|
|
| www.1001TopWords.com |
|
|
Id Buy That: Getting A Brand Mindset
Feel that? The crisp tingle in the air? It's fall. Fall ushers in the promise of eating, seeing, and getting. It's my favorite time of year. By now, kids are settled into school, sweaters set free from mothballs, and it's an amazing time to... BUY. I don't know about you; but for some reason this time of year lowers my normal customer resistance to retail and turns up my desire to buy, buy, buy. And not just anything. Products I've come to know have reliable value to me. You too? Think about it. It starts with buying Halloween candy. Do you reach for the no-name orange cellophane wrappers of chocolate dots, or do you buy the mini packages of M&M's? I know! Me too! Why is that? It's the same thing! But, the brand of M&M's represents a certain quality that we have come to know as valuable. And left with candy at the end of the evening, that's what I want to be gobbling on. It doesn't matter how long the product has been on a shelf, an M&M is still an M&M. A favorite thing I like to do in fall is cruise through the stores and see what "they" think "we'll" buy. This past weekend, I stepped into Crate & Barrel (a personal favorite) and went weak in the knees! I walked from beautiful table setting to even more beautiful table setting and I thought about the perception that Crate & Barrel had created in me. As I drooled over the dishes, I imagined how the quality of my life would change if I brought them home. (A little bubble appeared to the side of my head. I saw an image of me overhearing holiday guests comment about how beautiful my table was, and subsequently how great I was.) The bubble faded as I dissected how Crate & Barrel created that impression in me. How did they get me to think that? I passed through living room settings that I would give my left pinkie toe to own (it's okay, I'm right footed). I ran my hand over the fabrics and textures. Rich leathers. Deep colors. Luxuriant fabrics. All things I'd spend my money on to give my 10-year old living room a facelift. They established in me a certain quality! And somehow they knew what areas I needed to fix up... my boring dining room dishes, my tired living room. Hmmm... Hmmm... a specific quality and knowledge of my problem. At each display was a sign that had a certain look. A color. A typeface. Even the way it was laid out on the page! It all matched the quality I got from the home décor items I so desperately wanted. (By the way, I never knew I wanted an orange pear-shaped leather vase before.) I picked up their holiday catalog. Lo and behold, not only did it show the picture of the coveted pear-shaped leather vase, but the typefaces and colors matched the signs in the store. Hmmm... consistent communication and imaging. I started to tingle. As I passed the jewel-toned velvet pillows, I thought, "Crate & Barrel is no different from the companies and small business owners that we help." They are no different from YOU. Or are they? Let's see... You have: ? A product or service that is every bit as good and valuable as Crate & Barrel. ? You fix a problem or change the quality of life for your clients as much if not more than Crate & Barrel. After that, it can break down for small businesses and solo-preneurs. You may not have: ? Consistent imaging (e.g., business card, website, brochures, leave-behind, product packaging, etc.) ? The deep understanding of how to communicate "the brand" of your business that can translate to your entire support team/staff. (This is easy and affordable to do with BrandU. That's why it was created.) And most importantly, what most entrepreneurs tend to forget or, sadly, never deeply establish: ? A huge, non-wavering belief in what you are bringing to people. You have just as much of this as the people who created Crate & Barrel. They just have more practice at it and had enough vision to bring in partners to help them grow and communicate it. The last three points are crucial to your business success and easier to address than you think. Simply: ? keep up the value of your service and product AND, ? adopt a brand mindset! It's where EVERY brand starts BEFORE they're a brand. In our upcoming book, Why BrandU, we go into the reasons why it's imperative for entrepreneurs to gain the power of branding. You CAN have large business success, no matter what size you are. This holiday season, I share with you these TWO simple brand mindset tips: ? As you're out (or online) shopping, pause a moment and think about the reasons you buy the things you buy and, ? See how you can apply those reasons to your business. After strolling around Crate & Barrel for over an hour (which flew by like 5 minutes), I joyfully left with the most amazing vase for my table AND I was filled with a great sense of delight and excitement; knowing YOU can be just as big! © 2003 Castle Montone, Limited All Rights Reserved. Written by Kim Castle, the Co-founder of BrandU? - the home of only step-by-step process for developing your business as a brand from the inside out! To get information on upcoming BrandU one-day workshops: http://www.whybrandu.com/Public/events/workshop/index.cfm?semID=13 Get your Why You?!(sm) monthly ezine for easy-to-read tips and informative insights on branding. To subscribe: http://www.whybrandu.com/ "BrandU? - Big Business Success No Matter Your Size"
