Most people think of a logo when they hear the word brand. Brands are not just logos. Brands are the intangibles that consumers believe about your company, product or service. When we see a logo, we usually think of a brand—the swoosh and Nike, the golden arches and McDonalds, but brands have many “parts.”

Today, the first part of a three part series, the most obivious part of a brand — the visible part of your brand — the logo, logotype, jingle, tagline, etc; including the color, font, sound, look and feel. When developing this part of our company or brand take care to make the look and feel compatible with the Identity you are nurturing in the mind of the consumer.

Your logo, logotype, colors, the entire look and feel, including the marketing methods, should be consistent with your message and customer promise.

Most important, in developing the look and feel of your brand, keep the visual simple including your logo and logotype. Remember it may need to be embroidered on shirts or put on a billboard. Color selection is important also. The more colors in the logo, the more costly it may be to print. Stay away from “fad” or “in” colors and fonts. Just a couple of years ago, teal and gray were all the rage as was the font Papyrus. Now, they look old and dated.

Keep your logo symbol consistent with the product—if you sell law books, do you really want a zippy-do-da logo? Today, more than ever the symbol of the product can be as valuable as the product to a company’s bottom line. Popular symbols are increasingly being sold to licensed products, such as most major movies these days license names and character features for toy development.

We don’t live in a world of reality, we live in a world of perceptions.
~Gerald J. Simmons~

Have a great day in whatever your adventure,
Sharon

As strange as this question sounds, it is important to know—who you are and what you do for your customers, not what you think you do for them. Perception and impression is the secret ingredient in business success and a unique brand. Think about it:

• Starbucks sells coffee. It promises a safe gathering spot, community and inspiration.

• Nike sells shoes. It promises excellence in sports and life.

Success comes from the creation of a strong attachment—emotionally and/or practically. Answer these 5 questions to help you understand the emotions of your brand.

1. What is it that attracts your customers to you? Better not to guess, ask them.

2. Why are you doing what you do? Take time here, this is an important one to answer honestly and completely. This can be the emotional connection that brings customers to your door.

3. List the benefits your customer will receive from using your product or service? Remember, this is not the features of your product such as the color or size. Benefits are what your product or service does that no one else can do.

4. Using a global perspective or bigger vision to answer, what will your customers achieve by using your product?

5. How do your customers “feel” doing business with you?

So, are you in the business you thought you were?

"The road to happiness lies in two simple principles; find what interests you and that you can do well, and put your whole soul into it – every bit of energy and ambition and natural ability you have." ~John D. Rockefeller~

Have a great day in whatever your adventure,

I was completely distracted last week, my local broadband provider decided I had cancelled my account… I had not.

There are 2 ways to fix everything — my broadband service originally choose the first way, the immediate “fix.” To them, I had cancelled my service, and “there was nothing that could be done.”

According to the service rep, there was no way the account could have been cancelled unless I had done it and it could not be reinstate. When I asked to speak to a supervisor, I was told “He will not tell you anything I haven’t told you…”

Today, it seems as if many companies are fine with the superficial and immediate solution — solve the customer’s immediate problem or make the customer go away.

This is not the way to create a long-term, loyal customer. Fortunately for my broadband provider, I need this particular service. I was not about to go away — “No” was not the answer I needed. Most companies are not so lucky to have customers that need them, the competition is fierce in most industries.

The second way — taking the time to figure out and correct the error — is what the provider ended up doing anyway, so why didn’t we just start there?

(They found the error and I have my account back.) Don’t take "NO" as a answer…

"I never give up, I never give in, and I don’t take "no" for an answer."
~Doris Roberts (1929 – ) Actress~

Have a great day in whatever your adventure,

To success! To Life!

Sharon

For the past 3 days, I have been trying to pick out a paint color for the bedroom. In the store, the color looked light green, a color I would call “Seafoam.” The paint supplier called it “Reef”, my friend said it looked gray as we painted it, and in the bedroom lighting, I just stepped back and called it “Yuck.” Still a work in progress…

So what does this have to do with anything? Well, it just pointed out to me once again that we all see and understand things differently… How many times do we describe something and know exactly what we mean, but the person we are attempting to communicate to takes what we said an entirely different way?

An important rule to always remember in communication is the KISS–Keep It Simple and Short. So many times, I find I can get caught up in my industry’s jargon or slang, I know what I’m saying, so do coworkers, but when that glazed look comes over your client’s eyes, you know it’s time to stop, rewind, simplify and try again.

"We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are."
            ~Anais Nin. Writer and diarist 1903-1977 ~

Have a great day in whatever your adventure,

To success! To Life

Targeting your customers through "market segmentation" or "selective marketing" is very effective, if done properly.  Unlike mass-market advertising, selective marketing copy is written directly to a specific audience.

Recently, we were asked to write an ad. They sent us the one they had made themselves — it had not performed as expected. The minute we got it, we knew why it did not perform and we were not even part of the market the ad was aimed at.

First rule of writing an ad is to make sure it is written to the target audience. What appeals to them? Humor? Details?  Advice?

But that is really not what I set out to write about today. My son just got home from a business trip to Las Vegas. He mentioned that a Water Park we had good memories of, had closed. We reminisced about the good times we had together there and the biggest slide we had ever seen in our lives, wet or dry. This slide was several stories tall!

It was named the Bomb Bay Speed Slide (named such, for a very good reason), it was almost a straight vertical drop…

It was so high it didn’t appeal to me at all. I knew I would not have the courage to make it to the top, so I sent my boys—what are kids for any way…?

As they stood atop the slide, I could feel the fear rising inside me… what had I just convinced my kids to do? Especially, when it was something I did not have the courage to do myself…

It can be hard to know what appeals to your audience, especially if you write your own ads…

Step back and look at it from your customers' eyes. Is it telling them what they want to know? Start with a compelling headline, and give them a reason to read further.

Metaphors or stories are a great way to relate to the reader. People enjoy reading compelling stories. By telling a short story you create a bond with the reader.

A good story is just like that Bomb Bay Speed Slide. When they jump on at the top (your headline) — it should take them on a fun and fast ride to the end (the order). No bumps or bruises along the way… make sure there is no reason to stop until they get to your call to action.

That was an amazing day. Here it is 7 years later, and my son still mentioned that ride, and that great, inspiring day, from so long ago.

Have a great day in whatever your adventure,

To Success! To Life