Results Now.

SELLING DIRECTLY FROM A CLASSIFIED AD

Classified ads can be used to sell products directly from the ad. This works best for items costing no more than approximately $5. The best use for classified ads is to utilize them in obtaining inquiries. This is called the two step approach. The first step is to get maximum inquiries from the classified ad, in the second step the promotional package is sent to the prospect and as many inquiries as possible are converted to buyers.

CLASSIFIED ADS FOR MAXIMUM INQUIRIES

Classified ads are substantially less expensive than small space ads, but by no means are they cheap. Most national publications catering to the mail order business charge from $3 to $8 per word. A well laid out ad should consist of about 20 words which includes the company name and address. It is important that you remind yourself that only the purpose is to get the prospect to take immediate action and write for more information.

Before you write the ad know exactly what it is you want to sell. You must know very specifically what you are going to accomplish through this ad. Once you have determined what you want to get across to the reader, write it out in one or more complete sentences. For example, you have the reproduction rights for several reports and want to market them. So the objective is: "I want to get the maximum number of responses to inquire about my self-publishing material which has excellent income potential and is easy to market, especially for a newcomer to the business."

This ad may read as follows:

TREMENDOUS PROFITS THROUGH SELF-PUBLISHING! Start part-time. Easy to do. Request free Special Report! XYZ Publishing/E, PO Box 1000, Frederick, MD 20908.

THE OPENING LINE

The first 3 or 4 words-- are critical. Since there are hundreds of classified ads in any given publication you must be able to get the reader who scans all, or some of them, to stop in his tracks when he gets to your ad and read your ad and then take action.

Open any publication and review the ads and you will see that many of those ads have absolutely no purpose. They are a total waste of money. But that is good for you since I am sure you will make a real effort to get your message across. Here are a couple of examples of useless ads:

Still Looking For A New Beginning? Write.......

What do they mean by that? How does any of that pertain tome and what am I supposed to make of that? Here is another one:

The Easiest Business On Earth. Valuable information mailed free.....

Do you think many people are going to write in for an ad like that. Especially not since there are hundreds of other ads in competition for the readers' time.

THE OBJECT IS TO GET THE READER TO TAKE ACTION - NOW!

In less that 25 words you have to create a message that will make a reader stop; give him a reason - benefits to him - why this is for him; tell him what to do - action; and provide the vital information. It is as simple and as complicated as that. Simple because you know what you want to accomplish, but complicated because it has to be done with so few words. I think you can see why it is virtually impossible to sell a $10 or $20 item from a classified ad. You just would not have enough space to tell a story compelling enough to convince someone to part with $10 or $20.

SELF-CENTERED ADVERTISING COPY IS INEFFECTIVE

With some practice you should have no problem getting lots of inquiries from your ads. Stay away from "Self-centered advertising copy", copy that speaks about you. How great you or your company are, or how great your product is.

 The only thing the reader cares about is himself. What's in in for Number One! Nothing else.

SOME COST SAVING TIPS

Almost all weekly and monthly publication will charge for each word including your company name and address. Most daily newspapers have a per line rate. Since just the address can take up from 6-10 words here are some ways you can save money.

The following ad has 23 words.

TREMENDOUS PROFITS THROUGH SELF-PUBLISHING Start part-time. Easy to do. XYZ Publishing Co. Dept 12 P.O. Box 1000 Frederick, MD 20908

This ad has 21 words.

TREMENDOUS PROFITS THROUGH SELF-PUBLISHING Start part-time. Easy to do. Free details. XYZ Publishing/E (The E becomes the code instead of Dept 12 PO Box 1000 Frederick, MD 20908

Or this one which has 18 words

SELF-PUBLISHING, TREMENDOUS PROFITS! Start part-time. Easy! Free report. XYZ Publishing/E PO Box 1000 Frederick, MD 20908

Some publications charge 2 words for the zip code and state, some only one. If you live in a city which consists of several words such as Palm Beach Gardens you are only charged for 1 word.

Evaluate the cost effectiveness of your ad by the cost per inquiry and not the cost of the ad. Example a $150 ad generates 170 inquiries $0.88 per word versus a $28 ad which generates 15 inquiries at a cost of $1.87 each.

WHEN THE INQUIRIES START ARRIVING

If you have written and placed an effective ad and the inquiries start rolling in, the most important job, or actually several jobs have to be done. They are as follows:

1. Your sales/promotional package must be ready before the first inquiry arrives and it must be answered promptly, preferably the same day but certainly within 48 hours. The longer you wait the more chances are that a competitor will win out over you. Although some people will wait for weeks before they make a decision, many will act within days.

2. The ad you are placing is just the beginning. The names which are generated from the ad must be used again and again in order for your total advertising effort to be effective in the long term.

3. A percentage of your inquiries from this first ad will become buyers. You need to send these buyers additional offers within several weeks after their first purchase and thereafter mail at least 3 times per year to them. You drop them from your list if they have not bought anything for about 8 - 12 months.

4. The inquiries that did not buy buy this time may still buy at a later time. You can send them the same material again, or a similar offer. It is advisable to send 2-3 more mailing to them.

