Archive for August, 2009
IMPATIENCE IS A VIRTUE!
Tags: Business
Momentum begets momentum, and inertia begets inertia. Did you know that the rules of exercise apply just as much to your business as they do your body?
In my experience… I’ve found that moving organizations tend to keep moving. Ones that rest… on their laurels, or otherwise… actually atrophy, grow weaker and die young. Regrettably, “not moving” never seems like a bad idea… “at first.” Because nothing immediately goes wrong… and furthermore, nothing signals the dangers of standing still.
“Hey… we waited to see if we were “right,” and nothing bad happened… so waiting is good… right?”
If they only knew.
As a result, not moving inspires more not moving. Employees become dormant too, and are no longer faced with exciting new challenges and positions. A few employees tolerate this condition. And others…creatures of habit and opponents of change, actually relish it.
But dynamic people require dynamic environments. Go dormant, and your action-oriented team will bolt, and take your greatest source of vitality with them. Without these people, your organization becomes even “more waiting oriented,” and you grind to a halt… and so many times… even shift into reverse.
Exercise works for business too. Keep stretching. Keep pushing!
THE STICKINESS FACTOR
Tags: Barnes & Noble, Design, LOUD! Creative, Malcom Gladwell, Marketing
Our society has clearly become overwhelmed with advertisers clamoring for our attention. The New York based firm; Media Dynamics, now estimates that the average American is now exposed to 254 different commercial messages in a single day. There are billions of websites vying for your browsing time. Cable systems routinely carry hundreds of channels of programming. A glance inside the magazine section of any Barnes & Noble bookstore will reveal the thousands of magazines and periodicals that come out each month.
In the advertising world, this is called the “Clutter Problem.” Clutter makes it increasingly more and more difficult to get any single marketing message to “stick.” Much of what we see and hear, we simply don’t remember.
How “sticky” is your marketing collateral? Is your website original, relevant, fresh and inviting? Does your print collateral blend in with the mediocrity of junk mail that crowds your mailbox? What does your email marketing look like? How about your television and radio ads?
And I am not just talking about design. Looking your best is certainly crucial, but your message… your content is equally, if not more, important.
The name of our company is LOUD! Creative Group. We exist to empower our clients to be heard… to be seen, and to rise above the clamoring clutter of their competition.
Evaluate your marketing collateral, and your message. How much does it stand apart from the rest? How memorable is it? How sticky is it? How worthy is your message of being passed on by others?
WHEN MARKETING… MAKE THE INVISIBLE, VISIBLE!
Tags: Branding, Business, Charles Schwab, Colonel Sanders, Dave Thomas, Henry Block, Joel Hyatt, Marketing, Wolfgang Puck
Potential buyers are hesitant to consider products and services that they cannot see, so they emphasize what they CAN see. As a result… visual symbols of a service become important.
Many services recognize this principle… that services are simply relationships amongst people. Visualize the following business leaders that focus on the person behind it. Charles Schwab, Henry Block, Colonel Sanders, Dave Thomas, Joel Hyatt and Wolfgang Puck. Ad agencies have consistently visualized their services through their people.
Consider the leather binders that financial firms use to symbolize prosperity, the dark columns that many law firms use to symbolize tenure and longevity, or the padded shoulders in military uniforms… and colorful medals that the armed services use to symbolize strength and honor.
Prospects look for visual clues for a service, and if they have none… they tend to look to services that do provide clues. So, provide clues in all you say and do. Make sure people see who you are throughout all of your marketing and promotional efforts… as well as in the experience you provide. You must create these visual surroundings, from the parking lot to the last page of your proposals… that will enhance the client’s perception of your quality.
Watch and perfect the visual clues that you send.
SOCIETY OF PROFESSIONAL MARKETING SERVICES
I’d like to introduce you to a new friend of mine… Sara Gammill. Sara is a both a talented and competent marketing executive that’s been serving the Houston architectural community for over 10 years. Sara also plays a major leadership role for the Houston chapter of the
SMPS (Society of Professional Marketing Services).
Sara recently invited me to speak at their Lunch-N-Learn series on August 5th, 2009, which was held at the AGC office in Houston, Texas. The event was sold-out, and I had such a great time meeting some of Houston’s finest marketing leaders within this community. Thank you Sara for your invitation, and I look forward to interacting with this wonderful group again.
Yesterday, I was solicited to write an article for the AGC (Association General Contractors of America) newsletter on the subject of branding. Listed below is the article I submitted… and I thought it might help you in your business or organization as well. Enjoy.
BRANDING ARTICLE
Two men spent 7 years building a contracting company into a successful business. In 1995 these businessmen were offered $400,000 for the sale of their company. The company had no assets, employees, inventory, non-proprietary products or services, no accounts receivable, and no real estate. Even their client list was a low priority since there was very little repeat business. Furthermore the client list was only of any value at all… if and only if the clients perceived that in light of a transfer of ownership, they would continue to receive the same standard of quality.
What was the buyer after? The brand! After 7 years of work, the brand alone was valued at $400k.
Your brand is undoubtedly one of the most valuable assets your business can possess. What is a brand? A brand is the perception of your business in the eyes of your clients, prospects and surrounding community. Unfortunately… it’s impossible to be in total control your brand… but you can most certainly affect it for the good. How you might ask? You affect your brand every time you interact in front of and/or with your audience. Consider a few of the following questions about your brand…
1. Does your business project and consistently deliver professionalism and the highest standards of quality?
2. Does your leadership treat your staff and customer base with an outrageous level of service and authentic concern?
3. Does your marketing collateral and advertising communicate the right and intended message? (i.e. quality, integrity, authenticity, credibility & friendliness)
4. Do you deliver your services in the timely manner you promised throughout the sales process?
5. Are you consistently innovating new and improved solutions? Are you getting better and better every day? (You’re always moving.. are you moving forward or backward?)
A brand is a promise… that you’ll do what you say you will do. Why is your brand important to you? A strong brand can offer your prospective clients and customers decision-making-shortcuts in a fast-paced world. Consumers will regularly choose a well-branded product or service that’s inferior and more expensive, over a non-branded product or service that’s superior and less expensive.
Your brand is more than a symbol… it’s a warranty. Your brand is a promise that your service will live up to its name. Actually… your brand is more important than a warranty because no warranty compensates the customer for lost time, suffering, frustration and inconvenience.
Your brand is important because it is the closest thing to a guarantee your customer will get. Brands are even more important to “service-provider” customers because few services have warranties… largely in part because most services are virtually impossible to warrant. How does one warrant that their legal counsel will unequivocally be sound? Does your CPA guarantee you that they will absolutely find every permissible deduction?
Left without a warranty, the client has only your brand on which to depend, and depending on brands is just what service clients do. A service is a promise, and building your brand, builds your promise.