Your business brand says a lot about you and your business. If you create a strong brand image, it will elevate you above your peers and provide a good model for your product and service development as well as a sound foundation from which to expand your business.

So what is Branding?

Many people think that having a logo and maybe a short description of their services is all they need to set up their brand. This is not so. Your brand encompasses all that your business does, from first contact with your potential customers through to how your products are defined and sold.

Your brand is what defines and describes your business. Look at any two different companies that compete in the same market and look at how people recognize and remember them.

For example look at Rolls Royce and Toyota - they both sell cars but each company is known for a different reason. Someone looking for a car on a budget would not go to Rolls Royce - yet both sell their cars on reliability.

Clearly more people would aspire to purchase a Rolls Royce, but many also be happy to purchase a Toyota.

Look again at the perceived value of a brand. Why is the iPod the desired MP3 product when other brands have similar properties and reliabilities? People perceive the ipod to be superior and are willing to pay more for the pleasure of owning one. Indeed many people would not consider any other purchase. This is clever branding by Apple who marketed their product as being very desirable to certain markets.

I Don’t Have that Kind of Money - So Why do I Need to Create my Own Brand?

The main reason, has to be to differentiate yourself, but it also makes the promotion of your company and development of your products so much easier. There are thousands of new businesses and many times more web sites. You need to:
* Set yourself apart from the competition
* Make yourself memorable so that people will either look for your business or choose you above your competitors.
* When introducing your business to a new customer, your brand should go before you and communicate much of what you want to say.

Your products are easier to define and design, if you center them around your brand definition. For example we have PowerPacks that include everything you need to set up a specific type of business. Thus we sell The AdSense PowerPack, The Affiliate PowerPack and The Entrepreneur PowerPack. Thus we take this concept and produce the products to fit this brand image. We are known for our PowerPacks which helps with our sales.

So How Do We Create Our Own Brand Then?

You brand must say:
* Who you are
* What you do
* How you do it
* What the benefits of using your business are

You brand MUST establish your company and build your credibility with your prospective customers.

In order to be able to do this you must first be able to describe what you want your business and products say, so start with your Mission Statement or Elevator Statement.

* The Mission Statement - this is what you want your business to be or do as it operates. You need to be realistic and focused. Being profitable is not a mission statement, but deciding what you want to do to be profitable is.
* The Elevator Statement - This is 1-4 sentences that you would use to describe your business, in the time that it takes to travel in an elevator - or a few minutes. It is used when meeting new people who ask "and what do you do?" or as an introduction when networking.

So What Should Be Described Within My Brand?

First of all, pretend that you are one of your target customers and list 5 things that they will be seeking from your product. These items would encompass a short definition of one of more of the following:
* Price
* Quality
* Service
* Support
* Components of the product
* Scarcity or availability
* How and when delivered
* Accessibility
* Security

I am sure that you can think of a few more that relate to your business.

So now define who, what and where you are in these terms and you should come up with something like this.

" We provide some of the hottest business and marketing informational products on the internet and all of our products are of the highest quality. Many of them we write ourselves or we scour the internet and read every ebook that we sell, to ensure that they will be useful to you as well as good value."

This is the mission statement of our informational product part of our business - selling under the brand name Clikks.com We have defined what we are selling, to whom and established our credibility as well as providing an easy to remember and catchy brand name.

Is That All Then?

Not quite - you now need to be be recognized by your customers. Here is where you tag line and logo come into play.

My tag line - what’s that?

Well if you become as well known as Nike it can be something very short like "Just Do It" - but that is a few years and few $million down the road. Your tag line is a short description of what you do.

Something like "Information and Services for the Serious Entrepreneur" which explains what we sell and to whom. It also differentiates us from the many less that appropriate sellers of business information.

Now you need a logo - it does not need repeating that this should also reflect your brand. If you are saying you are modern and efficient - you don’t want an old fashioned, messy looking logo. It should always reflect your brand and be simple and recognizable. You should include it on:
* all your communications
* your web site
* your products
* your give aways
* your marketing materials and adverts

Yes, Got All Of That - Any Last Suggestions?

Be consistent with your brand promotion - don’t keep changing it as people are more likely to remember things the more they see them.

Regular marketing enables you to establish your credibility and relevance to your target market.

Remember your brand allows you to pre-sell your company and products as well as ease the introduction of new products as you become more established.

