Checklist to Build Your Brand on a Budget

 

Branding is very important. Nebulous branding is a leading cause of business failure.

Besides ill-defined branding, when a business fails there are several likely reasons. They include poor planning, insufficient passion, ineffective management, weak finances, undesirable location, and ineffective use of technology.

A solid brand will help you land customers and insure customer loyalty. For sustainability and strong customer relationships, remember your customers want consistency and a positive tone.

Successful companies also work on continual improvement. They gain market share by becoming more competitive. That includes effective pricing as part of their branding process.

For success in brand-building, remember it’s a process to manage the feelings and thoughts of your customers by creating a happy buying environment.

How?

Address the five critical value-buying perceptions that motivate customers to buy from you. While pricing is important, target only customers who want value, not necessarily those who want the cheapest price. My research shows 18 percent of the population will only buy the cheapest product or service.

Target the other 82 percent who are concerned about price but they have other concerns about value.

No company has ever succeeded by only focusing on selling at the lowest price. Even Walmart’s branding slogan is “Save Money. Live Better.” And they always position a greeter at the store’s entrance. Costco creates a community atmosphere with lots of added value.

Much like buying a house, you need to build brand equity. That means first tapping into the value-emotions of your customers.

The value perceptions and their percentages of importance include:

• What customers perceive about you, your employees and spokespersons – 52 percent.
• Image of your company – 15 percent.
• Quality of product or service utility – 13 percent.
• Convenience –12 percent.
• Price – 8 percent.

So, for a quick primer on affordably building brand equity, here is a checklist of 29 tips:

1. Test your ideas. Rely on the opinions of successful people and get a mentor. Use them as a focus group. But in the end make sure you have a strong aptitude for decision-making and follow your instincts.
2. Develop a mission statement. What is your reason for launching a business and values?
3. Create a logo and insert it in every one of your collateral messages, such as advertising, letterhead, signage, business cards and Web site.
4. Create a Web site. Only 52 percent of businesses have a Web site, which might give you a competitive edge over others who don’t have one. Keep it current and update it every two years. Insert your logo as a favicon, which is short for favorites icon; also known as a website icon or a shortcut icon. In this way, it will show up in the search line on users’ computers. It will add sophistication to your online image much like bigger companies.
5. If you have a small company, own your keyword names – both your name and that of your company’s. If your company is named after you, that’s even better. How many quality references does the Web have about you?
6. Market yourself personally as well as your business.
7. Stay current on social media; at least LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.
8. Become known as the leader in your industry. Choose the right colors for your business. For example, research shows certain cars with certain colors do not sell well, such as purple or yellow.
9. Tell a great story.
10. Be consistent.
11. Personality and character is important to show value, stability, security and fun.
12. Partner with other successful people and businesses.
13. Create a leave-behind sales flyer. Differentiate yourself from competitors. Limit it to one page with short paragraphs, your contact information and logo.
14. Volunteer your time and expertise.
15. Get face time with customers.
16. Speak, write and teach. Customers love buying from experts.
17. Develop and maintain a prospect list with deadlines for action and follow-up.
18. Offer your expertise to reporters who cover your industry and don’t forget trade magazines. Don’t be discouraged if a reporter doesn’t call you. Be patient. I once offered the expertise of a law firm client as an authoritative information-source to the media and five years later he was quoted in a major newspaper.
19. Create press releases for the media and post them on your Web site on a “Press” or “Media” page.
20. Personally contact the media with your ideas.
21. Use cause-related marketing, especially in this economy.
22. Be present at as many relevant events in your community as possible.
23. Post your appearances in a calendar on your Web site.
24. Budget permitting, join your chamber of commerce and industry associations.
25. Study SEO techniques so customers can easily find you and discover information about your abilities and expertise.
26. Develop and implement policies for excellent customer service and retention.
27. Practice an attitude of gratitude.
28. Always demonstrate that you want to make sales, but you don’t need them.
29. Keep on trying whenever you fail. Every experience is a learning experience.

From the Coach’s Corner, you might want to check the other marketing/sales pages for more branding tips.