Many mail order companies may only make a small profit or just break even when the actual sales results are measured against a single ad. But over the life of the customers which are converted from those inquiries and the subsequent purchases from the inquiries who were not converted from the initial ad many hundreds or thousands of additional dollars will be generated.

Copyright 2004 by DeAnna Spencer

This article may be reproduced freely on the Internet as long as the resource box remains intact.
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ DeAnna is the publisher of the ezine, Prospecting and Presents. Subscribers get one free ad per week. Subscribe today by visiting <A target="_new" href="http://www.pnewsletter.com">http://www.pnewsletter.com</A> To thank the publishers/webmasters that use my article, I offer one free solo ad. Simply fill out the contact form on my contact page listing the url it was used on or sending me a copy of the ezine it was used in. Once I confirm the location of the article, then we can make arrangements for the solo ad. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ Note to publisher/webmaster: Feel free to remove the part about the solo ad when you get ready to publish the article.

วันพุธที่ 4 กุมภาพันธ์ พ.ศ. 2552

Brand Equity - Brand Identity Guru

7 Qualities Of A Strong Brand:

1. Commands premium pricing while retaining loyalty

2. Shortens the sales cycle

3. Deflects competition

4. Resists commoditization

5. Establishes top of mind awareness (mindshare)

6. Generates referral "word of mouth" momentum

7. Meets and exceeds shareholder expectations

If you are lacking some of these qualities read on to learn how you can strengthen your brand!

Putting Your Message In Motion?

" Persuasion is the centerpiece of business activity," writes Robert McKee, Screenwriting Coach, in a June 2003 Harvard Business Review article on storytelling. "?If you can harness imagination and the principles of a well-told story, then you get people rising to their feet amid thunderous applause instead of yawning and ignoring you."

You tend to listen to a guy who has taught people how to spin yarns like The Color Purple, Forrest Gump and Sleepless in Seattle. Though in this article McKee was referring to executives' effective storytelling to inspire their various stakeholders, the same principles resonate through a company's brand communications. First you've got to capture your prospects' imaginations and make them believe your story. Only then are you within reach of branding a customer and opening a new revenue stream. Multimedia makes this goal a lot easier to reach.

The term "multimedia" encompasses any medium that relies on more than one of the human senses to communicate. For example, print ads use only sight (except for "scratch 'n sniff). Radio uses only sound. By contrast, web movies, television and cinema use sight and sound together for a more effective presentation. So though technically multimedia has been around for a long time, today the reference is chiefly reserved for digital presentations with motion, visuals and sound.

Study after study proves that the more senses involved in telling your story (sight, sound, touch, etc.), the more effective it becomes. The greatest advantage of multimedia for B2B marketers isn't really the media itself, but the channels now available to distribute it to niche audiences with surgical precision. DVD and the web, search engines and email provide the perfect mix of vehicles to drive a highly targeted stream of people to hear and see their stories. So in this age of digital information, it's no wonder that marketers are rushing to use this highly targeted storytelling medium.

MicroSoft PowerPoint

This is a simple multimedia-capable tool. The next step up from a photo slide show, PowerPoint has become the most popular multimedia program in distribution today. PowerPoint's elementary animation of typography and images richens the cracker-dry corporate slide presentation of the past and brings the entire presentation process in-house, relegating it to administrative assistants instead of outsourced creative specialists.

The problem we've seen with PowerPoint is that it is so easy to use that companies allow people untrained in even basic storytelling, graphics or their specific corporate brand standards to create these presentations. This does more to undermine the integrity of a consistent brand image than anything else we've seen. Everyone wants to add their "creative touches" to the PowerPoint presentation, and before you know it, a conservative-minded company can look like Disneyland at the board of directors meeting.

And since PowerPoint contains libraries of backgrounds, effects and color palettes for all to use, it is easy to develop presentations with a "canned" flavor, defeating the objective of brand differentiation. The use of these common library images and elements also increases the chances of your presentation taking on the same look and feel of one of your competitors.

The solution? A unique, yet standardized template based on corporate brand identity standards should be issued to a select group of managers whose departments regularly create presentations. Each completed presentation should be reviewed for adherence to standards prior to use in the field, or even internally. Creating a brand review committee will help immensely, even if it is an ad hoc, part-time or outsourced function.

Flash by Macromedia

This is an animation software tool well suited for telling conceptual stories where motion is important to express the concept, but actual cinematic media (motion film) is not the answer (for either expressive or budgetary reasons). This might work well in the case of demonstrating the principal of a machine's operation, of which many parts are not visible.

Flash is a vector (as opposed to a raster) digital format. Vector programs like Flash and Adobe Illustrator hold quality as they rescale in size or dimension, take up far smaller amounts of disk space and download faster on the web.

Flash is built for flexibility in resolution and aspect ratios. The same presentation can be used on a laptop computer for a sales presentation as well as a 60" letterbox plasma screen at a trade show with the same high quality results requiring only minor adjustments in display settings.

Though actual photos and even motion film or video clips can be embedded in Flash, its true capabilities shine in the animation mode. With a capable and creative designer, Flash can be a very entertaining and effective tool. It can instantly be embed in the mind of the viewer, a core concept that would otherwise take far more time and explanation.

