BRANDING ARTICLES
Pitfalls of Binary Marketing
Robert Johnston
Being a sophisticated marketer, from my experience, means escaping the pitfalls of binary thought. Sounds like a big concept, but it really isn’t. People who think binary see things in terms of this or that, good or bad, profit or loss, and either/or. Those trapped in that sort of binary construct will...
Culture Lessons
Robert Johnston
Hopefully I’m not dating myself too much with this anecdote, but you may remember a particular urban legend that gained wide circulation in the 80’s and inspired a fair share of hearty laughs. As the story goes, the somewhat maligned Chevy Nova, when introduced to Latin American markets, supposedly made...
Quick Tips for Small Business Branding
Andrew Michaels
A product's brand is akin to the clothes you put on your body. It is how it dresses and appears to the public. Effective branding adds great value to your product. Simply compare the prices of name brand jeans with discount off brand outlet store jeans. Oftentimes, it is the exact same pair of jeans...
Know Your Niche
Robert Johnston
Every company has one. No matter how big a company’s customer base is they still started initially by targeting a certain part of the population. You can’t avoid the need for a strong niche market no matter what size your company is.For those who are still struggling to find their place in the...
Five Steps to Marketing Success on Facebook
Robert Johnston
Social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook have become almost universal in the past few years. You would be hard pressed to find someone who does not have an account on one of those sites (or both of them). Basically, you are nobody if you are not on Facebook.Many businesses have also discovered...
Greet Them With Open Arms
Robert Johnston
The one image you want to avoid is that of an uncaring corporation devoid of any kind of emotion or personality.Over the years this kind of company has come to symbolize what’s wrong with big business, which seems to care about nothing more than driving up the profits.How true this perception...
What Makes You Different?
Andrew Michaels
You can’t get away from competition.The odds of being in an industry without any competition are all but impossible to accomplish. Unless you’ve just created a product no one has ever seen or conceived of before, you had better prepare yourself to be entering into a competitive marketplace.Know...
Trade Show Marketing Tips
Robert Johnston
You can’t get away from competition.The odds of being in an industry without any competition are all but impossible to accomplish. Unless you’ve just created a product no one has ever seen or conceived of before, you had better prepare yourself to be entering into a competitive marketplace.Know...
Integrate Offline and Online Marketing Strategies
Robert Johnston
Many marketers are embroiled in a war over which is better: offline or online marketing. Okay, maybe it isn’t so much a war, but there are definitely camps for each type of marketing.Then there is another camp – the one where everyone is happy – the integration camp. There’s no reason more marketers...
Why Postcards Work
Robert Johnston
Of all the advertising tools available to a small business, postcards are among the most effective. They are relatively quick and easy to produce, they get read, people don’t mind getting them, they are cheap, and they just plain work. What more could you ask?Here is a closer look at why postcards...
Conducting an Audit of Your Marketing Efforts
Robert Johnston
It is a dilemma that every small business faces: how to cut marketing costs. When a company reaches the point where they no longer fret about their marketing costs, then they are no longer a small business; at that point, they move on to the world of big business. For the rest of us that are still stuck...
The Components of a Strong Direct Mail Campaign
Robert Johnston
Here is a quick list of what should go into a direct mail campaign to get great results.1. Create urgency. Include a deadline to get people moving. Something like “Call before Saturday to get this special deal” works wonders to motivate people to take action.2. Include a call to action....
Advertising Techniques to Avoid
Robert Johnston
Almost every single business in operation, big and small, uses brochures to advertise. If you own a small business, you certainly want to follow suit. However, you need to find ways to make your brochures stand out from the millions of others out there. You have to provide information that your customers...
The Components of a Strong Direct Mail Campaign
Robert Johnston
Here is a quick list of what should go into a direct mail campaign to get great results.1. Create urgency. Include a deadline to get people moving. Something like “Call before Saturday to get this special deal” works wonders to motivate people to take action.2. Include a call to action....
5 Tips for Summer Workwear
Danielle Williams
As the days start to get warmer, many tradespeople, and those of you with outdoor jobs, will be thinking about changing from your winter work clothing to something more appropriate. The sunny days mean that you’ll be swapping the big fleeces, warm gloves and waterproof jackets for workshorts and workwear...