Tag: brand planning

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

8 must-read blogs to boost your business & brand

Posted on by Red Slice

There’re waaaaayyyyy more than 31 blog and newsletter flavors out there, tempting readers with deliciously satisfying business and marketing wisdom. I don’t have to tell you – you’re reading one right now (which I hope is one of your faves).

But I’m often asked which are the tastiest ones I follow that help me with my own business and brand. So today for you, I’ve rustled up my top 8 blog and newsletter picks that I allow to invade my own inbox so you can check them out and see which ones will turbo-boost your brand, business or life, in no particular order:

  • Convince and Convert: This daily dose of smart and sophisticated social media news goes beyond mere opinion or playfulness. Jay Baer is one of my favorite people whom I’ve never met and he bills himself as a “hype-free” social media expert, which he is. He showcases interviews, guest posts, reports, case studies and the latest on how companies big and small are connecting with their customers, measuring success and using social media to grow their brand – and their sales. I even get something out of the studies and stories he shares about businesses much larger than mine, because it reveals the latest tools and trends. This is a guy with whom I could sit and have a beer (plus, he lives in Bloomington, Indiana, home of my alm mater IU, so I know he’s good people) – and he’s the real deal when it comes to dropping some knowledge bombs.
  • Heinz Marketing: Matt Heinz is a sales and customer relationship demon. He works with companies on sales enablement, lead generation, and customer relationships to accelerate sales and revenue growth. His blog, Matt on Marketing, is full of practical insights and I also subscribe to his newsletter (one of the few which I do).  Plus, I know Matt personally and he’s a sharp, nice guy to boot.
  • Savvy Sexy Social: Amy Schmittauer is a bubbly, snarky, hilarious online marketing princess who creates fun and informative videos for entrepreneurs and small businesses on how to build a strong online presence. Her videos are full of practical, easy to follow tips to make sense of doing business online – including advice on media outreach, content creation, and editorial planning. Amy is a video content creator working with brands to develop interesting informational vlogs (or “video blogs”) to share with their audience. and she walks her talk: delivering her own engaging and powerful advice in bite-sized video chunks. If you want to sell online without feeling slimy (if you’re part of my community, I pray that’s a “yes”), check her out.
  • Ali Rittenhouse: Ali’s an online business coach and trainer, helping women entrepreneurs build a digital emprire from their own laptop, just like she did. She demystifies tech and helps entrepreneurs embrace it to build their brand, business and revenue. As an “online enthusiast and digital diva,” she’s even taught me a few quick tricks on how to make my website look even better through her many free training videos.
  • Jamie Living: OK, while this is less about business building per se, Jamie Greenwood Dougherty helps rockstars on a mission get their body on board to create the life and business they want. Her content is all about taking better care of your physical and emotional needs so you can accomplish your most ambitious goals. YOU are your business’ most important asset and Jamie never lets you forget it.  You won’t get very far taking care of customers/clients if you can’t take care of yourself and Jamie’s sassy advice has even helped me and my husband improve our game and tackle more challenges with more energy. Her humor and passion shine through every blog post, and her emails are like little presents in my inbox.
  • Alexandra Franzen: I first worked with Alexandra a few years ago on some of my clients – as well as my own brand messaging – and was awed by her wordsmithing wizardry. A writer by trade, Alexandra is now a sherpa of self-expression and her following is huge (and well-deserved). Her weekly emails are like powerful poetry, full of musings to improve your messaging, work relationships, and self-confidence. All without being too woo-woo or preachy. I always score at least one wisdom-filled nugget from her weekly posts that I can immediately apply to my business (and my life). And (squeal!) we finally get to meet in person this May. Alexandra is “soul food” personifed.
  • CRAVE: Looking for a dose of entrepreneurial wisdom and a network of stylish business women right in your own city? CRAVE’s got you covered. You can sign up for your city’s newsletter and discover events, workshops and role models right in your own backyard. Offering business resources, advice and tips, the CRAVE newsletter includes guest posts from entrepreneurs who are out there, making things happen. Melody Biringer, CRAVE’s queen bee, is a dear friend devoted to promoting women-owned  businesses, as well as a serial entrepreneur in her own right, having started at least 23 businesses….and counting.
  • Melissa Cassera: Melissa turns business owners and entrepreneurs into PR rockstars – and she has a blast doing it. This woman knows PR like the back of her hand and is full of great advice to demystify media and make your brand a star. I recently met Melissa personally and besides having our Italian heritage and love for acting in common, you immediately feel her passion for business shining through. She preaches that you need to love your business if you want to get the attention of others – and the press. No one is more passionate about your business than you are and she gives great DIY advice for how to score with the press, sell yourself and build your brand.