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© Copyright 2006 Biz Guru LLC Lee Lister, writes as The Biz Guru, for a number of web sites including her own sites http://www.BizGuru.us and http://www.clikks.com for all our informational products.

With over 20 year’s management and business consultancy experience with businesses large and small as well as being a serial entrepreneur, she now helps others set up, develop and market their businesses.

This article may be freely distributed if this resource box stays attached.
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Advertising is a very precise science. It finds its bases in many different fields including copywriting, psychology and even math. In recent decades, we have observed a slow but steady beautification of advertising. For marketing experts this can work. For less savvy advertisers, it is a huge pitfall that draws attention away from the much more important aspects of a successful selling proposition. Faulty advertising costs its makers billions of dollars a year, and almost all are guilty of it, even the huge corporations.

For the sake of clarity, let us define advertising as a call to action, that action being a purchase, a contact for more information or a clickthrough. This distinguishes the former from marketing at large including branding and awareness campaigns, which serve more to build a basis for the influence to make prospects act.

You will see many of today’s internet marketing “gurus” recommending volumes several decades old. There is a good reason for this. Many of those volumes were written by direct marketers that engaged in extremely costly mailings. These ads have to produce optimal results or they produce losses. The upside is that results can be measured and broken down to a ridiculously precise extent. In fact very small fluctuations in these figures separate success from failure.

Back to basics.

First and foremost is the written word. Nothing replaces a captivating headline and solid advertising copy. For headlines, the goal is to grab attention and qualify. Prospects must immediately recognize that the ad is addressed to them and they must also be drawn into the main copy. Ad copy should be as abundant as needed to tell the whole story, or however much of the story is needed to lead to the action you are soliciting.

For internet marketing, this generally means getting a clickthrough to your sales page or that of the affiliate product you represent. There are pre-determined recipes for this purpose: “how to”, “secret”, “?”, “you” as well as too many to list here.

The headline of this article is an amalgamation of several psychological triggers that force attention. “Which one of these 4” suggests options where the target may be able to find something that applies to them. Moreover it poses an exact number and precision is always appreciated. “Are you guilty of” capitalizes on the fear of not doing things correctly and the word “sin” gives emphasis to this idea.

Without further ado, here are the 4 biggest mistakes you can make in advertising.

1) Being pretty instead of selling. This is really deadly. You don’t need to impress with your design, you need to make a sale, and words sell.

2) Not following a formula. Formulas exist because they work. Use them.

3) Forgetting, even for a single instant, to concentrate on your MDA, Most Desired Action.

4) Not testing different models. This is one of the most painful shortcomings of many marketers. They try an ad and if it’s not profitable the first time, they drop it entirely. If it is profitable, they continue to run it. Here, there is usually an enormous amount of room for improvement. Fluctuations in sales of the order of 500 to 800% are not uncommon…

Advertising comes in many shapes and sizes, with different costs associated to them. Do your research, purchase and read books by the likes of David Ogilvy and follow formulas that are aimed towards direct mailings. The results you get will far outweigh any effort you expend or money you invest.

Alex Goad is a specialist in Incentive Marketing. Read more of his articles at http://www.myeasyblog.com

Do you struggle to attract and retain business? Do you yearn to be seen as an expert in the field? In an increasingly challenging market flooded with fierce competitors and extremely savvy consumers, learn how to develop a killer brand that will inspire you, attract loyal customers, and knock out the competition.

1. Identify your values: This is the most critical step and the one most often overlooked in business. Do some soul searching and get a crystal clear idea of what matters most to you as an individual and then as a company. Your values form the base of your company and should influence every decision, from what kind of toilet paper you buy to the business partners you seek.

2. Identify your mission: Once your values are identified, it’s time to write a mission statement. Ask, why does my company exist? What do we aim to do? Write it in simple language that a 12-year old can understand. Do a search on the internet for mission statements and use the most compelling ones as a template. This is the statement that should get you out of bed each morning and inspire you morning, noon, and night.

3. Identify your ideal client: Again, a critical step. Look at your mission and why your company exists at all and ask, “Whom do I serve?” The hard part is getting as specific as possible to the point of potentially turning off a lot of other people. Don’t worry. The biggest mistake you can make is trying to please everyone. This dilutes your service/product so much that you really don’t strike a nerve with anyone. No one will have a compelling enough reason to buy from you. By turning some people off, you attract others who will bond with you for life. And a final benefit to knowing the specifics of your ideal client is you then have a much better idea of where to look for them.