For outstanding strategies in finance and technology, I wholeheartedly suggest reading the insights of strategic technology consultant Joey Tamer (www.joeytamer.com):

What No One Tells You about Raising Investment Capital

NFL Heroics: Great Metaphors for Business Success

 

Past Super Bowl feats serve as terrific examples to inspire equally superb business performances to achieve profits.

Indeed, enthusiasm and hard work deliver results. Joe Theismann always seemed to be on target as quarterback for the Washington Redskins, but he isn’t always right in predicting the National Football League’s most valuable player.

He didn’t criticize Shaun Alexander’s ability, but Theismann said the Seahawk couldn’t win the award because Seattle is a smaller media market than others, such as New York City. Of course, Alexander was an enthusiastic hard worker and was voted MVP after his record-setting performance in 2005.

The moral? Anything is possible if you dream big, stay positive and work hard.

Good Marketing Captures Emotions. In a nationwide TNS Express Online Survey sponsored by Coors, a poll asked fans to pick their favorite Super Bowl moments. Nearly half of the males said at least one of their early top Super Bowl memories was included in the current Coors TV campaign, “Coors Light Super Train.”

Three of the most-mentioned favorites:

• Joe Namath’s 1969 prediction that his New York Jets would beat the then-Baltimore Colts, which was a lesson in marketing puffery. You might recall he went on to sell tons of products, especially hosiery.
• Hank Stram’s colorful quote the following year, “Pump it in there, baby,” was a lesson in perseverance.
• The invincible “Steel Curtain” of the Pittsburg Steelers, which taught us lessons for protecting brand equity.

Even non-Steeler fans enjoyed watching the team’s cast of defensive stars, including “Mean” Joe Greene, L.C. Greenwood, and Jack Ham, including Greene’s poignant commercial when he gave his jersey to an adoring nine-year-old boy who gave Mean Joe a Coke.

His memorable commercial also sold a lot of Cokes; unlike many commercials that are clever and cute but fail to generate a good ROI.

Lessons in Execution and Courage. The aerial artistry of Terry Bradshaw’s pass completions to Lynn Swann and John Stallworth were awe-inspiring. The receivers were like graceful ballet dancers as they leaped to catch the ball. They were also tough and never fumbled; examples of mental strength and focus. With his enthusiastic, likable personality, Bradshaw remains popular as an NFL commentator.

But my all-time favorite Super Bowl was in 1980 when the Steelers defeated the Los Angeles Rams in a highly entertaining game, 30-19. My most inspiring player in that game was All-Pro Ram defensive end Jack Youngblood who played every down of the NFC Title Game and Super Bowl on a broken leg.

So act with courage and execute well. Both are needed for success in business.

Lessons in Marketing Strategy. Reprise Media’s “Super Bowl Search Marketing ScoreCard,” measures how well advertisers capitalize on their Super Bowl advertising investments. The technology firm, www.reprisemedia.com, helps companies increase their brand equity in online marketing.

The company contends that national advertisers fail to capitalize on their Super Bowl commercials by not taking enough precautionary steps in online marketing. That means focus on ad text, keyword selection, and landing page content.

Not to oversimplify, the company offers four basic reminders:

1. Make sure to include your Web site address in your advertising.
2. On search engines, bid on your company’s name, products, services, and your spokespersons.
3. Ensure a common thread in all your advertising and repeat your key phrases.
4. Prevent buyers’ remorse by making visitors feel rewarded. Offer to let them register to win a product and promote interaction with you.

Smaller advertisers, too, can benefit from Super Bowl-like performances by learning from successful national advertisers. You’ll reach the best prospective customers with good credit or high net worth by advertising on local news outlets.

Cost-effective keys to online success include media outlets with strong journalistic standards. You’ll also be amazed how economical their Web sites are, too, if you insert banner and rich media ads. Don’t forget to generate opportunities by submitting quality press releases to their news departments.

From the Coach’s Corner, branding remains an important factor in fast food sales, which has suffered as a result of the economic downturn. It has forced fast food companies to discount prices and focus on value meals. However, as consumers now count their eating out at fast food restaurants as a dining-out treat, the companies with the strongest branding and customer service will win.

