emmajane's blog

There's a law in physics which states that every reaction has some kind of opposite reaction. It seems to apply to top ten lists as well. From the Branding for Dummies book here are the Top Ten Branding Mistakes and How to Avoid Them.

1. Thinking of branding as a quick fix. Well. Actually branding is pretty fast in the world of cattle. But branding in marketing comes from the inside of your business out. They're not like the brands that are applied in the Wild West.
2. Starting with a weak identity. The visual kind of identity that is. In this mistake you start with a lousy tattoo design and think it's going to get better when it's permanently inked on your body. (Hint: it won't.)
3. Forgetting the rule of one. That's right: branding is for hobbits too. No wait, that was the ring to rule them all. It's sort of the same in the world of marketing: don't dilute your brand, your talents and your offerings. Stay focused and do what you do really well.
4. Failing to differentiate. Explain to your consumer how you are different and why that's good. Don't make people guess.
5. Failing to launch. Forget the pomp and circumstance. Be. Your. Brand. Remember that a brand is a promise to the consumer. Live and breathe that promise.
6. Failing to protect and defend. And if it gets to that point I know a really great IP lawyer.
7. Believe that what you say is more important than what you do. Do I even need to add a witty remark to this one? Probably not.
8. Underestimating the value of consistency. Do you see how they're really hammering home this point? It's possible the top ten mistakes was only really a top five.
9. Asking your brand to stretch too far. See also: #3.
10. Ignoring brand aging signs. This isn't just a note to aging hippies and VCR owners, but also includes points on company mergers and acquisitions. Perhaps a little too large of a problem for your business, unless you're still making Web sites with frames and flash intros.

It's official. I've read (or at least skimmed) for the first time ever (as far as I can remember)...a book for Dummies. Everything about the "brand" irks me. So with irony not at all lost on me, I checked Branding for Dummies out of the library. If this book has taught me anything it's this: branding is promise a company keeps with its consumers. Skipping over all the useful bits, here are the highlights from Chapter 20: Ten Truths about Branding.

1. Branding starts with positioning. And positioning is the process of finding an unmet "want" (or "need") in the consumer's mind and then providing a "solution" which is distinct and ideally suited to the consumer.
2. A brand is a promise well kept. There's an entire chapter dedicated to "your promise." This chapter was the most useful for me as it presented information in a unique (and somewhat obvious) way.
3. Branding happens from the inside out. Blah blah blah mission statement, visions statement blah blah.
4. Consistency builds brand. Consumers do not measure you just on the look and tone of your brand, but also on the consistency of quality. One bad shopping experience with your store is going to rank higher in memory than all the good ones combined.
5. People power brands. You need brand champions. Start with your staff, but then look to your consumer to champion your brand.
6. Brands live in consumers' minds. Regardless of reality your customer's imagination and their beliefs about your brand will influence ow your customer thinks and buys.
7. Brand names unlock brand images. Your brand name should be obvious. It should also be easy to say. (Insert comments here about niche markets and language and whether it's no-keee-ah or knock-ee-ah.)
8. Brand experiences trump brand messages. Blah blah be the brand blah blah if your store sucks it doesn't matter how much you spend on advertising because you suck. Blah blah be awesome.
9. Brands need to start and stay relevant. Don't use frames on your Web site. (Actually it doesn't say that, but it would be funny if it did. Well funny to me.)
10. Brands are valuable assets. And also the topic of this book. But not to be ignored because brands have economic benefits including: premium pricing, lower costs of promotion, higher market share, higher recognition by consumers, industry leaders, media and investors.

And there you have it. The Top Ten Truths about Branding brought to you by Branding for Dummies. Even if you don't think you want this book as part of your permanent marketing reference library, stop by your local library and through it. You may find some bits of truth that you already knew but didn't have the words to describe.

A week or two ago someone emailed and asked, "we have no experience with non-online marketing. Like how to reach businesses who aren't online already, or at least actively. If you don't mind me asking, how do approach this problem? Is your business mostly referrals? Do you do cold-calling? Do you advertise?"

If you're a "high tech" firm, you may be struggling with these same problems. Here's my answer to this problem:

The short answer is to find out where the customers are, and how they want to be marketed to and then go from there. You probably have a lot of local resources that can help. For example:

• Chamber of Commerce
• Small business centre

Check the yellow pages, or ask at your local library about what exists in your area. You may also find the following Web sites useful:

• Counselors to America's Small Business
• US Small Business Administration

There's also a wealth of information in the marketing section of your local library. Books tend to be a few years old so the information is talking about techniques that were more relevant 5-10 years ago (aka before social media).

Personally: I have never paid for advertising* and never done a truly "cold call." These two techniques are virtually useless for small businesses with little to no budget. I have done: local access television interviews, radio interviews, newspaper interviews, free seminars. I've partnered with local business organizations to give even more public talks. I have a mailing list that I market to. And the list goes on.

* I have placed ads and even paid a nominal fee once. The advertising I've done has been paid for by a partner organization for a specific event and is not part of my marketing budget.

Most of what I know how to do is contained in books at the library. Start there. Not only will you find a lot of really great information, but it will also get you in the habit of getting away from the computer to do work.

Someone once told me that it was inevitable that I am occasionally apologetic and embarrassed about my expertise. She cited two very simple reasons: (1) I'm a woman and (2) I'm Canadian. On hearing this I immediately apologized. I blurted it out before I even realized what I was saying. After a moment of stunned silence we both burst out laughing as I had proven her point.

When you know that you are an expert, your confidence will grow and you will be more effective at helping your clients and attracting more clients. There may be 50 ways to leave your lover, but it only takes 8 steps to be able to say with confidence, "I am an expert."

1. Write a list of the things you're good at. Be bold. Be brave. Be truthful.
2. Make a second list of what's missing from your skill set to be a "master." Keep it focused. Think about how narrow a PhD is and figure out what your personal PhD is going to be.
3. Build on your strengths in the first list and fill in the gaps from the second list. This may take a bit of time, but if you narrow your definition of what you're an expert at, you will probably find that you are already an expert at something!
4. Write a position statement. (More about this in The confidence to be a master.)
5. Find (famous) people who've written similar things to what you say in your position statement. Do the research. If you find no one, that says you're either brilliant or .. wrong. If you find lots of people, you already think like an expert.
6. Document your experience in case studies. Write about the ways you have been successful and/or helped your clients realize success. Things that may seem trivial to you can be mind blowing to someone else. Describe each accomplishment no matter how small you think it might be.
7. Create a new "pattern" document that describes the patterns you have seen in your industry and in your business. Refer back to the expert reports (Step 5) and your case studies (Step 6) to show the patterns really exist and are not isolated cases.
8. Write and publish a summary of what you've discovered. It doesn't need to be a New York Times bestseller—a simple article on your Web site is enough to get you started.

Following these simple steps will help you to feel more confident about your expertise. The next big thing is to learn how to communicate your expertise. Rikki Kite has a fantastic talk called, Her PR Problem. The link takes you to a detailed set of notes from the talk. If you ever get a chance to see Rikki give this talk in person, go! She's a wonderful presenter and has a lot of valuable information to share.