The key is to tell an engaging story with your Flash animation. Start by identifying with your audience and encountering the problem in the way they would. Instead of simply showing a demonstration, try creating a unique character with a personality that is consistent with your brand promise or typifies your customer. Or personify inanimate objects. Build the storyline with a problem/solution orientation. Like any other marketing project, do your homework so your presentation is credible.

Here are a few tips for Flash use:

A 90-second Flash introduction to a sales presentation can standardize the way your story is told (solution story versus product features) and allow your sales reps to get to the negotiation stage faster. It is a good idea to build control buttons into the sales and web versions of the presentation to allow reps and visitors to pause at key points, fast forward through less relevant segments and rewind for those "let's see that again" requests.

On the web, don't use Flash for an introduction to your web site. People can grow impatient when forced to view your show before your home page. Instead, put voluntary links to your Flash movies on your home page and promote them throughout the site.

Use Flash movies for

? Positioning

? Demonstration

? Comparison

? Concept Illustration

Raster Web ("Director") Movies

B2B marketers have long been envious of consumer marketers' effective use of television. TV commercials are one of the most powerful mass positioning tools of all time. But for most B2B marketers, the television medium doesn't efficiently target niche B2B segments. And though cable television has provided more specialized programming where more B2B corporate positioning commercials are finding success, for the vast majority of the middle market, it's still a bit rich for the budget. But movies on the web?now there's a combo with some B2B traction.

In contrast to Flash vector movies, raster web movies are simply actual videos or motion film productions that are available on the web. These movies are created no differently than cinema or television commercials. They're simply digitized, edited and optimized for use on a DVD, CD or the web. They are quite a bit larger in file size than vector movies, so many times streaming technology is used for playback rather than downloading the entire movie before playing.

With the web growing fast as the number-one resource for business marketers, it is beginning to make sense to make special "infomercials" and short positioning movies for the web. In essence, this is simply a more engaging reincarnation of the obligatory, dust-collecting "corporate video" but with some new twists and exciting, new distribution options. Rather than make one corporate video that comes packaged with caffeine supplements, produce exciting, new, shorter, more to-the-point flicks that aim for high marks in immediacy and relevancy with web-savvy buyers.

BMW has become a leader in this area. You may have seen promotions for their web movies over the past couple of years. I received a great email last week from BMW promoting their new 3-Series cars. In the well-designed html email was a still photo of the car with a link to a movie that allowed me to set it in motion. I watched the car cornering and performing other BMW-esque maneuvers on a winding coastal highway. Very nice for positioning. Very effective story telling.

T-Mobile is now unveiling a custom-produced version of the smash TV series "24" on short web movies delivered to select web-capable wireless phones. Though this may be a superfluous demonstration of technology and off-task with the utility of wireless phones, the fact that it can be done is in itself impressive.

Other uses for this phone technology and storytelling style are sure to catch fire over the next few years (movie trailers, mobile video mail, etc).

Paid search engines are a great way to efficiently target and recruit viewer-ship for your web movies and Flash presentations. Services such as Google's AdWords, Yahoo's Overture, Espotting.com and FindWhat.com are services that guide search inquiries from popular search engines to your website and only charge per click-through to your web site. This is a very efficient promotional tool to hook up with exceptionally qualified, active prospects.

ROI

The great thing about doing anything on the web ?like multimedia presentations ? is that you can get some fantastic metrics on who is watching, when and why. From this and other information, relationships can be made between ROI and spending that could never have been as precise before web technology.

Most Internet Service Providers (a.k.a. "ISPs" or Hosting Services) now include web metrics packages that enable you to see how much traffic you're getting, through what pages visitors enter your website, how long they visit, which pages they visit, when, and a host of other metrics.

How do you use this information for determining the ROI of web media? When you run promotions (with strong offers via email or other direct marketing), use a special web address as a response device, so you can measure the effectiveness of lead generation. Once the visitors are on the site, you can carefully structure their paths with strategic links that lead to your web movies, Flash presentations and other web media. This should help to position your brand and motivate the visitor. A call for action to download information or order products at the end of the movies can be used to measure the effectiveness of the movies.

With each marketing or branding objective, new and creative ways of measuring your ROI can be devised, and motion media developed to motivate action.

To measure how strong your brand image is copy and paste: (http://brandidentityguru.com/bightml/brandmasterpiece.html). Then click "Take the brand strength test". This is a short survey that measures the strength of any company's brand. It's a great tool to see where you are today.

Scott White is President of Brand Identity Guru (<a target="_new" href="http://www.brandidentityguru.com">http://www.brandidentityguru.com</a>), a leading brand consulting and market research firm located in Easton, Massachusetts, USA, near Boston. Brand Identity Guru specializes in creating corporate and product brands that increase sales, market share, customer loyalty, and brand valuation.

Over the course of his 15-year branding career, Scott White has worked in a wide variety of industries: high-tech, manufacturing, computer hardware and software, telecommunications, banking, restaurants, fashion, healthcare, Internet, retail, and service businesses, as well as numerous non-profit organizations.

