www.narvinta.com

It really won’t matter if no one knows your product or service because you haven’t branded your business correctly. Some companies and businesses spread their ad dollars around with direct mail, radio, broadcast and web. But without long-range branding plan you are wasting your time and money.

The Age Old Branding Question

Let’s presume that you own a ‘brick and mortar’ jewelry store, plus you sell your products online. How do you convert casual browsers into buyers in both situations? I can say it in one word.
BRANDING.

People buy brands. A brand should represent everything you stand for. What do you think of when you hear the name ‘Tiffany’s’? Expensive, chic and elegance are a few words that come to mind.

Ask yourself, How do you want people to identify with you or your brand? Find and identify a niche in your market and exploit it any way you can.

Logos, Taglines, Mascots and Attitude

The long-range branding of Nike has been a steady-on, unwavering approach. They show imagery with ambient sound effects followed by their familiar Nike logo swoosh. Sometimes they add the tagline, ‘Just Do It’. This is their branding attitude.

Aflacs’ insurance commercials feature a bumbling duck. This cute, feathery, accident-prone mascot became the quintessential reason why you need to buy insurance - - their insurance. Aflac took this sleep inducing subject and made it entertaining and memorable.

Local Branding Hero’s

The home town branding factor can bring you excellent recognition. Can you think of a restaurant, car dealership, jeweler or any local business brand that sticks out in your mind? Identity is branding’s most common denominator. You have to stand out in the crowd or get lost in the clutter.

Give your customers a reason why they should do business with you.

Where to Start

Start by consulting with a full-service public relations agency or advertising agency. We use Rourk Public Relations in Virginia Beach, to help establish our company brand. David Rourk, President of the company, has captured in words our business philosophy, unique product and value to customers. This branding has helped VISIONEFX become one of the leading Web design companies in Virginia.

Good branding will last the life of your business. Go forth and brand!

About the Author
http://www.visionefx.net - Visionefx President Ricardo Vidallon has been in the creative business of advertising, cable broadcast, animation and the World Wide Web for more than two decades. His work has been featured on the Christian Broadcasting Network, Inc., Fox News and NBC Entertainment. His career track in Web consultancy includes the global companies of Reynolds and Reynolds, CMGI Solutions, and Automark, Inc.

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Have you ever seen an ad on television that was beautiful, slick, and stylish but didn’t fit the product? How about a magazine ad that, though gorgeously photographed, didn’t make it clear what was being sold? Or have you heard a catchy radio ad that neglected to give contact information? If you pay attention, you’ll notice these money-wasting advertisements in all types of media.

If a corporation puts out a bad advertisement, the marketing department will have the resources and budget to make a mid-course correction (sometimes). Often the thousands of dollars a small business puts into an advertising promotion are the bulk of the marketing budget for the entire year (usually). There’s no money, time or resources for a do-over if the ad doesn’t bring in customers. Small business people simply can’t afford to spend money on expensive ads that don’t work.

Preparing an effective ad is harder than it looks, but even the smallest business can produce an ad that works if some simple rules are followed. Following are four tips you can use to create a great ad for your business, regardless of your budget, marketing experience, or the media used:

1. State the Product or Service Clearly

Make it absolutely clear what product or service you are selling. Keep it simple and honest. Instead of advertising “meticulously crafted, threaded fastening accessories” just say, “best steel wing nuts.” Don’t make it hard for the customer to pinpoint what you’re selling and don’t overdo the flowery descriptions.

2. Use a Call-For-Action Phrase

Forgetting the call-for-action is the biggest mistake I see in small business advertising. A call-for-action is a short sentence telling the customer how to get the product or service, such as “call us for a free sample,” “order online at www.mywebsite.com,” “get Product X at these fine retailers.” The call-for-action is important because it reinforces the customer’s decision to buy and gives specific instructions. Without a call-for-action, a certain number of customers will change their minds almost instantly, as their attention is drawn elsewhere. Others will ignore the ad unless you make it clear you want their business by telling them exactly how to spend their money.