|
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Intelligent Design comes from Brand & Account Planners I've been reminded recently, rather forcefully, that not all reality hackers are anti-neoconservatives. Bush endorses teaching 'intelligent design'. I can't help hearing "intelligent design" as emerging from scores of focus group research. Corporate Internet Branding ? Branding Your Business Online Let me tell you a story about Pete and a pizza. After a long day of fighting uncooperative pipes and fixtures, Pete P. Lumber, of Pete's DuperRooter, was looking forward to a nice, hot, decidedly Atkins-disapproved pizza - the stuff of which dreams are made. The week before, Pete was doing a bathroom remodel at Bob's historical Chicago bungalow. The house had only one bathroom, so Pete had to complete the project as fast as possible. Due to a series of unfortunate events, some of which involved a repeated, forceful application of a rather large hammer, Pete stayed much longer than he initially anticipated. To bungalow owner Bob's delight, Pete completed the remodel the same day. Measuring Return On Investment ...or Is My Brand Working? The Role of a Visual Vocabulary in Brand Identity Design Visual elements are a major part of your business's brand identity design. The keystone of that design is the logo, but in many cases, the logo isn't enough to convey all of your brand attributes. A visual vocabulary is a way to reinforce and add to the messaging that is contained in your logo. Brand Building For Profit: The Colour Behind the Brand and Why I Wear Red Ties! Colour is essential to building a strong brand. Brand Building 201: Finding The Ideal Way The strongest and longest lasting brands branch off of anexisting category. Branching takes patience and time.There are two speeds for launching a brand, each one withits own pros and cons. The Brand Called You The best brands always try to do the right thing, so that their reputations will remain unsullied. But beyond that they grow, evolve and get better with time, while maintaining their special qualities from the past.We all have a personal brand with social, cultural, intellectual, and personal needs that may not necessarily be addressed in our daily work. Address these needs and you begin to improve your brand. Here is my agenda for building your brand.Join and participate in community and professional organizations Generate media coverage about your brand Stay in touch, or renew old ties with friends, family and business associates Let's examine how each one improves your brand.Join and participate in professional and community organizationsThe best brands grow, evolve and get better with time, while maintaining their special qualities from the past.Professional and community organizations provide ample opportunity to learn and grow.They provide professional development opportunities. They allow you to network with peers as well as with people you would not necessarily ever meet in the normal course of your workday.For instance, I am a member and served on the board of our local International Association of Business Communicators chapter. This allowed me to broaden my contacts in the corporate communications world, as well as form a number of friendships I probably never would have developed. I'm also a member of the North Carolina Citizens For Business and Industry. Here I meet people from all walks of life and all work disciplines. Finally, I am involved with Charlotte Reads, a local non-profit that focuses on literacy issues. This allows me to use my communication experience in support of an issue I feel very strongly about.But it's not enough to just join groups: you must participate to benefit fully. As a participant you have the opportunity to stretch, to gain confidence in yourself. Learn to lead by involvement on the board or in a special project.If you are a communicator by trade, try being treasurer for the group to exercise the other side of your brain, or take on a special project about which you feel strongly.Generate media coverage about your brandAll that professional and community involvement will certainly lead to opportunities to leverage that involvement into news about the brand called you. And, of course, there will be promotions, new assignments, and awards at work, too. More opportunities to make headlines.Your achievements are of interest to local print, broadcast, and online media, particularly the business pages. In Charlotte, the Observer has a weekly feature called On The Move spotlighting someone in a new position. The Charlotte Business Journal has a similar feature called Moving Up. If it is a big enough move and your company won't do it, pay the estimated $150 to place it on BusinessWire or PR Newswire. Consider it an investment in your future. Don't forget trade publications serving your industry and alumni publications.Seek out speaking engagements and write guest articles, too. This is yet another way to publicize your brand. And don't forget to do news releases when you make a speech or write an article. It's all about merchandising.To stay top of mind, you might even want to develop your own monthly e-newsletter like Think, the Hoover ink