Category: Branding

If you’re a small business owner, you know how confusing it can be to market yourself and draw in customers. Do you want to offer a daily deal? Have you Tweeted at least twice today? Should you buy an ad in the local newspaper?

On top of that, you’ve got to balance the stress of managing staff, inventory, payroll, and customer relations.

Your emphasis should be on that very last factor: your customers. Make it your mantra to always put the customer first, and you’ll find yourself better off a year from now than if you prioritize everything else and assume the customers will have a good experience.

Think about it: the inherent problem with daily deal sites like Groupon is that they bring in a flood of customers once, but only occasionally create lasting relationships. Your most valuable customers are the people that return again and again, and tell their friends and family about your business, in turn.

How do you inspire them to do that? Start with these simple rules:

1. Follow the Golden Rule of Shopping

Whether your business offers a service or a product, think about the places that you frequent as a consumer. Chances are, you’re brought in by the right combination of quality, value and personal service. We’re often willing to pay a bit more for something that’s better — cheap is not always best. Keep your quality levels high and you’ll find a clientele. Running a business is a lot like gift-giving — the best ones are something you’d want for yourself!

2. Give Customers Incentives

The old ‘buy 8 sandwiches, get 1 free’ punch card is still a mainstay at some restaurants, and for good reason. When we feel like we’re earning something by patronizing a business, we’re more likely to choose it over a competitor. The concept has even moved online. Apps like ‘Punch Tab’ and ‘Perkville’ incorporate rewards for purchases and sharing into Facebook, allowing customers to earn free and discounted products for being a loyal patron and spreading the word.

3. Engage with Your Clientele

Even with social media becoming the new marketing norm, there’s still nothing more valuable than a conversation, a smile or a ‘thank you.’ If you have a physical location, emphasize conversation and friendliness over ‘making the sale.’ When people feel a genuine connection, they’re more likely to make a purchase. Likewise, don’t use your Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest accounts solely to push product. Write creative posts that inspire conversation. By engaging customers, they’ll look to you as an expert, building trust when it’s time to make a purchase.

4. Say ‘Thank You’ and Stay in Touch

It’s up to a business owner to foster a relationship with customers, not the other way around. Keep an email newsletter sign-up sheet by your register or on your website, and give people a freebie or a discount for signing up. Don’t spam people, but do send out a monthly email that includes a deal or two that will inspire them to return. For bigger clients and customers, it’s often worth keeping a supply of thank you notes on hand with your company’s logo or letterhead. A quick, handwritten note only takes two minutes but it’s so above-and-beyond that it’s guaranteed to be noticed.

What other ideas do you have for inspiring customer loyalty? Have you experienced success with any of the suggestions here?

About the Author

Anita Brady leads the team at www.123Print.com. The website offers customizable print products for business and life situations, and has everything needed to market a business, where you can make your own business cards and design other promotional items that combine high quality and customization with an affordable price.

When you are a professional, nothing is more important than your reputation. Your reputation creates loyalty with your customers, and it is what helps you secure future deals for your company. It is essential to take proactive steps in managing the reputation of you and your company on the Internet:

Case Study of Yelp

Yelp is one example of a company that has benefitted in actively managing its reputation online. Yelp is an advertising company that provides online advertising for businesses. Ever since it was created, hundreds of consumers and business owners have filed complaints about the ineffectiveness of this website.

The website denies that these rumors have any truth to them. Merely denying the rumors would likely just inflame public opinion against this company. Realizing this, Yelp has very strategic ways of combatting negative rumors about the company.

Contacting Blog Writers and Media Professionals

One way in which Yelp has managed to overcome negative public opinion is by promptly contacting blog writers and media professionals. The employees at Yelp are very aware of the current lawsuits that the company faces. Instead of trying to stifle the truth, Yelp employees have actually been speaking openly about the lawsuits. In acknowledging the truth of the struggles that this company faces, public opinion has slowly gravitated in favor of Yelp. Consumers actually want to see this company succeed.

