Category: Branding

How many times have you simply grabbed the nearest envelope for the posting of crucial business correspondence? Without knowing it, you could be harming the image of your business by sending important letters and documents via sub-standard, inappropriate or generic envelopes.

The first job of an envelope is to get its contents to their final destination safely. However, it also the first thing your clients and customers will see when you make contact through the mail. A neatly addressed envelope that is appropriate to the tone of its contents, and designed specifically for your business, can deliver five unexpected benefits.

1. Creates the right impression with new clients

If you are approaching potential customers and contacts for the first time, the envelope you use may be responsible for creating first impressions of your brand. If it looks the part, you may be able to impress people before they’ve even read the contents. If you are sending formal business correspondence, printed envelopes depicting your company logo may enhance your credibility and increase the chances of your mail being opened by the recipient.

2. Gives your company exposure

Hundreds of millions of letters and parcels pass through the UK’s mail system every year, and most of them are generic and dull. However, by using custom made envelopes, you can grab the attention of your recipients, and persuade them that opening your mail is essential. There are specialist envelope manufacturers that will work with you on design aspects such as colour, logo and texture to create envelopes that truly grab the attention of recipients.

3. Delivers a cost-effective solution for customer communications

It doesn’t matter whether you order standard or bespoke envelopes, buying the right type for your business in bulk represents a cost-effective way of staying in touch with your customers, contacts, and clients. You may also find that by using printed envelopes that contain slogans and marketing messages, certain groups will be far more likely to open them and read what you have to say. This type of marketing using digital channels can cost a small fortune.

4. Enables brand consistency

It is important that all your communications with customers are keeping with your brand values. Envelopes can act as a fantastic marketing tool when it comes to spreading awareness of a particular brand – through the use of various colours, slogans, fonts and textures. As envelopes are the first thing new customers may see, they need to represent your products or services in a positive light. Select the right design, size and format, and the chances of customers remembering what your company stands for will increase dramatically.

5. Free advertising

Let’s face it; anyone can buy a plain brown C5 envelope for the sending of crucial information to customers. Of course, this could send out the message that you don’t take your correspondence seriously, or that you don’t treat your customers as individuals. However, it could also be a huge missed opportunity. Dozens of people will come into contact with your mail – from the moment you post it to the moment it’s slotted through a letterbox. If you’re sending thousands of custom made envelopes instead of generic ones, you can be grabbing the attention of postal workers and anyone who sees your correspondence arrive at its final destination.

Too many businesses in the UK rely on the kind of generic envelopes that can be bought in stationery stores up and down the country. However, bespoke designs could be promoting your business in ways you never imagined.

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Ace-Envelopes is one of UK’s leading suppliers of envelopes, over 25 million envelopes in different sizes, colours and shapes available for next day delivery services to meet your needs

I got a call this week from the owner of a fast-growing, 6-figure business.  They wanted some help with their branding.  The first thing I did was look at their YouTube videos, and I have to say I was horrified.

To put it kindly, the videos did not look like they came from a successful business.  They looked “schlocky.”  They looked amateurish and unprofessional.  They looked even worse than those cheesy, local public-access TV ads you see in the middle of the night.  It was really embarrassing.

I immediately told the owner of the business to yank those videos off YouTube and to pull them down off his website.  It wasn’t easy telling him that his videos sucked.  But, like it or not, customers are going to judge you by your videos and, if your videos are crappy, no one is going to want to do business with you.   No one will even take you seriously.

Your videos, like your website, are the online face of your company.  Your videos are your image and your reputation and, often, the first and only impression to your potential clients.  In fact, a bad video is worse than no video at all.

Please, please, please take a good, hard, objective look at your videos.  Are you putting your best foot forward?  Are your videos as professional as you want your business to appear?  Do they support or detract from your brand?  (Hint: Your videos are your brand!)  Are you proud to watch your video, or do you have a twinge of embarrassment? Be honest.  Are your videos doing you more harm than good?

There is a better way – and a way to make absolutely sure that your videos are building your brand and boosting your business – instead of damaging your reputation.

My small group mentoring program is designed to get your video marketing strategy on track and make your videos look like a million-dollar brand.   My mentoring doesn’t come cheap and it’s not for everyone, but then again, what is your online reputation worth?  Check it out here to see if it’s a fit for you: https://loubortone.leadpages.net/videomarketingmachine/

If think your video might be sending the wrong message about you and your business, or if they are not as professional as they should be, then reach out to me.  Your reputation is at stake.