Here’s a case-in-point: Wendy’s/Arby’s earned $14.7 million in Q3 2009 a year after their merger. But Arby’s appears to be the weaker of the two and some analysts predict they can only succeed with value meals.

Value meals are a drag on earnings if customer service is not perceived as good. Obviously, that’s a concern in the fast food business, especially when a company does not have a visionary salesperson. (Beloved Wendy’s founder Dave Thomas knew about quality, customer service and what his customers wanted.)

Whether the economy is strong or weak – 18 percent of customers will only buy the cheapest product or service – they’re not likely to return unless you have the cheapest prices. So, you want your stores to succeed on repeat business by targeting the 82 percent who are concerned about price but are influenced by other factors.

My cursory sampling of fast food restaurants shows a connection between a successful fast food stores and the perceived level of good food and customer service. A key ingredient is respect for the customer and showing an attitude of gratitude. The stores that have employees who excel in customer service and say thank you to customers are a catalyst for customer loyalty.

For value-conscious customers, price is important but their purchases are decided on emotion.

In order of importance, their five buying perceptions are:

1. What they think about your spokesperson and employees
2. Your company image
3. Product or service utility (is this good food?)
4. Convenience
5. Price

For more related reading, see: Case Study: Mistakes Companies Make When Losing Profits, The Seven Steps to Higher Sales, and Sports Offers Lessons on Strategic Management and Planning.

Meantime, emulate Terry Bradshaw’s enthusiasm and you’ll get repeat business.

Marketing: Why One Bank Fails, Another Succeeds

 

Like most businesses, you can look at the branding of a bank and forecast how it will fare. Poor branding is often the tip of an iceberg – an indicator of management ineffectiveness and lack of discernment.

And for financial institutions, this is especially true. Conservative appearances and customer empathy are important when handling customers’ money.

A case-in-point: Venture Bank in Lacey, WA vs. First Citizens Bank & Trust in Raleigh, NC.

First Citizens bought Venture Bank’s $874 million in assets and entered into a share-loss transaction for $715 million of the assets and state regulators closed the Washington bank. Venture Bank, with 18 branches, had $970 million in assets and total deposits of $903 million.

There are reasons why Venture Bank failed and First Citizens has succeeded.

With information from a published report, www.theolympian.com, here’s a brief history about Venture Bank and a couple of observations by me:

• Venture Bank had its origin as Lacey Bank in 1979 and changed its name to First Community Bank two years later.
• First Community merged with Citizens First Bank in 1993 and bought Prairie Security Bank four years later. It acquired Harbor Bank of Gig Harbor in 2002.
• First Community changed its name to Venture Bank in 2003.
• In March, 2005, the bank made a questionable decision and sponsored a concert with The Ventures, a rock ‘n’ roll band, in a bid to promote the group into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
• In Aug., 2005, the bank bought Redmond National Bank and got a new CEO when it rehired Jim Arneson who had been the Redmond bank’s president.
• In May, 2007, Venture Bank publicized its record Q1 income of $3.2 million.
• In March, 2007, Venture moved into its new $13 million headquarters in DuPont, just up the I-5 corridor. Not to be hyper-critical, but the reception area resembled a lavish, highly secured mausoleum.  
• The bank’s holding company, Venture Financial Group Inc., announced plans for an initial public offering in July, 2007.
• In Feb. 2008, Venture and the Tacoma Rainiers (the Seattle Mariners AAA farm club) signed a lucrative six-figure sponsorship package. (I love baseball, but I recall wondering why. It was great for the ballclub. However, I recall thinking Venture Bank would never get a good ROI.)
• Seven months later, in Sept., the IPO was withdrawn.
• In Nov., 2008, Venture announced it was suffering from its worst quarterly loss ever.
• Five months later in 2009, the FDIC told Venture Bank it needed $20 million more in assets.
• Starting in early 2009, Venture’s holding company revealed its SEC-required earnings reports were going to be late.
• The accounting firm, Moss Adams, informed Venture of its withdrawal as the auditing firm.

