Insights, Ideas, Results
To someone who’s new to small business, marketing can be a fairly confusing part of it. It can be hard to tell what works and why it works. You might feel like you’re shooting blindly and hoping for results. Naturally, if you are to succeed in managing the business, that’s not going to cut it. So in this article, we’re going to help clear things up for you. To help you understand what works and how you can actually make sure it’s working.
When many people think about trademarks, they think of those belonging to large businesses. Trademarks like Nike, McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, and Mercedes-Benz are owned by corporations that spend tens of millions just on their brands. But all businesses can and should take proactive steps to protect their brands and avoid the more expensive, nearly inevitable, alternative.
Is social media marketing viable in today’s world? Some people tend to think that social media only offer networking platforms where people read and write meaningless things. But it is an online platform where you van engage people from all walks of life on any topic that is interesting. The topic could be related to the services or products you sell in our business. It is all about what you present to the people that will provoke them to debate about. There are meaningless content on social media, but it depends on how you capture the attention of your target audience.
Enhancing the perceived value of a brand is one of the most valuable actions a business can take. It separates similar products by creating a perceived value that allows the product or service to resonate important qualities to their customers other than price. Fewer than 20% of products and services in each market gain the lion’s share of revenue and profits. Branded promotional products always outperform non-branded ones, which are seen as a commodity. Below are a few action steps that your business can take to leave a long lasting impression.
Most large businesses have distinct departments that are responsible for taking care of their respective functions. This is required to provide a structure and avoid overlaps and gaps within the company. Small and medium businesses, on the other hand, function as one cohesive unit without having such distinct roles and responsibilities. This helps them take care of things rather quickly, which essential for the success of the business.
There are times when even large corporations can benefit from different departments working closely together. HR and Marketing are two such roles that have the potential to contribute to the business with effective collaboration. Here are some of the benefits of collaboration between HR and marketing departments.
Some of the world’s most memorable logos are the ones that have accomplished simple, yet bold designs. Take the Nike swoosh logo. Recognized worldwide, the Nike logo has gone beyond brand to become iconic. Yet it is a remarkably simple, but well-thought-out design. The Apple logo is another instantly recognizable logo. It’s also a great example of a black and white logo that pairs a simple image for a bold statement. Bold designs aren’t limited to black and white though. For an example, look no further than the Google logo, which makes an impact through both its colors and clean font.
Building a brand for your business can create long-term competitive advantage and add thousands of dollars of additional business. Branding your business is all about giving the audience something to remember you by. All the greats (names like Apple, Samsung, Coca Cola and Nike) know that you have to become a part of consumer culture if you want to be a household name. It is equal parts knowing your audience, as in the case of Old Spice, where the target audience was receptive to over the top masculinity, and knowing your product. In today’s landscape, you have to be proactive if you want to develop a brand that will resonate with consumers. We describe below 7 fantastic tips you can use to build and sustain great brand for your business.
Let’s do an experiment. Close your eye and think of the first word that comes to mind when I say Apple. How about McDonald’s? Prada? If your answers were something like elegance, Happy Meal and luxury, respectively, you understand the power of brand. A brand can create vivid images in your mind of a business. It can also create powerful emotions in people’s brains. No wonder large businesses spend millions in creating and protecting their brands. The brand doesn’t have to be the purview of large companies only. Small business can, and must, do everything in their capacity to cultivate and manage their brand image.
Just what is a brand?
Small business owners may not have the resources to compete with big brand names such as Nike or Coca Cola, but that doesn’t mean that branding is not important to your business. Building a brand is a vital part of marketing your services. Building commercial awareness of your company is essential to growth.