Brand Identity Guru clients include: Sun Life Financial, Coca Cola, HP, Sun, Nordstrom, American Federal Mortgage, Simon (America's largest shopping mall manager) and many others, including numerous emerging growth companies.

Scott White is a very enthusiastic speaker and has the gift of being able to explain the principles of branding in a compelling and entertaining manner so that people at all levels can understand.

Value Proposition Writing - Brand Identity Guru

Your Value Proposition, or as I usually call it, your Core Marketing Message, is still misunderstood by most professionals. It's not just a tagline, sound bite or even an "Audio Logo." It goes way beyond that.

It really is the expression of the essence of your business. It's the foundation of all your marketing messages. It's what makes you stand out and be memorable in an overcrowded marketplace of look-a likes. And it always is more about your clients and their businesses than it is about you and your business.

A great Value Proposition has several elements that, combined together, pack a powerful marketing punch that's hard to ignore. These elements include the following:

1. Your ideal target client - Who exactly are your services designed for? It certainly just can't be just "medium or large companies." You need to zero in on much more specifically. What industry, department, technology, values?

2. Their problems or challenges - What are they struggling with? What's not working for them? What opportunities are coming up that they may not be meeting successfully? What keeps them up at night? You need to know this in your head, heart and gut.

3. The solutions or results - Where do they want to go? What do they aspire to? What are they excited about and committed to? After they've solved their problems, where are they going to put their attention and resources?

4. The unique angle - What have you got that nobody else has? And how is this an advantage to your clients? What can you do faster, better, smarter than every other competitor out there? You need to know this with a high degree of certainty or you'll just blend in with everyone else.

When you approach a buyer, whether through a call, an email, an article, or your web content, this Value Proposition needs to pop out vividly and urgently, letting them know you are worth paying attention to.

If you are going to express your Value Proposition verbally, you can usually do it in two well-structured sentences. These statements can be used in a wide variety of situations, from meeting someone at a networking event to calling a big company prospect on the phone.

Audio Logo: We work with companies who have large, widely diverse teams of workers and who are frustrated with high attrition rates and reduced productivity. (Target market plus problem)

Follow-Up: Our clients are interested in both cutting costs and increasing retention and appreciate that our "guaranteed worker program" results in the very best workers that stay 295% longer than the industry average. (Solution and uniqueness)

If you can develop a concise Value Proposition that is more than just words but is something you can really deliver on, you will find it much easier to get the attention and interest of buyers in big companies. Here are some of the biggest mistakes I see made in developing a Value Proposition.

* Thinking that it's not important - You've go to make this a *Big Deal* because it's really the key to it all. Sure it sounds complex and abstract. But the turning point in your business is likely to come when you "see the light" and start "preaching your message."

* Not researching and testing - It's not going to come to you in two minutes (unless you are very lucky). It usually takes a fair amount of research, brainstorming, testing it on clients and associates before it really clicks and you know you have something that works.

* Not truly differentiating - Often a Value Proposition only gets as far as the target market and the problem. That's good but it can be too generic. Only when you get into your solution and your uniqueness will you really stand out and be noticed.

* Not having enough depth - A Value Proposition needs to go way beyond those four points and two statements outlined above. It needs to permeate into every nook and cranny of your marketing. Every expression of your business, large or small, needs to reek of your Value Proposition.

* Not having stories - Stories are the most persuasive marketing tools you can use. Take your Value Proposition as the central theme around which you'll build your case studies and other stories that make a compelling and emotional case for your services.

To measure how strong your brand is copy and paste: (http://brandidentityguru.com/bightml/brandmasterpiece.html). Then click "Take the brand strength test". This is a short survey that measures the strength of any company's brand. It's a great tool to see where you are today.

Scott White is a very enthusiastic speaker and has the gift of being able to explain the principles of branding in a compelling and entertaining manner so that people at all levels can understand.

วันอังคารที่ 3 กุมภาพันธ์ พ.ศ. 2552

How Important it is to have a Professional Logo Design for your Business?

There are a lot of things that contribute towards the success of a business. Having a good quality product doesn't necessarily assure the success of a business. To build a long term impression on your customers, it is vital that you have a proper marketing strategy and something unique about your company. Here comes in the importance for having a custom logo design.

I think it is absolutely important for all corporate bodies to realize the importance of having a custom designed logo. A professional logo design goes a long way to establish the identity and exude the attitude of the company. Now, when we say 'professional logo design", we must understand that it is not a child's play, its a specialist job and better if it is assigned to a professional logo designer. The corporate bodies need to appoint the specialist in the field to get it done. I definitely do understand that its lot of fun to design your own logo; You play with colors, try out your drawing skills and spend some idle time to think what should be the design, at the end you land up with a very common concept of having the initials of your company in some twisted fashion or putting in a sleazy slogan to say your product is the best or some other things like that. However, that is not how your logo should be, it is not just a small graphics to appear in your business cards and letterheads. A logo, if done properly can leave a long and deep impression on your customers mind. They go a long way in depicting the image of your business. You can well understand, how powerful a logo can be if you think about the golden M of McDonalds-the moment you see that, you know its' them. Just think about the IBM logo or Swoosh of Nike, do you even take a moment to think, to whom does that logo belong? That shows how powerful impact a logo can create in the mind of your customers. Wouldn't you like your company to have an equally powerful logo?

