BRANDINGBranding is the process of creating distinctive and durable perceptions in the minds of consumers. A brand is a persistent, unique business identity intertwined with associations of personality, quality, origin, liking and more. The effort to brand your company or yourself pays off. CONSISENCY SELLS and builds confidence in the customer’s mind.
When it's time to stand out and be noticed, get expert help
A valuable brand begins with a distinctive name and tag line that together convey the nub of your marketing message. When you need branding for a new company, new product, new service or new organization - or rebranding for an existing one call us for a quote.
MARKETING CONSULTING & PLANNING
Why pay for professional marketing help?The market place here in Peterborough, and the Kawarthas is more competitive than ever. As the average person’s world is filled with poorly conceived marketing messages, people only remember or respond to a small fraction of what they see. This also makes it harder for even the established businesses to compete over time with the ‘new kids on the block’. Bigger, better, shinier etc. Keeping your pitch fresh and presenting with a good image is very important. Don’t become stale and old hat to the buying public.
Competing with big box stores is an example that is always tough. EFFECTIVE marketing comes from planning your marketing strategy and sticking to it, just like the large companies do. First they spend some of their marketing dollars on creating a image or brand for their product or company, with a ‘look’. Mcdonald's is a good example of that. They use the golden arches in everything they do and you know immediately what the symbol means.
After an image or brand is established, they decide on promotional vehicles. It doesn’t mean spending thousands of dollars all at once. Spreading your budget out over the year will ensure affordability and year long coverage of your name being out in the market place. You can spend as little as a few hundred dollars on a well designed and positioned ad or printed piece and get a much better result. You can use the same successful marketing approach by spending a percentage of your budget on WHAT you say, HOW you present it, and WHERE it is offered.Marketing Plans for your specific needs can be designed so you don’t need a full time employee, but still get the best marketing possible for your budget.
Company Image - more than just a logo...
1. Values. Do you stand for stability, like Prudential insurance? Innovation, like 3M? Educational curiosity, like the Discovery Channel? Social consciousness, like Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream? Child-friendliness, like McDonald's? Rugged individualism, like Marlboro cigarettes? Personal freedom, like Harley-Davidson motorcycles? Serendipity and tradition, like the local hardware store whose owner knows where everything is and has parts and tools dating back to the previous century?
2. Personality. If the company were a vegetable, which one would it be? If it were a cartoon character, would it be Bugs Bunny, Wonder Woman, Road Runner or Dick Tracy? If it were someone in a high school yearbook, would it be Most Likely to Succeed, the Homecoming Queen, the Nerd or the Class Clown? From the company's personality can flow ad campaigns, kinds of special events to sponsor, company colors and typefaces, corporate gift selection, even the talent chosen to record company voice mail messages.
When it's time to stand out and be noticed, get expert help
A valuable brand begins with a distinctive name and tag line that together convey the nub of your marketing message. When you need branding for a new company, new product, new service or new organization - or rebranding for an existing one - consult the affordable naming service, Named At Last. Learn more.3. Behavior. Your company's image includes not only how you promote yourselves but also how you act toward customers and the public. Things like how you answer the phone, how you greet shoppers, how cheerfully you correct mistakes or accept returns, how aggressively you negotiate contracts all become bound up in one composite image.
4. Price. How much you cost in comparison to competitors often becomes part of your image. If you're tempted to keep price out of the equation until someone expresses a desire to buy, think twice. When you're candid about pricing, you cut down on the number of "tire-kickers" you need to deal with. Above all, make sure your pricing fits with the other components of your image.
5. Range. Customers should understand the spectrum of products and services that you sell. If you handle only, say, commercial cleaning accounts and not residential, or only, say, bookings of locally based and not nationally prominent speakers, make sure your specialty becomes part of your company image. If it's not part of your company name or company slogan, include your focus in your ads, brochures, sales letters and other promotional pieces.
6. Geographical roots. Where did your company come from? If you're a locally owned family business competing with multinational giants, make sure people know that. If you're selling nationally but rooted in a picturesque corner of the country, make hay out of that. The state of Vermont determined that companies linked to it were able to charge more for their products than companies headquartered elsewhere, and it took steps to make sure outsiders don't try to horn in on its brand equity.
7. Longevity. A company in London, wisely and impressively uses as its tag line, "Established 1892." Whenever you've been around much longer than competitors, you can profitably incorporate that into your image.
8. Slogan. Which brand "tastes good like a pizza should"? Which car is "the ultimate driving machine"? What product are you not supposed to "leave home without it"? Even local or specialized companies can achieve this kind of awareness with their clientele.
9. Benefits. What do buyers get when they purchase from you? Most companies provide intangible, emotional benefits Cars: safety; Greeting cards: friendship; Lingere: sensuality... the list goes on and on.
When both you and those who buy from you know clearly what these benefits are, and when those benefits match the other dimensions listed above, you undoubtedly have a comprehensive, effective company image.
