What every entrepreneur needs more than anything else, after they have built an innovative new product or service, is visibility, credibility, and trust by customers, potential employees, and future business partners. In my experience as a business advisor, one of the best ways to get all of these, is to publish a book on the […]
Branding
Planting Your Brand’s Seeds
Branding. What is it and how do you define it? In most cases, people mistake the word branding to mean one of two things. A logo or a tagline. Both are tools you use to communicate your brand but neither is your actual brand. Brand has been described in many ways. Advertising icon David Ogilvy […]
The Importance of Small Business PR
If PR to you conjures up images of Ab Fab types quaffing Champagne at client meetings without doing anything productive you could be forgiven for shunning the idea of PR. But there are some very good reasons not to—as Rose Calendars explains. The Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR), defines PR as “the planned and sustained […]
Building Your Personal Brand—Again
There’s a lot of discussion about how important it is for salespeople to “build their personal brands.” I’ve written about this topic several times before, even using the same title before. But it’s a topic, as much as I wish would go away, doesn’t. But what does it mean to build our personal brands? Many […]
The Name of the Game
A new business opened up around the corner and I couldn’t help but notice the name. It is A-1 Iowa Plumbing and they’ve hung a big banner announcing that they’re open and ready for new customers. The name is a good reminder of several common naming mistakes that I thought were worth sharing. Whether you […]
Most People Are Disappointed by Brands
Your customers have high expectations. But who could have guessed that 82% are disappointed or upset by brands! A recent research study by Oracle CX in partnership with my marketing pal, Jeanne Bliss, takes a cross-generational look at customer preferences, behaviors, and expectations. What they uncover about the customer experience is very telling. “Companies no longer compete […]
New Survey Shows How People Interact with Brands on Social Media
A new survey by The Manifest, explores how social media users from across the U.S. interact with brands on social media and how these interactions influence their buying decisions. The findings can help businesses understand how their social media interactions with consumers can boost brand awareness, build trust, and convert followers into loyal customers. Here are some […]
How to Create a Brand Name That Sticks
Have you ever wondered how companies develop their brand names? How did marketers come up with Twitter, Hulu, or Uber? According to MSG Management Study Guide, A brand name “is one of the brand elements which helps the customers to identify and differentiate one product from another. It should be chosen very carefully as it […]
Take a Stand
How consumers interact with the companies they do business with, and their expectations of us evolve and are a direct reflection of our culture and core beliefs as human beings. That could not be more evident than today. A study (it’s done every year) called the Edelman Earned Brand Study is one of the most comprehensive pieces […]
10 Ways to Make Your Business Memorable with a Story
The entrepreneur’s challenge is to effectively communicate their value proposition, not only to customers, but also to vendors, partners, investors, and their own team. Especially for technical founders, this is normally all about presenting impressive facts. But in reality facts only go so far. Stories often work better, because humans don’t always make rational decisions. […]