A professionally designed custom logo can be very powerful in representing the company profile, the nature of job they do and the attitude of the company. It helps to build the identity of the company and distinguishes your service from your competitors in the industry.

These days its really easy to find a professional logo designer and the best part is that they offer the service at real cheap rates which can be afforded by the smallest of business houses. There are so many logo design firm that offers excellent custom logo designs at unbelievable low rates. There are even companies that would happily do a quality logo for you for just $60-$80. Some companies would even allow you to quote <a target="_new" href="http://www.mycorporatelogo.com">"Your price" for "Your Logo"</a> and they will do it at whatever price you quote. What can be more wonderful than this? Does it really make sense not to have a good logo even when you can have it so cheap?

The good news is, these days the corporate houses have started to realize the importance of establishing their brand and they are acknowledging the crucial role that a company logo plays in this process. The sooner the business houses realize the importance of professionally designed custom logo and stationery the better it will be for them and also for the graphic designing industry.

Ray Smith is a marketing Expert with years of experience in different industries and specialized knowledge on branding and internet marketing. <a target="_new" href="http://www.mycorporatelogo.com">Affordable Logo Design.</a>

The Big-Pay Off -- Brand Value

Many CEOs and marketing directors find their time wasted evaluating marketing opportunities instead of acting on them. When every possibility is followed, a meandering trail of hit and miss effectiveness is the result. Despite significant expenditure of time and money, marketing tactics may not produce the desired gains.

What is their problem? They are missing a crucial step in the marketing arsenal -- branding. The power of branding is that it is not just for your customers. When done correctly, it also creates a roadmap for you to follow internally, streamlining your planning and decision-making processes for years to come.

Outward Brand

This is what many people relate to when thinking of a "brand:" a logo, tagline, style of advertising, product packaging, etc. These are not the brand, but rather the brand elements. To be truly branded however, all of these elements are developed based on the core value of the company. The core value will stay the same, through product changes, service changes, and staff changes.

The value of this is in attraction. If you have spent the time identifying your ideal prospect [read: most profitable] and created an emotional reason to buy [read: comes back and brings their friends with them], then all your time and money is now focused on creating interesting tactics to engage a prospect you know will be profitable, rather than baiting the hook with whatever you have and hoping you're fishing in the right pond.

The investment in developing a set message to a clear audience is rewarded by recognition, recall and referral of your brand. You can change ad campaigns, update packaging, and replace staff and if all reflect your underlying message, the brand impact will be carried over to your audience no matter how or who delivers it.

Inward Brand

Developing brand clearly improves external communication. Impressively, it can increase your internal efficiency as well.

What often bogs down the marketing process is planning, and deciding on a case by case basis what actions should be taken. We have seen marketing efforts derailed and budgets drained by everything from an aggressive ad sales person to a company executive driving past a billboard and insisting the marketing department book it.

It is so easy to latch onto what sounds like a great idea or a sure thing or to give up on a plan when no immediate results are seen. However brand marketing is not direct response, it is viral, increasing in scope and intensity the more it is replicated.

With a brand built on focus features, key benefits and a core value, it is easy to plan strategy and tactics to capitalize on your goals. And the next time someone asks you to place and ad, sponsor an event, or recommends a billboard rental, you will know if that is on your brand path or an expensive joy ride to who knows where, what we call an "off-road vehicle."

The Reward

The effort of building and maintaining a brand must be constant. Your brand provides a roadmap but the destination is ultimately having customers so loyal they always choose your company and so zealous they bring their friends along. The value is in the opinion and the action customers are willing to take because of how they feel, and in the speed and accuracy of the decisions you can make to achieve your goals.

About The Author

Beth Brodovsky is the president and principal of Iris Creative Group, LLC. Brodovsky earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communication Design from Pratt Institute, New York. Before launching her own firm in 1996, she spent eight years as a corporate Art Director and Graphic Designer, providing a sound foundation in management and organizational standards and structure. Iris Creative specializes in providing marketing and strategic communication services to clients in service industries and small businesses. For more information contact Beth at <a href="mailto:bsb@iriscreative.com">bsb@iriscreative.com</a> or 610-567-2799.

Brand Building 101

Building your brand into a brand leader isn't easy. There are 2 areas that can really help you grow your brand, passion and consistency. Passion is incredibly important. You have to understand that even if you are a start up or a one-man operation, or are well on your way, you are still a brand. You have to care passionately about the way your brand is nurtured, developed and presented to your target audience. Everything that leaves your building, every impression that your staff and your company make, is lasting. Take advantage of this opportunity to get your customers and potential customers to remember you in the way that you want them too!

Passion is something that you have to feel deep down inside; you have to be driven by the belief that your brand should be the #1 in its category. I can't give you the passion, but I will ask you to think about this! For example, one of the greatest investors of all time is Warren Buffet. Mr. Buffet invests only in brands, or products that he really understands. He once wrote in one of his annual reports "A brand is like a moat around your business". This point is significant! A brand can protect you against competitive attacks, it can protect you from market fluctuations, it can protect you from having to get into a price war, and it can protect your premium price positioning. When all things are equal, consumers will usually buy the brand leader!