3. Check for Correct, Complete Contact Information

You must include a phone number, address, and/or website (preferably all three). Triple check to make sure the information is correct. This sounds obvious but consider this real-life case: A plumbing company in my hometown advertised 24-hour service but only put the number of the main office in their telephone directory ad. The office was only open 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. That was little use to someone with a leaking hot water heater at 2:00 a.m. The plumbing company also had a website where, with some digging, a desperate homeowner could ferret out the 24-hour service numberbut what customer is going to spend time hunting the number down when he’s up to his ankles in standing water?

4. Sell the Benefits

I often see ads that try to sell the customer on the features of a product or service rather than the benefits to the customer. What’s the difference? Features describe the product or service; benefits tell the customer how those features will help him or her. Let’s take a common product like bread. Say you’re selling a special kind of nutrition-packed wheat bread (it was granny’s secret recipe). You could list some of the features of this wonderful bread in your ads:

Contains 3 times the usual vitamin D and calcium

Extra potassium

Uses only rolled oats

(That all sounds very healthy, but I don’t know how eating more of those things will do me any good. Besides, I like my usual brand of wheat bread. I pass by your delicious, nutritious wheat bread and buy the same supermarket bread I’ve eaten since I was a kid.)

Now let’s state those features as customer benefits:

Builds strong bones and teeth

Helps control high blood pressure

Lowers cholesterol

(I didn’t know I could lower my blood pressure by eating a different brand of bread. That’s sure sounds easier and tastier than taking supplements. I pick up a loaf, and some of your whole-grain dinner rolls, too.)

Translating the features of wheat bread into benefits isn’t that difficult. What if you have a very complicated product or service? Drilling down to the benefits can still be done quite easily. When I get stuck writing up a benefits sheet, I filter everything through this phrase: “What’s in it for me?”

These four marketing tips are a great place to start when preparing your advertisement. See Marketing Tips For Small Business - Advertising That Works, Part II, for more tips and insider tricks.

Segarin Monk is a marketing specialist promoting social betterment programs for governments and non-profit organizations. He believes in high-integrity, pass-it-on, pay-it-forward marketing. See more articles from this author at: http://marketingyogi.blogspot.com/

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You wake up one morning with a stabbing pain in your back. It’s in the lower part
and hard to reach. You decide to take some aspirin or Tylenol. It seems to help and
you forget about it. A week later you’re in the hospital in traction. What went wrong?

It’s a scenario that describes many small businesses that refuse to pay for
expert advertising advice. Sure, they know all about tire sales or Mexican food, but
what do they know about marketing? They try a few simple, inexpensive flyers or
local ads and yet, their restaurant or store remains empty. What went wrong?

Advertising is a business and a profession. People like myself spend years
learning the trade and learning some more. It never ends. Even with my degrees and
agency experience, I’m still learning. I’ve counseled thousands of companies over
the past thirty years and it’s amazing how many companies use the do-it-yourself
method of marketing in a hit-or-miss way. If you want to be successful, think about
the following:

(1) Why are you in business?

(2) What are your marketing qualifications?

(3) Do you want to stay in business?

(4) How much do you budget for advertising?

I would want to also know, as part of question 4, what part of that budget allows
for consulting services? Your basic business plan must include and promotional
program, but that can’t be conceived until you understand how you will reach your
customers and how they will find you. Whether it’s an advertising agency or a
consultant, invest in a professional as you would in an attorney or insurance agent.
The difference is that the advertising expert will make you money. The object of any
business is to be profitable but recognize your own limitations and stick with what
you know best. Leave the rest to the one’s that have spent years in their fields. In
the end, you’ll be further ahead and wiser for the choice.

Jeffrey Hauser was a sales consultant for the Bell System Yellow Pages for
nearly 25 years. He graduated from Pratt Institute with a BFA in Advertising
and has a Master’s Degree from Monmouth University. He had his own
advertising agency in Scottsdale, Arizona and ran a consulting and design
firm, ABC Advertising. He has authored 6 books and a novel, “Pursuit of the
Phoenix,” available at amazon.com. His latest book is, “Inside the Yellow
Pages.”

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