There’s no denying that we’re living in the age of the computer. Most of us spend our working week staring at a neon screen and in our leisure time do the exact same thing (you’re even doing it now!), but what does this mean for the humble pen? It’s easy to forget the importance of stationary in the office when most of our time is spend typing away on keyboards, but effective, high quality corporate stationary still plays a significant role in any business. Office stationary is about more than the pens you use on a day to day basis; it is about efficiency, communication and branding.

Branding Begins At Your Desk

We all know the impact of effective branding for businesses; finding ways you can project your company image and convey your company ethos is vital for increasing and maintaining your brand awareness. Corporate stationary that is emblazoned with your name, logo and corporate colours projects an air of professionalism throughout your office and beyond.

Investing in quality helps to raise morale in your office as well as acting as a form of advertising. The corporate convention circuit is part and parcel of the business game, and by handing out branded pens and stationary, you give potential clients something of quality they can use time and time again. Quality stationary from companies like The Pen Warehouse can help you establish trust with your potential clients, which will help you maintain quality, mutually effective relationships.

Post-Its, Pencils and Productivity

Effective stationary is a huge aid to office efficiency. Having pens, note pads, post-its and other methods of storing information is a simple way for individuals to take note of and share ideas. Making sure there are always ample pens and paper in boardrooms and on desks helps your staff to perform their daily tasks to the highest standard.

Note Pads and Networking

Your branding sets you apart; the attention to detail that goes into branding your stationary might be minute but it will set you apart from those companies that don’t. Every company utilises business cards as a means of networking but by going one step further – paper with your company letterhead, envelopes with your logo, attractive fridge magnets and pens in your corporate colours- you can advertise your services on a subconscious level.

Advertising Opportunities That Keep On Giving

The beauty of corporate merchandise is that it never expires. Print advertisements are thrown away, content fades but useful equipment is kept. The majority of people use pens on a daily basis both at home and at work, so your nifty corporate ballpoint can spread your company name throughout homes and offices all over the UK. Your branded products are unlikely to only be used by the person you give them to, so with a branded pen you can ensure your items are used again and again by a multitude of individuals and your company name is well and truly spread.

Choose the Right Company

Choosing a company with the expertise to enhance your stationary to the highest standards is important. Substandard branded stationary is unlikely to impress; you want your corporate pens to stand the test of time and your other products to project an air of professionalism. Make sure you choose a company with experience providing a quality service that you can trust.

Branding is the backbone of modern business, so invest in quality stationary today to help enhance your company image and improve consumer awareness of your brand.

This post was written by Emma Smith in partnership with The Pen Warehouse; one of the country’s leading online stockists of premium quality pens that are ideal for offices and personal use, as well as offering a second to none customisation service that allows you to effectively highlight your brand.

Gillette sits as #18 on Forbes’ Most Powerful Brands list. How does a company that sells disposable razorblades for mere pennies on the dollar have a value of $16.8 billion dollars?

It’s because they leveraged what we now know as the razorblade model of business.

The business came about due to the creation of a disposable safety razor which coincidentally required the use of the blades made by whom? Gillette.

The basic principle of the razorblade model is to leverage a lower priced item (often labeled as a loss leader) in hopes that the customer comes back to your business which offers a premium component to said item. The lower-tiered item should, in theory, be valuable in its own sense but having access to the premium product increases its value and longevity, for the consumer.

These types of businesses have become commonplace.

Take a look at the printing industry which has a stronghold on printing supplies. Keurig, too, has a dominant share on the single cup brewing industry thanks to the inexpensive machine but premium priced K-cups.

The truth is that every business has an opportunity to uncover and leverage the razorblade model.

The following will provide a few tips (and examples) to do so.

Customization

Consider the marketplace for office furniture.

Thousands of work stations, chairs, office accessories, and the like, are needed for businesses.

Now figure that OfficeMax, Staples, and Office Depot comprise the majority of those providers.

Makes it difficult to see where a business could wiggle in, right?

What’s needed is a layer of customization.

This customization allows a business to offer premium products because they are tailored to a customer’s requests and desires.

Let’s say, for example, you operate a business and need custom office furniture.