Tip: Business owners can contact blog writers directly to clarify any factual errors in a story or to disburse a message to the greater public in an interview.

Handling the Pressure

The key for companies facing negative criticism is to remain calm and handle the pressure. When a company is able to openly deal with the criticism in a constructive way, it actually benefits the company’s reputation. A company is able to repair its tarnished reputation and gain favor with consumers.

Tip: Business owners should relax when they face a disastrous situation, but they should also deal with it. It is essential for business owners to contact media professionals and devise a plan for dealing with the situation.

Other Case Studies: Goldman Sachs and BP Oil

BP Oil and Goldman Sachs are two other companies that are worth studying for the ways in which they have chosen to handle negative criticism. These companies have had markedly different approaches to dealing with disastrous situations.

BP Oil has arguably been the better business in handling negative criticism surrounding the oil spill, because it has created YouTube channels, Facebook groups and other social media groups to help people get involved in resolving the crisis. The company acknowledged its wrongdoing, and it has been working to improve conditions of the situation ever since this acknowledgement.

Goldman Sachs, on the other hand, has attempted to evade public criticism of its fraud charges by the SEC. Goldman Sachs has issued no apology to the public regarding its actions. According to Katie Paine of The Measurement Standard, Goldman Sachs failed to show any compassion for the victims who were affected by its fraudulent actions. Ever since the fraud charges were filed, thousands of negative websites have been created that are aimed at Goldman Sachs. The public perception of the company continues to grow worse every day.

When you want to protect your reputation, you can hire an online reputation management company to assist you in the process. In addition, it is important for your company to use common sense and simply apologize to the public. Using common sense and showing compassion for others will get you far in the long run.

Article contributed by Jenna Smith

Contributed by Longhorn Leads

It’s been a gradual switch, but you may have noticed a significant advertising development creeping into advertisements over the past few years. Company mascots are back in favor, and ad firms are using them to market brands in a whole new way. Bucking the recent trend that favored a more sophisticated approach, mascots are providing a personal touch to corporate images that was sorely lacking. Here are ten reasons why mascots are making a comeback:

1. Social media like Facebook are based around personal interaction. Mascots provide users with a “person” with whom to communicate, as opposed to a corporate PR rep. It puts the “face” in Facebook, basically.

2. The mascot is a softer sell than the more traditional marketing ploys. Who feels threatened or put off, for instance, when that cute little gecko tells us how much money we can save by switching to Geico? Approximately no one that’s who. How could you when he’s so small and cute?

3. When creating a company profile on social networking sites, mascots provide the entity whose profile is being posted, the person who will be providing the updates, etc. Having a consistent mascot spanning each social media profile gives a certain uniformity and familiarity.

4. In an economic down period, big companies are looked upon less favorably, and benefit from the good will that a friendly mascot can earn them. Putting a warm, fuzzy face on a cold, impersonal corporate entity eases the trust issue.

5. Another by-product of an uncertain economy is a public desire for the safe and familiar. Nostalgia becomes big business, and baby boomers that grew up with company mascots on TV are more welcoming of this advertising approach.

6. The huge success of company mascots like Aflac’s duck (313,500 Facebook fans, and 14,537 followers on Twitter) has convinced corporate execs that there is enormous potential in unleashing the mascot beast.

7. The Hollywood trend toward CGI and more animated motion pictures has created a culture in which the public is accustomed to responding to non-human characters in a positive way. Consequently, adults who previously might have considered them juvenile are now more receptive to the mascot concept.

8. Advertising campaigns are more entertaining when they are centered around regular mascots, like Flo from Progressive Insurance, or those funny little Frosted Mini-Wheats guys. The ads have more lasting impact on viewers than a traditional pitch.