Consistency is probably the easiest part of the marketing communications to control, but frankly most companies fail in this area. What you should do is ensure that everything that comes out of your company looks like it should. Every piece of communication should be part of a "look" that you have agreed on. I really do not care what it is; it should always look like it's part of a family, part of an ongoing series of communications. There should be no difference. If it's a letter, they should all look the same. No different typefaces, different margins etc. This is an area that should not be a request in your company; it should be a mandate.

Brand Identity Guru specializes in creating corporate and product brands that increase sales, market share, customer loyalty, and brand valuation. Over the course of his 15-year branding career, Scott White has worked in a wide variety of industries: high-tech, manufacturing, computer hardware and software, telecommunications, banking, restaurants, fashion, healthcare, Internet, retail, and service businesses, as well as numerous non-profit organizations.

Scott White is a very enthusiastic speaker and has the gift of being able to explain the principles of branding in a compelling and entertaining manner so that people at all levels can understand.

วันจันทร์ที่ 2 กุมภาพันธ์ พ.ศ. 2552

Fast Forwarding Your Business

If you think only big corporate names need to think about things like brand names, think again. Your brand says a lot about you and your business, and that's as true for a one person home-based operation as it is for a multinational conglomerate. In this article we look at how creating a strong brand for your business can help you set yourself apart from the pack and lay the right foundation for the future growth of your business.

WHAT IS A BRAND?

Your brand is more than just the logo on your letterhead and business cards or your business name. It is your corporate identity. An effective brand tells the world who you are, what you do and how you do it, while at the same time establishing your relevance to and credibility with your prospective customers.

Your brand is also something more ethereal. It is how your business is perceived by its customers. If your brand has a high perceived value, you enjoy many advantages over your competition, especially when it comes to pricing. Why do you think people are prepared to pay stupid money for items of clothing with the initials "CK" on them? Perceived value. Perceived value as a result of very effective brand promotion resulting in very high brand awareness.

Now, I'm not saying we all need to rush out and start creating brands that are going to be recognized the world over. Most of us simply don't have the time or other resources necessary. What I am suggesting, however, is that it is possible for your brand to dominate your niche.

WHY DO I NEED TO CREATE MY OWN BRAND?

=> Differentiation

We touched on this in the previous section when we looked at what a brand is and how it can be used to increase the perceived value of your products and services. The main reason for creating your own brand is to differentiate yourself from your competition. New websites are a dime a dozen. So are home-based businesses. You need to constantly be looking for ways to set yourself apart from your competition. Your brand can do that for you.

=> More Effective, Efficient Marketing

Another good reason for creating your own brand is to make your sales force (even if that's a sales force of one - you) more effective and efficient.

Imagine if you didn't have to spend the first 50% of your time with a new prospect explaining who you are, what you do and how you do it. What if your brand had already communicated that for you? You can spend 100% of your time focusing on sales rather than educating your prospects about your business

Another benefit of branding is that the efforts you expend increasing your brand awareness through promoting and marketing your brand to your target market automatically transfers to your products and services. So, even when you're advertising your brand, you're indirectly also marketing your products and services.

HOW DO I CREATE MY OWN BRAND?

OK, so you're convinced you need to create your own brand. Where on earth do you start?

We saw earlier that your brand needs to say who you are, what you do and how you do it. It needs to do all these things at the same time as establishing your relevance to and building credibilty with your prospective customers. Needless to say, it is absolutely essential, if you are to build your own brand, that *you yourself* have a firm grasp of who you are, what you do and how you do it. If not, you're going to have the devil's own time getting that message across to anyone else, let alone establishing your relevance and credibility.

=> Write A Mission Statement

So, let's start by creating a mission statement. What is the mission of your business? Obviously you're in business to make a profit. But making a profit is a byproduct of a successful business. Focus instead on how you choose to achieve that profit. What are your core values?

A good place to begin thinking about your mission is to put yourself in the shoes of your customers. Put yourself in their target market. Let's say your business is web hosting. If you're in the market for a web host, what things are important to you? Different people will be looking for different benefits but you can bet that they want their website to be accessible to site visitors so reliability will be high on their list. Price is also likely to be high on the list as is 24/7 technical support. What about add-on features such as unlimited email aliases, cgi support and what-not? These things will be highly important to some and less important to others. So focus on the benefits that are likely to be highly relevant to the majority of your target market. Let's settle for our purposes on reliability, price and technical support.

Your mission statement might read something like this: "I strive to earn a fair return on my investment of time and money by providing affordable webhosting with guaranteed 99% uptime and 24/7 telephone technical support". That's a pretty general statement and if you decide to focus on a particular niche of the webhosting market, such as small business, you may want to more narrowly focus on that group in your mission statement.Now that you've written your mission statement, you can begin thinking about creating a brand that reinforces and supports your mission. So, getting back to the fundamental questions of who you are, what you do and how you do it, you can now begin to think of your business in these terms. You're a webhosting provider, you host websites of small businesses and you do that by offering cost-effective webhosting solutions, guaranteed 99% uptime and 24/7 telephone technical support.