4. Create an emotional connection: Every potential customer wants to know one thing, “What’s in it for me?” In order to compel someone to pull out their money and buy, you need to connect them to you in an emotional way. How are you going to make their life better? What pain is your product or service going to eliminate? Watch some television and notice how the best commercials create an emotional atmosphere. Which commercials get your attention, which ones stick with you, and how do they get their message across?

5. Identify the benefits vs. the features: Know your product/services inside and out. But instead of just listing the features, describe them in terms of how the client will benefit. Remember, it’s all about creating that emotional connection with your ideal client and telling them how you can make their life better.

6. Create an experience: Why should consumers buy from you as opposed to any one of your competitors? What makes you unique? Successful companies are now in the business of creating experiences that enrich lives. Starbucks does not just sell coffee. From the music they play (and sell) to the comfortable furniture and inviting décor they offer, they create an atmosphere that people will pay for above and beyond a beverage in a cup.

7. Commit to a message: How do your values and mission tie into your image? Carefully look at what matters most to you and broadcast that to your ideal client. Once you are clear on your message, stand behind it and don’t waffle.

8. Enforce consistency: This also relates to your values and mission. Once you are clear about why you are in business, maintain your integrity, from the level of service you provide and your logo and printed materials to the way you follow-up with customers and the stamps you buy. Be conscious of every detail and match it to your values, your mission, and your message.

9. Have the courage to reinvent yourself: Even (or especially) if you have been in business for a long time, take the time to ask, who do we REALLY want to be? You might have created your business without being clear about your mission, or your mission might have changed. Or because the climate and the market constantly evolve, you might have hit the target five years ago, but have lost your edge since then. Be brave enough to ask if your current image is right. If not, this is the time to reconnect with your current mission.

10. Lastly, beware of following trends: If you want longevity, don’t fall prey to the seduction of the latest trend. Besides, if something is trendy, it’s probably already too late to jump on that bandwagon. Keep looking inward at what you stand for and forward at how your company will change lives. Build trust by showing you aren’t fickle or easily swayed by the flavor of the month.

Not enough clients for your small business? Kim Nishida, author of the innovative program Conception to Completion helps you realize your full potential. Pick-up your free Success Kit while supplies last at http://www.readytoevolve.com

Want a lesson in getting extra mileage from your ads? Meet (Professor) Bob Parsons, the president of giant domain seller Go Daddy. This guy has proven his genius in operating a full service domain and Internet products company. Who knew he was such a shrewd marketing guy turning his Super Bowl ad campaigns into a viral buzz machine and teaching the Internet marketing world at the same time? Take notes. This is the kind of gray matter every business needs.

It began a year ago, during the Super Bowl, when it is said that Fox refused a second airing of an edgy Go Daddy spot during the game. A big negative for Go Daddy? Far from it! Parsons began chronicling his plight in his blog, put the commercial on his website where it got millions of views and watched the national media jump on the story. ABC’s Diane Sawyer called the spot, “too hot to handle.” Bloggers went crazy. This is new-age viral marketing at its level best!

Fast forward to this year’s Super Bowl season. Go Daddy begins submitting ads for approval to ABC, which, of course Parsons talks about in his blog and elsewhere. It is reported that 12 concept commercials are submitted and rejected as too racy. The buzz cranks up again. The rejected ads are put on the Go Daddy site, and again millions view them and the media jumps on the story. Finally an ad is approved in the 11th hour and Go Daddy is in as a Super Bowl sponsor.

At the risk of being simplistic, here are the lessons learned from Go Daddy and Bob Parsons.

The Internet is the most powerful advertising medium ever. Blogging is one of the most powerful marketing tools ever. Viral marketing has to be used. Edgy,“Go Daddy-esque” ads are necessary to be a market leader. Always, always, always think of a different and new approach. A $2.4 million TV commercial had a priceless return!

Expand your horizons. Read what you can about the Go Daddy saga and really THINK about it. How can you put together a viral campaign? Can you be “Go-Daddyesque” in your campaigns?

Bob Parsons taught the class. You make the grade.

Brian Grinonneau is the general manager of McMann & Tate Advertising a midwest agency that insists its clients tell their story like it has never been told before.