Photo credit: Timtak on Flickr

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Your turn: What do you read as a go-to blog/newsletter for business and brand advice? Besides moi, of course! Please share in the Comments and include a link for all of us so we can get some love.

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

4 powerful business lessons from James Bond and Skyfall

Posted on by Red Slice

James Bond…entrepreneurial guru?

I recently saw Skyfall,, the latest installment in the Bond franchise and it was incredible. Not normally a Bond fan, I loved Casino Royale, wiped the awful Quantum of Solace from my memory, but thoroughly enjoyed this latest turn. The characters were complex and flawed, the performances brilliant, the pace lively and Daniel Craig does wonders for an expensive suit. I left the theatre like I’d just gotten off a roller coaster. My husband – a native Scotsman – even dared admit, “I have to say that Daniel Craig can now be crowned the best Bond, even better than Connery.” Blasphemy! But very true.

That said, our favorite Secret Agent can also teach us some powerful business lessons. So strap on your Rolex submariner, put on your X-ray sunglasses and climb inside your tricked-out Aston Martin as we review Bond’s best advice:

  1. Stick to the basics: We’ve grown accustomed to Q loading Bond up with spectacular gadgets before each mission. In Skyfall, we watch with delight as Bond confronts his age by meeting the newest Q, a young techie hipster that wouldn’t look out of place at Apple’s Genius Bar.  One assumes Bond will get some sort of iPod mets Kinect device or some Google-developed driverless car. But no: Q simply hands Bond a Walther PPK, which is a small automatic pistol, and a  tiny tracking radio. Even Bond is surprised but it turns out that’s all he needs when in a pinch and Q mocks him by saying something like, “What? Were you expecting another exploding pen?” In our age of the next new shiny object coming out every 5 minutes, it’s easy for entrepreneurs and business owners to forget the basics and get lost in the glitz. But often, it’s the old, simple secrets that make the best weapons for your business success: building your brand strategy before throwing away money on tactics, delighting customers, collaborating in person over coffee, providing quality products/services, delivering what you promise.
  2. There’s always a way through: Many scenes in Skyfall leave viewers thinking, “Oh, he’ll never find a way out of this one!” And then, of course, Bond continues to chase the bad guy onto a moving train, escape an island run by a madman and outsmart an evil mastermind and all his henchmen with just his wits, resourcefulness and resolve. No matter how bleak it seems, no matter how much you think you’d stop running or surrender, Bond shows us that ingenuity can help you see every problem in a fresh way. If you are facing business challenges, step back and look at the issue from another angle. If sales are down, should you offer a new product or service, or adjust your prices? If no one is reading your blog, can you clarify your brand value or find other avenues to promote each post? If prospects don’t know who you are, can you partner with someone else for more exposure? There’s a million ways to look at a problem and a million levers you can pull before you throw in the towel.
  3. Stay calm under pressure: There’s an awesomely sexy scene in Skyfall where Bond crashes into the passenger car of a speeding train. As the surprised onlookers gawk, he maintains his balance, straightens up, adjusts the cuffs on his impeccable suit and proceeds to walk through the train car calmly as he continues chasing his man. That’s grace under pressure.  When things hurtle out of control, customers demand attention and you are juggling 637 things at once, how do you respond? Do you handle everything calmly and get the job done, or do you freak out or run and hide? It’s up to you to tame the chaos and say no to things that prove distracting.
  4. Control the conversation: Towards the film’s climax, Bond realizes he’s constantly one step behind his nemesis. Bond is reacting to, rather than controlling, the conversation. He sets a trap and then lures the baddie to his turf where he can now proactively make the moves he wants to make and keep his enemy off-balance, rather than vice versa. Sometimes, in business, we react to the everyday fires and demands that others are making on us, rather than keeping our eye on the ball and charting a clear course to our mission. We end up slaves to a to-do list, rather than making time to achieve our long-term vision. We need boundaries: not checking email every second, or making sure people know we only return phone calls between 3 and 4 pm, or whatever system works for you. Get your strategy sorted first and work towards that before you let the seemingly urgent but ultimately less important demands on your time take over. Change the conversation to the one you want to have.

Any other business lessons that Bond (or other movie heroes) have taught you? Please share in the Comments below and get some link love back to your site!

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

Top 3 tips for a better website + how to integrate social media

Posted on by Red Slice

It’s third quarter for most of us. How’s your year shaping up? I always encourage clients to revisit their brand strategy once per quarter – and this includes your all-important website. For most businesses, your website is the crown jewel of your marketing efforts, your storefront, your showpiece. But often we spend so much time putting it up and then seem to forget about it.