When you create your brand, you need to keep the who, what and how firmly in mind but also use the brand to establish your relevance to your target market and build credibility with that market.

Let's turn now to the nuts and bolts of creating your brand.

=> Describe What You Are Branding

List out your business's key features and characteristics, your competitive advantages and anything else that sets you apart from your competition.

Using our webhosting example, you'll focus primarily on the objectives from your mission statement namely, reliable, cost-effective webhosting solutions supported by 24/7 technical support.

=> Identify and Describe Your Target Market

Decide whether you want to target lthe entire webhosting community or only a segment of it such as small business websites. Describe your market.

=> List Names that Suggest the Key Elements from Your Mission Statement

The key elements from your mission statement were reliability, cost-effectiveness and customer service. List names that are suggestive of these elements. Let's use Reliable Webhosting for our example. (I don't claim to be a creative genius.)

Don't limit yourself to real words, though. A coined name with no obvious meaning is a perfectly legitimate name provided it conveys something about your business. You will find coined names easier to trademark and secure domain names for too - a definite plus!

=> List Tag Lines that Reinforce Your Mission Statement

We'll use: "Outstanding reliability and technical support at a price your small business can afford". I know, I know. You can do much better, I'm sure.

HOW SHOULD I USE MY BRAND?

=> Create a Logo for Your Brand

Your logo is NOT your brand but your logo should allow your brand to be instantly recognized by those familiar with it. To this extent, your logo helps create and reinforce brand awareness.

The logo you create should be able to be used consistently in a variety of different media. It should be suitable for corporate letterhead and business cards, as well as for your website and corporate signage (if any). You do NOT want a confusing mishmash of logos and banners and heaven knows what else. Everything you produce needs to use the same, consistent style of logo so that, over time, your logo becomes synonymous with your brand. Instant recognition is what you're going for here, so don't dilute it by using several different logos for different purposes.

=> Consistent Usage of Company Name, Logo and Tag Line

Going back to our webhosting example, putting the brand name and tagline together, the physical manifestation of your brand will be:

RELIABLE WEBHOSTING

Outstanding reliability and technical support at a price

your small business can afford.

To establish brand awareness, this branding needs to be used consistently and frequently in everything your produce, whether that be letters to clients, business cards, brochures, quotations, invoices, advertising, promotion, on your website, on the front door of your principal place of business and on your products. And don't forget to be consistent in your use of color schemes. These can be powerful brand reinforcers.

=> Marketing and Promotion of Your Brand

Once you've created your brand, you need to market and promote it, in addition to your products and services. This is how you establish your credibility and relevance to your target market. You can hopefully see why your brand needs to be suggestive of your mission statement. If, at the same time as you're selling your products and services you also push your brand, your brand becomes synonymous with your products and services. And vice versa.

A properly descriptive brand and high brand awareness amongst your target market will allow you to more easily introduce a wider range of products and services when they're developed without having to start by again selling who you are, what you do and how you do it first. Your brand has already presold YOU. Your job then is to sell your products and services.

About The Author

Elena Fawkner is editor of the award-winning A Home-Based Business Online ... practical home business ideas, resources and strategies for the work-from-home entrepreneur. <a target="_new" href="http://www.ahbbo.com/">http://www.ahbbo.com</a>

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. Over time, no matter what your ad at the moment says, your brand identity will be the thing people remember and what that gets them to call you when a need arises. Unsure about your brand identity? Then you should consider hiring a brand identity company.

Your brand identity is something you should solidify before you ever embark on a marketing campaign. If you hire a brand identity company they'll make sure your brand identity is ready for the light of day and that you won't have to change it three months later when your business grows. Changing a lot confuses people. As a brand identity company, we've seen strong companies become underachieving companies simply because their brand wasn't solidly defined from the start. If you hire a brand identity company, they guarantee that won't happen. If you hire a brand identity company, you will have a brand that people recognize and know on first glance. Anything else you say on top of that will be gravy.

This is how a brand identity company can help you:

- Deciding what you want to say to your customers.

- Designing a logo that represents your company. This is one of the most important parts of your brand identity. How do you give it life and personality?

- A brand identity company will help you design your biz cards, letterhead, advertisements, and websites. These should each be consistently designed in a way that reflects the brand image you've chosen to put out there.

- A brand identity company will also help you develop a tag line, a catch phrase that provides further definition and personality to your company (like BMW's "The Ultimate Driving Machine.")

Above all, the most important aspect of your brand identity is to keep it consistent. If you hire a brand identity company they'll ensure yours is.

Beyond your logo and tagline, the messages you send in your marketing and advertising communications can either support or detract from your brand. A brand identity company will ensure these things work hard to support it.

Scott White is a very enthusiastic speaker and has the gift of being able to explain the principles of branding in a compelling and entertaining manner so that people at all levels can understand.

Logo-ize For Instant Identification & Increased Awareness

The task of creating an indelible impact on the memory of your target market is arduous but can be made much easier with a well thought out logo. The word comes from the ancient Greek where it was used in philosophy and theology to mean "the divine reason implicit in the cosmos, ordering it and giving it form and meaning." The function of a logo in today's business world is much the same ? to make the visual identification of your company implicit by giving it form and meaning.