Early Logo Beginnings

The history of logo design and logos dates back to ancient Greece. The word "logo" means a name, symbol or trademark designed for easy recognition. The use of logos as trademarks has existed as long as there have been traders and merchants. They can be traced back to the thirteenth century. They include masons marks, goldsmiths marks, paper makers’ watermarks and watermarks for the nobility, and printers’ marks.

Why Do Logos Change?

Many factors drive advertising or logo trends. The most powerful force that shapes and drives design is “human culture.” You might say advertising, even logo design, reflect the signs of out times.

From the early 1800’s to 1940’s, most logos were elegant hand illustrations and lettering. A logo for an electric company during this period was not much more than the company name with a lightning bolt. Some companies have retained part of their original design in their present day logo. In 1920 the Victor Talking Machine Company had a logo of a dog named “Nipper” sitting in front of a phonograph and listening very intently. Today RCA still uses Nipper in its advertising campaigns.

Enter Avant Garde Design

In the early 60’s the creative works of Andy Warhol presented a unique look at the world. His works came to be known as Pop-Art. This movement permeated the ranks of commercial television, movies and main stream advertising. Logo shapes and design became more “iconic” in nature. McDonalds dropped the little burger guy popping out of the golden arches in favor of the stand-alone golden arches.

In the late 1990’s the Silicon Valley revolution lead to a flurry of techie-type designed logos incorporating some sort of Nike swoosh that is ever present in current logo designs.

Logo Formulation

A logo communicates your identity. The mark of a good logo is legibility and strong brand recognition. How do you create a powerful logo for your business?

Good question. Let’s get started.

Let’s say you are an attorney who specializes in immigration. A great creative place to start is with a paper clip. That’s right, a paper clip. The idea here is to free your mind of all the typical symbolism, like a gavel or court building, that one would associate with an attorney or a lawyer. Try to think outside your brain. Throw out all your pre-convinced creative notions.

Thinking about how a non-associative object might be applied to your logo design takes your concept in a unique direction. Give it a try. Think of any odd item like an iron or a clothes-pin, then list ten concepts of how this item or shape would apply to your new logo.

Research Your Logo

You should market research your logo. If you are designing a logo for a turbine motor company then get on the Web and collect every logo from every company that builds or sells turbine motors. Ask yourself, which of the logos do a good job of communicating. Compare color palettes and the fonts used. Learn from the successes and mistakes by analyzing what works and what doesn’t.

Sketch Your Ideas

Before you open Illustrator or Photoshop, grab some paper and doodle a few designs. This is how many professional designers develop their concepts. When developing the icon or Nike swoosh portion of your logo, don’t worry about typography at this point. Concentrate on the icon. Try looking at logo finished samples. Some great sources of inspiration for exceptional logo design include; misipile.com, iconfish.com, halcyonlogodesign.com logoworks.com and atlantis57.com.

Incorporating the Company Mission or Motto

Your client may have a company phrase or tagline. For example, a recent Church client of ours had the tagline, “Changing Hearts, by Keeping it Real.” By using this tagline as a focal point I was able to develop logo concepts outside the usual “Calvery cross or praying hands.” By incorporating an iconic heart, I was able to create a logo that branded the message of my client.

Listen to Your Client

After having labored and submitted multiple designs for an allergy, asthma medical practice, they requested additional designs and re-dos. They asked for something with a dandelion being blown in the wind. I had thought my circled spores logo concept would have surely won their hearts and minds. But alas it was back to the drawing board. You’re bound to hit the mark on the first try or the hundredth try. But, that’s ok. You grow a thicker skin and press on.

About the Author Rick Vidallon is President of Visionefx, a Web design company based in Virginia Beach, Va. They provide services to national companies as well as small to medium businesses throughout the United States. Rick can be reached at (757) 619-6456 or rick@visionefx.net.

The headline is the most important element in any sales message your company ever uses. It is the opening sentence you use in any sales letter, brochure, print ad, or on you Web site.

The purpose of a headline is to grab your prospect’s attention. Your headline should zero in on precisely who you want to reach, your target market. For example, if you want to reach homeowners, put the word “homeowners” in the headline.

The headline should serve as the ad for your ad. It should tell the reader immediately and clearly the essence of what you’re trying to say in the body copy. The headline needs to tell people what your big benefit or promise is. Your headline should appeal to the reader or listener’s self-interest.