A basic offering, which you may find at major retailers, may suffice if you needed a simple, generic item. However, a choice in the customization allows you to work with another business that tailors to your brand, work space, and workflow.

Your turn: Take a look at one of your physical products and develop ideas on how to add customizable features. These features may include tailored designs, branding, white labeling, reports, dashboards, and more. What you can do is take the generic offering, use feedback from customers, and begin developing extensions for the item which come at a premium cost.

On-going Premium Support

Linux, a popular open source operating system, is free for all to use, develop, and support.

You may wonder how a business could thrive off something that is free. It has been proven though and one of the industry leaders is Red Hat.

Red Hat provides open-source software, products, and support for major enterprises.  It currently holds about $9.2 billion in valuation.

The secret of Red Hat’s success relies on the ability to offer support for Linux which is difficult to master but greatly rewarding due to its lack of a price tag. Premium support helps companies implement the operating system and have tailored customizations for their needs.

Your turn: Find the opportunities hidden within your customer support. Identify whether your business has the opportunity to sell premium support for high-end clients. Consider dividing your current level support into a free and paid model depending on its complexity.

Become Your Own Competitor

Consumers like to believe they are the ones in control of the market. An interesting infographic that you won’t want to miss is The Illusion of Choice.

What the infographic reveals is an idea that we’ve all had in the past: the cheap, regular, and high-end products are generally all sold by a select group of companies.

These companies involve Nestle, Kraft, P&G, Johnson & Johnson, Kellgog’s, and others.

What we see as competition is merely a company ensuring they have a hand in all markets.

A customer unwilling to purchase a high-end product could find themselves buying from the same company that offers an inexpensive equivalent.

Your turn: Select one or two of your hottest products or services. Develop a new brand to house these offers. Set the offers at a higher (or lower) price depending on the market. Delegate and hire individuals to act as sales representatives for this spin-off business. Funnel leads from these new channels into you existing business but send it back white labeled as the off-shoot brand.

 

If there was an example of ultimate brand loyalty, it’s Toy Story. Whether or not the writers of this Disney Pixar cult classic wrote a story about toys with the intention of one day transforming playgrounds forever more is unbeknown, but one thing is sure, it was clever. The overall result is loyal customers and a huge brand.

So how exactly did they use merchandise to build their brand?

The first thing that Toy Story got right was that their audience was always number one when it came to merchandising. Generally speaking, Disney already has a fantastic understanding of their target audience so all they had to do was to tap into their audience’s feelings. Having said that, there are hundreds of Disney films, so why has Toy Story become one of the most successful of Disney’s franchises?

The film is about toys…

Plain and simple, children love toys and the decision to make a film about toys is fantastic for two reasons. Firstly, the sole premise of toys coming alive once you leave the room taps into every child’s imagination. The story is set from the toy’s perspective so that it enables the viewer to gain an imaginary insight into the life of toys.  

Secondly, from a marketing point of view, making a film based around toys also means that children are able to purchase the toys after they’ve seen the film and create their own stories at home and with their friends. Very clever brand-building indeed – so much so that the official merchandise offers everything you can imagine from the characters to branded stickers available at Stay Sourced to home décor and clothing to take brand loyalty to the next level.

A variety of different characters including a spaceman, a cowboy, a damsel in distress and a loveable dog mean Toy Story have opened themselves up to more choice of characters for their audience to relate to.

Woody vs. Buzz

By creating rival characters children are able to pick their favourite character (and the dress-up suit to match, the Disney website even has a drop-down option of ‘Pick your favourite character’ for the official merchandise – nice touch). 

It’s a good film

There have already been 3 successful films delivered by Disney for the Toy Story franchise which has led to loyal brand ambassadors eagerly awaiting rumoured fourth and fifth instalments. This might be a basic point but customers who enjoy the film will help build the brand voluntarily and use the merchandise to be advocates of the film rather than merely producing branded material with the hopes of people buying into it. 

The result?

With clever and loveable character choices, a firm understanding of what the target audience is interested in and great products, the Toy Story franchise has become one of the biggest and most successful Disney brands. Aside from merchandising, Toy Story is everywhere from theme park rides to being plastered onto every thinkable item that a child could own, there’s no shortage of smart promotional ideas, available at Stay Sourced.

Consideration was provided for the editing and publising of this article.