9. Company mascots incite reaction from the public. Ad campaigns that tap into the public psyche or invite opinion or response generate more passion and, therefore, a greater brand loyalty, when voiced through an object of affection like a mascot.

10. Ongoing storylines that are made possible by giving mascots their own profiles on social media, as well as personalized updates, encourage visitors to return to the website frequently. This enhances interaction between the company and the consumer.

Mascots have made their way into almost every niche, from insurance to cereals, and have created ad campaigns that have resonated with consumers in a positive way. With all the progressive strides that adding a mascot have made for companies, it’s likely that they’ll be around for the long haul.

Article Contributed by Erin Ferree

After all, this is where all my experience comes from… I started out as a graphic designer, helping very-first-timers design their first business brands.

Along the way, I learned many, many valuable lessons about designing your first brand… so I thought I should share.

Many first-time entrepreneurs consider designing their brand a “first order of business” –  they think that before they launch, they’ve got to design their logo, business cards and their website.

I get it… there’s a lot of not-fun stuff to do when you start your business. Setting up accounts. Creating contracts. Dealing with your business entity choice (whether you’ll be a corporation, sole proprietor or LLC).

This is important stuff, and at the same time, it’s really not the creative adventure you set out to have in your business.

So you avoid it… and try to have some serious fun by commissioning or creating your business designs.

And you’re counting that fun towards the cause of “advancing your business”.

That’s oh-so-wrong. For many reasons.

First of all, it’s a stalling tactic that nervous entrepreneurs use to avoid selling their services. Selling freaks them out, so they say, “I just have to have this website put together… then I can start making calls.”

That’s straight-up crazy… you don’t need a website, or a logo, or really any graphics at all. You just have to start having those first conversations with potential clients and start selling and delivering your services.

It may seem that having a logo will make that transition easier, and the truth is… it’s more likely to hurt you than to help you.

And reason #2 will show you why that’s so important: because a brand is a two-way discussion. You have to design your brand to speak to your ideal clients. To show and tell them what you stand for in your business.

If you haven’t had any clients yet, how can you possibly design your brand FOR them?

You’ve got to create your brand for your clients. They’re the ones listening in and watching you. And so your brand has to be meant to communicate with them.

Because they’re completely serious about a picture saying 1000 words… and you want to make sure they’re saying the right 1000 words to the right people. Right?

Your brand designs should communicate all of that meaning and emotion behind your business.

So, before you design, you not only have to figure out who you’re communicating with… but also what you’re trying to say.

How to figure that out? Answer these questions:

What is your business all about?

And how do you want your clients to feel when they work with you?

In your brand,  you have the opportunity to tell your clients all of that, and even more, about your business.

Your brand is powerful because you can show, not just tell.

A gorgeous brand can do so much more than communicate.

• Gives your invisible, intangible service a face and makes it more real and less abstract.
• Turns heads and opens doors for you.  Clients will say, “have you seen this?” and pass your marketing along for you.
• Sticks in peoples’ minds, making a memorable, lasting impact.
• Moves your clients from “know” to “like” quickly… and ease the transition into “trust.” You’ll know this is happening when you hear them say, “wow, I love that! Tell me more…”
• Raises the perceived value of your services, cut back on sales objections and speed up your sales cycle.

So, it’s imperative that you put the effort into figuring out what you want your 1000 word-picture to say, and who you want it to say that to. That’s the only way you’re going to make the gorgeous impression you want to make.

Do you want more clients? Learn how treating your brand like an invitation helps you get more clients. This interactive ebook will walk you through10 secrets for small business owners that open the door to more sales, make their brands more engaging and create their own success. Grab yours today! http://www.brandstyledesign.com/inviting-branding

Erin Ferree is a branding coach, design genius and strategic thinker. She loves connecting the dots between passion and profit, mixing strategy and inspiration and shaking things up. She’s branded over 450 small businesses in the last 10 years, to create an open, honest, inviting brand with integrity. http://brandstyledesign.com