The two most powerful words you can use in a headline are “free” and “new.” You cannot always use “free”, but you can always use “new”, if you try hard enough. Some other powerful words to put in your headlines are: “last chance”, “revolutionary”, “just arrived”, “easy”, “announcing”, “bargain”, “compare”, “how to”, ‘last chance”, “offer.”

A good headline explains how the reader, viewer or listener can save, gain, or accomplish something beneficial through the use of your product or service. How your product or service will increase his or her financial, social, or physical well-being. Or, if you’re taking the negative track, how your product or service will decrease the prospect or customer’s chances of personal, business, or financial loss.

It is important to remember, that when you’re writing a headline, your prospect is not buying a product or a service. Your prospect is buying the result or benefit that your product or service will provide to him or her. Always focus headlines on the benefit or result that your prospect will be receiving.

A headline is most effective when you speak directly to the reader, one reader at a time. Your message must telegraph the benefits the prospect himself or herself can expect to receive. Your headline should never talk about “we” or “our.” Your headline must be written or expressed with “you”, the individual reader’s direct interests in mind.

Here are few time-tested ideas for creating great headlines:

* Feature a price in your headline.

* Tell a story.

* Feature a free offer.

* Feature a price reduction or a reduced price

* Feature easy or more attractive payment terms.

To find the headline that has the strongest pulling power, you must test them. When you run a display ad, test your headlines against each other with the exact same body copy. You can check your results by using a differently coded coupon for each version of your ad. You can also, tell the prospects in your ad to specify a department number when they call or write. Or, you can ask the prospect where he or she saw or heard about your offer.

You should also keep detailed records of your results. Keep track of every piece of information that you need in your marketing. Be sure to differentiate in your record-keeping between responses and actual sales. Prospects are great, but sales are what you want.

Once you have all the results tabulated and you have one headline that out pulled the other, then test again. This time you use the winning headline against a new headline. Always compare your new headline against your proven winner. By doing this constantly you will always be sure you are getting the optimal return on your ads.

To start writing powerful headlines, you first have to ask yourself, “What is the primary benefit that your product or service provides to a prospect or customer?” Then pick out a few of the power words that I mentioned earlier and add them to the benefit that your product or service produces.

Here are just a few of the best headlines ever written:

* How I Improved My Memory In Just One Evening

* How To Win Friends And Influence People

* You Can Laugh At Money Worries — If You Follow This Simple Plan

* Who Else Wants A Screen Star Figure?

* Is The Life Of A Child Worth $1 To You?

Don’t limit yourself to writing a single headline. Write at least 25 or even 50 different headlines. If you get stuck, ask yourself, “If I were talking to a prospect about this benefit, I would be telling him or her how to . . . . .? Once you’ve written 25 to 50 headlines, pick out what you think are the best five and start testing them to find a winner.

Copyright©2006 by Joe Love and JLM & Associates, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide.

Joe Love draws on his 25 years of experience helping both individuals and companies build their businesses, increase profits, and achieve total success. He is the founder and CEO of JLM & Associates, a consulting and training organization, specializing in personal and business development. Through his seminars and lectures, Joe Love addresses thousands of men and women each year, including the executives and staffs of many of America’s largest corporations, on the subjects of leadership, self-esteem, goals, achievement, and success psychology.

Reach Joe at: joe@jlmandassociates.com

Read more articles and newsletters at: http://www.jlmandassociates.com

Is your package a candidate for the "oyster" award? According to Consumer Reports, this is not a good thing. The March issue of Reports lambastes the packaging industry for a variety of faults in product packaging. It even identifies which packages they consider to be among the worst. To its credit, the article does show examples of new and improved packaging of the so-called problem child packaging. Not surprisingly much of it revolves around the difficulty of opening and closing packages, especially clamshells. This is a notoriously thorny issue.

Consider these factors about your package to determine if it is an "Oyster award" candidate.

• Is your package so difficult to open that expletives are uttered during the process?

• Can a customer get cut by the packaging material while opening?

• Does opening the package require an additional implement such as scissors?

• Does your package have excessive twist ties?

• Will parents hate you after they have opened the package?