If your website strategy is off, you could be missing out on sales and customer connections. So today, we’re getting priceless tips for a better website from one of the best in the biz.

Norma Maxwell is one of my favorite people and partners. She’s a designer, interactive strategist, and founder of Connect Interactive. Norma and her team help clients create an online presence that not only connects with people, but resonates long after they have made their first contact.

Today, she shares three tips for great sales pages, how to incorporate all your social media channels, and how to layout your page for maximum pop.

RS: Welcome Norma! Everyone struggles with setting up great sales and landing pages.  Do you have three top tips for doing this right and achieving your sales goals?

NM:

  1. Understand who will be visiting your page.  This informs every single decision you will make relating to your visual layout/design, your written content, and your calls-to-action (prompts that “call” your visitor to do something when they get to your page).
  2. Create a compelling message (visually and through your copy).  This is where the importance of knowing your brand and your messaging will come in.  If someone has taken the time to visit your page, make sure they find consistency, professionalism, credibility  when they get there.  This is the foundation of a lasting conversion.
  3. Capture your visitors information so you can stay in touch.  Give them a good reason to opt-in to you list.  You can offer a free download, sample chapter of your book, or access to a webinar—just make sure it is something that provides real value for your visitors.  And think about how you will manage your list when people do show enough interest to opt-in.  Make sure you are sending the right messages to your audience.  Create value so that they will want to hear from you in their already overcrowded inbox. Some people will just want to see what you have to say from time to time; they don’t want to forget about you (which is why they opted-in), but they are not going to buy anytime soon.  Others are very interested in what you have to offer, and if you follow up in the right way, with the right email messages, they will convert to customers quickly.

RS: How the heck can businesses integrate social media strategies effectively to drive visitors to their website? Should your website be your primary destination vs. Facebook, etc?

NM: Your social media efforts will be the most effective when you provide value and remain consistent.  This is challenging, especially for solopreneurs, but if you will take a few hours each month to plan, it is much less time consuming and painful. Once you have a plan in place, you can hire someone to help you keep the plan implemented for just a few hours each week.

At a minimum your business should have a Facebook and Twitter presence.  A LinkedIn presence is also important and increasingly so with the advent of Company pages.  If you can take advantage of more social media sites such as YouTube, Vimeo, Pinterest, etc. definitely go for it!  The more pathways you have that lead others to your website (your home base), the better.  It all comes down to what you can manage with the resources you have available to you.

Your website is the destination where you will house all of your most important information in one place—think of it as your physical business location (office, storefront, etc.), whereas your social media satellite spots are wonderful tools for building buzz and driving people to your website where they will become a lasting part of your online community or better yet, a new customer or client.

RS: Can you give us 3 tips to consider when laying out your web page? Does it differ by industry? Are there hard and fast rules for what should go “above the fold” or how you should entice people to sign up for your email list?

NM:

  1. This is the same as #1 above.  The first consideration when laying out your webpage is who will be visiting you there.  What kind of personality do they have?  What are their needs and wants?  What will you say to them visually and through your copy? What is it that that particular person needs to see and hear in order to want to stay in touch with you, or do business with you?
  2. Make sure your message is clear (and your message is conveyed through your visuals—the colors you choose, your brand mark or logo if you have one, any other graphics that are present; your copy—the name of your company, the headlines you use, the verbiage you choose for your newsletter sign-up box, the messaging you have on your home page to let visitors know what you’re all about and why they are in the right place), because your message lets them know that you GET them!
  3. What will be above the fold.  There is a section of your website that will be visible without visitors having to scroll down.  This is called “above the fold.”  This is prime real estate on you website because if someone is just clicking through looking for something, this is the place you will either capture or lose their attention.  You really want to maximize this space by making sure it is visually captivating, makes it crystal clear where they are and why they should care, and invites them to stay in contact with you—because maybe you are not what they happened to be looking for right now, and yet, you have piqued their interest enough that they do not want to forget about you.  If they are really in a hurry, the difference between suggesting to them “what they should do” and not, is the difference between a lost visitor or a new contact.  You don’t have to do everything possible to capture them (because the possibilities are numerous and that’s another article!), but a few that are worth considering include:

– Suggest they “Bookmark” your site.  If you do, they probably will (which makes is much easier for them to find you again).  If you don’t, they may or may not.

– Suggest they “Sign Up” for your newsletter.  You can use some of the ideas mentioned above to make it worth their time and effort and to in effect “thank them” for letting you visit them in their inbox from time to time.