The form and meaning of a logo are expressed in three elements ? name, slogan, and icon. Think for a moment of the fabulously successful sporting goods and apparel company, Nike. The name obviously, is the name of the company. The slogan "Just do it" explains the meaning, philosophy, or emotional expression of the name. The "swoosh" icon is a visual representation of the name. Together the name, slogan and icon form a powerful "logo-ized" representation of the company which is vital to the brand. Today, because of their constant use, logos of many national companies (think Nike, McDonalds, Travelers Insurance) are indelibly imprinted somewhere in our brains.

While the logos of most companies will never attain that level of memory retention, it will be a great advantage to make their logo more memorable and identifiable to their marketplace ? the prospects, clients, and possible prospects in the geography or industry they serve.

Here's the first step. Get out your business card. Look at it. First see if you actually have a logo (name, slogan and icon). If you do, and it is over three years old, analyze it to determine if it is still relevant or whether you may benefit from a "logo makeover." If you don't have a viable logo, get to work on the missing elements starting with the slogan that describes the business, its products or services and the emotional benefits of the company in very few (1 ? 7 words) catchy words ? this will take time and worthwhile effort. Lastly, have the name and slogan visualized graphically.

Increased retention and understanding of your company will be the immediate benefit that goes out to your marketplace with every communication so logo-ize and start communicating better now.

Larry Galler coaches and consults with high-performance executives, professionals, and small businesses. He is the writer of the business column, "Front Lines with Larry Galler" Sign up for his newsletter at <a target="_new" href="http://www.larrygaller.com">http://www.larrygaller.com</a>

วันอาทิตย์ที่ 1 กุมภาพันธ์ พ.ศ. 2552

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. After awhile, they realize that what they did is unprofessional, it doesn't work, it's not what they want, it's not what they need, it's ugly, or they just flat out despise it. So, they hire an expert designer to help.

After meeting with the family to find out their wants, needs, desires and dreams, the expert takes that information and goes to work, completely making over the house.

The final results are amazing. The differences are like night and day. The homeowners are surprised and utterly astonished. Some laugh and some even cry, because right in front of their eyes, they see what they never imagined possible. It's what they want, it's what they need, it's what they were trying to do themselves, but simply couldn't.

What does all of this have to do with graphic design and marketing?

Unfortunately, most small business owners, like the homeowners, do all their own graphic design and marketing themselves. They design the logo for their small business...themselves. They design the stationery for their small business...themselves. They write and design the brochure for their small business...themselves. They design and build the web site for their small business...themselves. Typically, they do ALL of the graphic design and marketing for their small business...you guessed it...themselves.

It's unfortunate. Because the results of doing all of this...themselves...is similar to those experienced by the homeowners in the makeover shows. The graphic design and marketing materials they have created look unprofessional, they don't work, they don't get results, they look homemade and they aren't functional. Simply put, they're amateurish.

Sound familiar?

What should you do? Let's reconsider the home makeover shows, and determine what the homeowners did right. You can learn something from the homeowners and apply this to your small business.

First. They realize that what they have done themselves, simply isn't working. They're frustrated that what they have done does not work anymore. They know that they need a change.

Second. They realize that they are not the experts in this particular area. They know that they need expert designer help to fix what they have done to make it functional, appealing and successful.

Third. They meet with the expert designer to discuss their wants, needs and desires. They express exactly what they want to accomplish. They also admit that what they have tried to do...themselves...doesn't work.

Fourth. They let the expert get to work. They trust that they will get the results they want and desire. They know the finished product will far exceed what they could have ever done themselves.

Fifth. They get to see and experience the finished result, which is a beautiful, functional, valuable, contemporary, awesome solution that works and gives them the results they wanted to accomplish in the first place.

When it comes to creating and executing the graphic design and marketing materials for your small business, the same results can and will happen for you. But, you have to hire an expert to give your business an extreme makeover.

When the expert is done, the graphic design and marketing materials for your small business will be attractive, professional, beautiful, successful, what you want, what you need and it will accomplish the goals you are trying to achieve.

There is only one catch: you have to stop doing everything yourself.

If you are doing or have done all of the graphic design and marketing materials for your small business...all by yourself...it's time to call in an expert.

Like the homeowners, chances are you'll be surprised and completely amazed. Right in front of your eyes, you will see results that you always wanted, but could not achieve yourself.

Jeanna Pool is President of CATALYST creative, inc., located in Denver, Colorado. She helps small business owners who are really good at what they do, but struggle to market their services effectively to attract more clients on a consistent basis. She can be contacted at <a target="_new" href="http://www.catalystcreativeinc.com">http://www.catalystcreativeinc.com</a> or 303.380.9100.

allergies

วันพฤหัสบดีที่ 5 กุมภาพันธ์ พ.ศ. 2552

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วันจันทร์ที่ 2 กุมภาพันธ์ พ.ศ. 2552

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วันอาทิตย์ที่ 1 กุมภาพันธ์ พ.ศ. 2552

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