This isn’t the first time problem packaging has surfaced. I always see stories on the subject after Christmas and the holidays. When I do I send the reporter a copy of my white paper, "A Bad Wrap for Packaging," in an effort to open some eyes. A couple of years ago, I even did a segment for NBC TV about the trials and tribulations of toy packaging. My role was to explain why toys are packaged tin a particular manner. The piece ended with consumers ripping and tearing their way through the boxes. Needless to say, despite my best efforts the package came out on the bad side of the equation.

Numerous new gadgets have surfaced to make it easier to open packages. The OpenX and the Pyranna, to name two, are specifically designed to open plastic clam shells. If I were a smart marketer, I would bundle one of the gadgets ($5-10 retail) along with my product and solve the problem. With the opening device available on the package, there would be no reason for complaints about how hard the package is to open.

I get so tired of hearing about bad packaging. Sure, much of it is difficult to open but guess what? The consumers drive the issues about making the packages hard to open. They are concerned with product integrity, tampering, pilfering, and counterfeiting to name a few. These are just a few of the reasons the packages are difficult to open. They have to be secure to protect the product and keep it safe.

Knowing that the customer is always right, we must realize that opening packages is an issue that needs to be addressed especially when we consider our growing population of those over 50. If you have a success story about your product packaging that you made easier to open, please send it to me and I’ll collate the responses and provide a report of the solutions.

Want to know more about the role of packaging? Need to learn how to package products people will buy? Just starting a business that needs to package products? Need brainstorming about what packaging works in the current economy?

Contact the #1 consumer product packaging expert by email at PackagingDiva@aol.com or by phone at 678-594-6872 for a free 15 minute consultation. Read other articles by the Packaging Diva @ http://packagingnewsyoucanuse.blogspot.com/

Besides the ever-loathsome (to me) "image enhancing" ads, there are two other kinds of ads, both of which bring direct response. When you are dangling a stimulus to which you want a response, it must be noted that if you aren’t able to inspire them, affordably, from a radio, e-mail, newspaper or whatever ad, then the goal is to get them to seek more information, be it by enticing them to walk into your place of business or simply call for more information.

If the product/service is a commodity (a "known" value), you may be able to inspire action with your irresistible offer of superior value and risk-free status. But, if it’s not a commodity, test a small provocative ad that will get enough people to inquire for more details. In this case, to say merely "keep it simple" will not be strong enough to prevent a number of you from wasting advertising dollars and time. You need only to talk benefits, not the details of "how" you are going to deliver these benefits.

If you give them too much information, they will make a decision based on that particular presentation.

If it takes a lot of words to properly tell the story, giving them enough information to make the right decision, and you can’t or won’t spend that much money, the problem is they want to know what you are trying to sell them.

The perfect response for an inquiry ad is, "I’d be nuts not to try to get that information flyer."

Daniel Wadleigh is a nationally published marketing consultant and has programs for start-up and existing businesses including effective web sites, e-mail/database, other non-internet ways to drive them to your website, and low cost ways to get more new customers.

Go to: http://www.more-new-customers.com to get free copy of "Marketing to Men vs. Women- the 8 different responses" and a Free copy of "Market Research- 7 Questions to Ask to Start-up and 7 to Ask to Improve Any Business."

Brand Identity is a promise. One given from business to customer to expect certain things. Whether that promise involves product quality, service, price or a million other things varies from brand to brand. But the one thing common among all brands is the need to be a strong brand.

Why is brand identity so critical?

A strong brand identity can position a company above its competition all by itself. But having a brand that’s strong takes time, money and effort to develop. It’s not as simple as just redesigning a logo or rewriting a tagline. Brand identity is the reason you offer for your customer to choose you instead of your competition.

How to rework your brand identity

Successful re-branding involves “evolution,” not “revolution.” You must impress upon your existing customers that your new brand is just a new and improved version of the same you. It’s important to not get too crazy with a re-branding effort because you could end up destroying fragile emotional ties and customer loyalty.

Brand identity is much more than marketing

Having a brand identity that resonates with your market is important, but not at the expense of the people within your company. They need to not only get it, but also be your brand’s most fervent ambassadors. Do your employees believe in your company? Do they feel like they have a vested stake in its success? Companies with solid brand identities can say yes to these questions. Can yours? If not, here’s some things you can do:

1. Get every aspect of your company on the same page: Easier said than done, right? Well, that doesn’t mean it’s not necessary. Get all your departments talking to each other and understanding each other.