publication. Keep it mostly informational and limit the commercial material.Stay in touch, or renew old ties with friends, family and business associatesEveryone you know can be a brand ambassador for you, so stay in touch or reach out to those you haven't talked with for a while.Yet another reason for having a monthly newsletter that shares your expertise.The network of contacts you have built over your lifetime will be instrumental if you decide to start your own business, or change jobs.So, heed this word of advice: always deal fairly with people. One bad experience with your brand can negate 10 positive ones.Now, get out there and start branding. Hummer is an Excellent Brand What size is your Hummer? Hummers Come in All Sizes; Tiny, small, medium and large and of course the most popular of all; The Oh My God Size. They make matchbox size Hummers, Tonka Toy size and adult size. Are you quite sure you know your hummer sizes. Marketers of the Hummer Brand want to be omni present in your life and it is working. For instance here is a toy hummer you can buy online How Will Your Visitors Remember You And Your Business? Brand Yourself From The Crowd... Big and Yellow 'M' reminds you McDonalds... 'DELL' with oblique E reminds you famous 'Dell' computers... Does Your Message Pass the Test? Develop an effective benefit message and you're well on your way to building your company's entire marketing program. After all, you need focus to create success. Without it you can wind up expending effort without getting the reward (income, that is) you're looking for. Branding Your Products Is Important I was chatting with a couple of friends, all of us are either copy writers or graphic designers?or both?.in the advertising industry, so, naturally, our conversations leaned towards the topic. This one particular friend who works in an American advertising firm is now an Art Director, so, needless to say, he considers himself a notch higher than us mere freelancers and employees. After all, he is the one person who decides on the direction of a whole advertising campaign. He is also in-charge of a couple of large International brands of products. And during this conversation, he told me about this story that inspired me. He says that branding is so important to a product that it can either make or break a product?or even the company. Internet Branding Having been in the franchising business all my life and understanding how hard it is to build a brand, I have probably read every other popular book on the subject. Some are good and most are excellent, as each one helps give you ideas on setting the stage for your brand marketing objectives. Branding on the Internet is somewhat new as before 1995 there was little if any Internet to speak of. One book I can recommend is: Branding Guru - Brand Identity Guru Branding Today How to Create Your Own Mail Order Products Pick up almost any book or report on Mailorder Selling andinvariably you will find the same advice. When you select amailorder product, select one which: Light Up Necklaces Help Promote Red Doors Movie at the 2005 Tribeca Film Festival Awards June 13, 2005 -- Jane Chen (Producer) of the Red Doors Movie stated, "The necklaces have been a huge hit. Several people have offered to buy them. They are great at parties and at screenings - the red glow looks really cool in a dark room. Everybody asks about them when they see them so it's a great entre into talking about the film". The Art of Successful Branding Branding: it's a term that carries great weight in the world of advertising. Successful branding is best illustrated by the world's most prominent corporations, but it's no less important to the small business owner. Your Brand is your identity; it's every single puzzle piece, fitted into the big picture of your company. From your name and logo to your business philosophy and corporate mission; from your advertising campaign message to your design elements; from your products and services; all that is owned, produced, stated, sold and marketed by your company falls under the broad heading of your Brand. Logo Design - Branding - Brand Identity Guru Do you have any idea how important your company logo is? Well you should. It appears on everything from your corporate identity system, brochures to your website, reaching customers, prospects, vendors and the press. In other words, your logo gets to everyone and as they say you only have one chance to make a first impression. Present yourself clearly and dynamically, and you'll look like a professional, even if you are a small company. Brand Identity and the CEO This week I spent a few hours with a highly successful CEO discussing his brand identity questions and concerns. "What do the most successful brand initiatives have in common?" he asked. I shared an observation with him based on many years of having similar conversations and being involved in successful (and not so successful) branding programs. Branding 101: Why Its Critical to Business Success and How to Do It Right What's Your Brand? Hawaiian Heirloom Jewelry Back to the era of the Hawaiian monarchy, the origin of Hawaiian heirloom jewelry can be found. The Hawaiian kingdom had long enjoyed a favorable relationship with England.
|
| © Athifea Distribution LLC - 2013 |