Venture’s eccentric marketing

As for the branding, Venture Bank’s Web site also tells quite a revealing story: The bank was guilty of eccentric marketing.

The home page of one Venture Bank Web site, www.venturebankonline.com, contended that “SMALL IS POWERFUL.” It showed pictures of a cayenne pepper, matchbook and dart frog. Under the pictures were these captions:

• “Cayenne peppers are only 6 to 8 inches long but are known to pack a serious punch, up to 50,000 Scoville units of heat.”
• “Since 1892, when it was first patented, the common match has ignited the cook fires of the world, the fires of imagination and the fuses of powerful explosions.”
•  “One milligram of the poison dart frog’s venom is enough to kill two African elephants.”

But here’s more. Even after state regulators shut down Venture Bank, a second Web site was still also online:  www.venture-bank.com, which used this branding slogan, “As Independent As You.”

At best, this is a nebulous slogan in the eyes of bank customers.

The bank’s home page did a poor job of reassuring visitors and customers that their welfare is important and that the bank will care for their money. Business owners and consumers do not want maverick bankers handling their money.

Ostensibly, Venture’s eccentric Web site – with the cayenne pepper, matchbook and dart frog –was the original site. But no one was aware of it to even pull the plug.

For me, as a former broadcast journalist, Venture Bank’s situation – promotion of The Ventures, lavish headquarters and questionable sports-promotion investment – is reminiscent of when I reported on the S&L scandals and the Friday night seizures of failed financial institutions in the 1980s.

No one has accused Venture’s management of scandalous behavior but the bank’s appearances, over-spending, and resulting collapse brought back memories.

In particular, I recall the reporting the collapse of State Savings in Salt Lake City. The principal, J. William Oldenburg, was accused of abusing the thrift’s assets. To a larger degree than Venture Bank, he created unfavorable impression, too.  He drove a Rolls Royce and had been the flamboyant owner of the L.A. Express in the defunct United States Football League.

First-Citizens Bank 

Contrast Venture Bank’s behavior with First Citizens Bank:

Visitors to www.venture-bank.com were directed to First Citizens’ Web site, www.firstcitizens.com/venture where a message from Chairman and CEO was posted:

“On behalf of First Citizens, we welcome you to our banking family. As a First Citizens client, you’ll benefit from our 111 years of experience in the financial services industry, our commitment to exceptional service and our reputation for strength and stability. We’re excited about serving our new communities and building a rewarding, long-term relationship with you.”

Here’s more of First Citizens’ welcome to Venture customers:

“Sound business practices and stewardship of customer deposits are among the highest priorities of our bank. We have more than $14 billion in assets and more than a century of experience serving the financial needs of our clients. First Citizens Bank is nationally recognized for overall stability, security and high levels of customer satisfaction. We’re proud to welcome you to our banking family and assure you that your money is safe with us.”

So, in conclusion, my question is this:  As a bank customer, do you want to read about cayenne peppers, matchbooks and dart frogs? No.

From the Coach’s Corner, if your nonprofit needs new branding and you have a lot of people to please, here’s a tip:  

The best branding slogans are the result of involving all stakeholders – employees, beneficiaries, donors and community leaders. A branding discussion generates an exciting “buzz” for your nonprofit. It creates a chance for everyone to be heard and will be a catalyst for more support and synergy from stakeholders.

That’s why I suggest a survey and getting someone to donate a nice prize for the winning entrant, which will help reinforce your nonprofit’s identity.  A poll should include a selection of three to five possible slogans, and a space for write-in options. I’d make an announcement at meetings, insert an item in the newsletters, query your beneficiaries, and write a press release for distribution. I also suggest forming a selection committee including marketing experts from the community who understand your mission.  

They will understand that the slogan needs to answer the basic Marketing 101 question, “so what?” that every person subconsciously asks.

Remember every buying decision is based on emotion. Pique the emotional interest of your target audience – donors and beneficiaries. If the customer can easily make a favorable decision after seeing the slogan, you’ve got a winner.