2. Promote everyone to the position of brand ambassador: Give everyone a common understanding of the company, its mission and their part in it. They should feel like they have ownership—even if they don’t.

3. Reinforce brand values and behaviors: To do this, use the tools you have, such as internal communications…and like a good basketball coach, consistently promote these fundamentals until they’re second nature.

Your employees will ultimately determine your success or failure. That’s why it’s so important to have them buy into your company’s brand identity. However, that’s not something that can be forced. You, as leadership, must earn it. But once you do, you’ll have a company that is full of happy, motivated successful brand ambassadors.

Scott White is President of Brand Identity Guru a leading Corporate Branding and Branding Research firm in Boston, MA.

Brand Identity Guru specializes in creating corporate and product brands that increase sales, market share, customer loyalty, and brand valuation.

This Article may be freely copied as long as it is not modified and this resource box accompanies the article, together with working hyperlinks.

1) Customer Base - Under the assumption that you are an existing business and have repeat business from the same customers:

"A" is best done with mailings, e-mailings and telemarketing (or all) to this prized, expensively acquired select market. You need to show your continued "added value" over the competitors as well as your "special treatment" of the customer base. When somebody buys a business and pays extra for "goodwill", that is supposedly represented by loyalty due to that special treatment of customers. Make sure that you inform them that the same condition still exists. Telemarketing follow-up, if practical, to your customer base is a way to ensure loyalty and to sell "after-market" products/services.

Still, face-to-face remains the best method to sell anything! It’s cheaper and more effective than letters or phone calls. If your business puts you at their place, develop additional products/services to offer. It’s about 1/5 the cost of getting new customers. This is the most important single effort that your company will make! It’s called "locking the back door" before the cows get out! This also means that any additional increase in sales is just that, an increase, not replacing lost market share. If the customers come to your place, point-of-purchase displays or flyers for the taking are an inexpensive way to promote additional products/services. Again, if you are paying extra for retail space, maximize the income potential. Have you ever bought something on impulse, off a rack, while standing in line? Some of the most productive retail space is set aside for impulse buying, especially for a captive audience (those waiting to check out). I worked in a department store in my youth. I’d likely be restocking a table when the loudspeaker would announce, "attention, ladies - there is a 1/2 off sale in linens." I would have to dive out of the way to avoid the stampede.

2. Yellow Pages - For almost any business, I can give a rational argument for anything from no ad to 1/3 of a page ad. I know of service companies that are not in the yellow pages at all that grow at a rate of 20% per year. These companies mail and phone exclusively, and include good offerings face-to-face. Also, a full-page ad is very expensive. As long as you can get noticed, it’s the message, and not the size. Make your yellow page ad an ad, not a "me-too" announcement. Every piece of information that is displayed to the public must be your best ad, be it a business card, truck, flyer or incoming phone call. If you want to think that you need yellow page exposure, make it your best shot using your best ‘Value added" message. I know also of service companies that are for sale and not likely to be purchased because of $18,000 per month yellow page expenses. For $18,000 a month, I can do a lot of direct, controlled marketing that can be changed, cancelled or increased at a moment’s notice. There are also competitive service companies that you couldn’t buy that are not in the yellow pages. If you use yellow pages, make it roar to the point that the only rational response is, "I’d be nuts not to call this company."

3. Location - If you offer retail products and you are in a decent traffic location, you are paying extra for that high traffic. Look at it as marketing costs. So, make the most of your opportunities to be noticed by a lot of people. Use "headline grabber" type statements on signs to attract them into your den or to your web site. The message, "SALE", only has impact if they are predisposed to buy your product. Don’t wait for them to accidentally stumble into your store. Put your most exotic, mysterious and irresistibly provocative benefits and products in the window. The front of the store’s main role in life is to get them into the store. Contractors pay as much as $85 for a new customer. Look at it as the carnival barker - you must inspire them to enter.

Daniel Wadleigh is a nationally published marketing consultant and has programs for start-up and existing businesses including effective web sites, e-mail/database, other non-internet ways to drive them to your website, and low cost ways to get more new customers.

Go to: http://www.more-new-customers.com to get free copy of "Marketing to Men vs. Women- the 8 different responses" and a Free copy of "Market Research- 7 Questions to Ask to Start-up and 7 to Ask to Improve Any Business."