– Call them to “Join” your community if you are a membership website, or “Join” you on Facebook where you can foster a community around your brand.

– Make sure icons to all of your social media locations are placed above the fold—those that want to learn more about you are going to want to find those places, so keep it easy for them.

– Call them to “Read” your latest blog post (and beyond that, at the end, go ahead and Ask them to comment, or ask a question so they will comment with an answer—you will be amazed at how simply asking/prompting your visitors in the direction you want them to go will make a difference.

– Call them to “Register” for a webinar or conference

– Ask them to “Buy” your book or product

You get the idea—obviously you can’t do all of this above the fold (without creating a sense of clutter—which I wouldn’t recommend), so choose the things that are most important to you (and to your visitor) and put them higher up on your home page.  I always advise clients to keep their opt-in list above the fold because it is an opportunity to connect regularly and on a deeper level with visitors that is difficult to match.

Which tip will you put into practice today to engage customers on your website and turn browsers into buyers? Please share in the Comments!

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

What is your customer script?

Posted on by Red Slice

Oh, wait, you didn’t know they needed one?

If brand is all about reputation, than nothing beats it when that reputation spreads organically through word of mouth. You can’t be all places at once, so it pays to turn your customers into your own private evangelist army.

Many power brands revel in the fact that customers love them so much, those fans will generate content on their own accord – without pay – that promotes the company. Virgin America enjoys You Tube videos created by their happy passengers. Local businesses love seeing hundreds of stellar Yelp reviews from fans.

But you also want those messages highlighting the things you want your brand to represent. Meaning, you have to find some way to give your customers a script – or the main talking points – so that the message they are spreading is aligned with the one you want out in the world.  Do you want people to talk about your low prices or your artisan craftsmanship? Do you want the first thing they talk about to be your generous return policy or your quirky and fun email newsletter and brand voice?

What do you want to be known for? What is most important? One way to ensure customers know the script is to ensure that YOU do. I work with clients to build messaging platforms. Messaging platforms are internal tools designed to keep all your marketing on script for the three main messages you want to communicate about your brand. It then digs into each benefit and provides proof points that can be cited to explain why you can make that benefit claim.

Think about a conversation between a customer and a friend. What do you want them to say about you? What do you want the headline to be? Craft your messaging platform to ensure three clear benefits are conveyed in everything that you do, such as your website, your marketing, your ads. This way, you are arming your customers with the right script to share with others.

In order to control the external message as much as you can, you need to clarify the message internally first. Don’t just hope your customers will say the right things. Craft your messaging platform based on your brand and your authentic strengths and then bang the drum around those three main messages over and over again. Pretty soon, your customers will learn the script, too.

What is your customer script? What are the three main benefits you provide or things you want people talking about? Please share in the Comments!

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

Microsoft grabs the right position

Posted on by Red Slice

Are you a Mac or a PC? The epic battle between Apple and Microsoft rages onward, although these days Apple appears to be kicking butt – at least on the consumer front. It’s hard to believe that the iPhone has only been around a few years, not to mention the even younger iPad.

The Apple brand is a storied case study in what it means to capture imagination and emotion – and create a defined archetype of the “type of person who uses Apple products.” The latest Samsung ads poke fun at the Apple stereotype of hip, young, too-cool-for-school upstarts by mocking their desire to wait hours in line just to have the “right” brand of phone in their pocket. (The best line?, “I could never get a Samsung. I’m creative.” His friend’s snarky reply: “Dude, you’re a barista.”)

While Windows is “still the overwhelming market leader among desktop operating systems” it did slide from 92% share in September 2011 to (gasp) 91% in November 2011. So while concerned, the company is not crying yet. And XBOX continues to dominate the console gaming market. But let’s face it: as an overall company brand, Microsoft and Windows will never “outcool” Apple- at least not anytime soon.

And you know what? I think they are okay with that.

Because they’ve recently been finding a position that can own. One that’s credible. And one Apple is not necessarily going after: families.

You’ve probably seen the TV ads touting “It’s a great time to be a family.” One ad depicts a father running around a grocery store crossing off a shopping list on his Windows Phone, when odd items like coconuts nad candy start to get added to his list. He realizes his giggling sons are at home, updating the list in real-time from their PC. So he types back, “Do your homework” and it pops up on their screen. Another one shows a son struggling to solve long division problems on his computer while his dad grapples with a sales presentation. As the dad takes over the son’s computer to help with his homework, the son instantly turns his dad’s humdrum sales presentation into a rocking extravanza with music, explosion and color. Other ads can be found here.

And on my first trip to a Microsoft retail store, I was pleasantly surprised. At first glance, yes, it mimics the Apple store concept. But then I looked a little closer. The place was packed just before Christmas. Teenagers were playing a Kinect Dance game in the front, busy moms and dads whipped around with strollers. Staffpeople were helping toddlers figure out games on the PCs. I realized that, unlike the Apple store across the street, this place was full of families, not brooding hipsters. And you know what? That’s okay.

Microsoft is showing that you don’t always have to go after the same exact people in order to be successful. This is what is meant by “positioning.” Where does your brand play? Where does it “fit?” Instead of trying to out-Apple Apple, maybe Microsoft is playing to its brand strengths and building off of the success it’s already found with XBOX and Kinect, as well as the great strides it’s taken with Windows 7 and with Windows Phone (which I love, by the way.)

When others zig, maybe it’s the right move to stop trying to catch them and to zag instead. (hint – that’s a tweetable!) Where do you fit? That is what positioning is all about, my lovelies!

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

Reboot and Reframe: Branding lesson for life #4: PRACTICE PATIENCE

Posted on by Red Slice

dog_patienceIn our instant gratification world of 140 character tweets, instant geo-location couponing, and lightning fast Internet speeds, we often forget that human nature is what it is. It takes time to build a strong reputation, for people to get to know you, trust you and believe your claims.

Simply rolling out a pretty new logo or website will not mean you’ll meet your sales numbers the very next week.

You’d be surprised how many CEO’s  – especially in the tech start-up world – don’t understand this. They think that all they need to do is invest in more salespeople or run a cool email campaign and leads will come flooding in the very next day.

It’s a marathon, not a sprint. To gain the trust needed for someone to invite you into their email inbox, or attend your event or schedule that demo, you have to lay the groundwork – and beat that drum clearly and consistently over time.

This patience lesson is just as true for our lives. When we get knocked down and we have to start over, as happened to me with my brain injury, you have to accept where you are and make progress each day in the right direction. It’s not about going from 0 to 60 overnight. But as with a brand, you can measure incremental steps along the way to ensure you are on the right path and making forward progress.

In this lesson, I talk about how it’s easy to talk about patience when speaking to branding clients but it’s hard to accept being patient in your own life when you just want to go, go go. Being patient is not the same thing as being stagnant and people often get the two confused. Being patient means understanding there is a journey ahead of you and that by taking the right steps, you can get closer and closer to your goals over time.

View the juicy video for Lesson #4 here.

What small steps do you measure in your business to ensure your marketing and message is attracting the right people?

BACKSTORY TO THE SEVEN LESSONS: What do recovering from a  brain aneurysm and branding have in common? Quite a bit, it turns out. Recently, I got the wonderful opportunity to share my dramatic story at a Women Business Owners luncheon and I promised I’d post the lessons here for everyone. This is a seven-post series.

Lesson #1: Focus (and backstory to the series)

Lesson #2: Be Authentic

Lesson #3: Count on Your Tribe

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

When it’s appropriate to lock yourself into a room: Come join me…

Posted on by Red Slice

That calendar meeting stares at you like an accusing parent. You said you would make the time, Maria. You said you were going to clear your schedule and focus on me. And here I am again, being shoved to the following week.

Admit it. You’ve had this conversation with yourself. It’s the time you carved out of your week/month/quarter/year to focus on your brand and marketing strategy. The time you were going to devote to better articulate your benefits for stronger communications; to laser-target on your ideal customer so you could stop trying to be all things to all people and spinning your wheels; to hone that succinct and delicious elevator pitch; to focus your marketing activities on a few efforts done RIGHT rather than throwing your money away on things that don’t work.

But you get so busy in your business, the first thing to go is the time you devote to work ON your business.

Well, I’m done. Are you?

This April and May I am offering 3 Brand Strategy Retreats: San Francisco, CA: April 28; Kirkland, WA: May 18; Downtown Seattle, WA: May 25

Our motto: Make the Time. Focus on the Strategy. Execute Flawlessly. No. excuses, no distractions. For 4 hours, I will lock 12 lucky entrepreneurs into a comfy, funky conference room to get schooled in branding, positioning and marketing, doing exercises IN CLASS that I do with my full-time clients. You will have 4 delicious hours working on your brand strategy, focusing on your ideal customer, honing your elevator pitch and clarifying what makes your business unique  – all with my advice, resources and objective feedback from the group. Bring any question you have. Pick my brain.

My goal is that you leave with a brand strategy that will attract rabid fans, differentiate your company, and save you time and money on marketing activities that work.

Heck, I may even join you as I work on my own planning….

Three dates. Twelve people per location only so you gotta reserve your spot pronto. This is to keep it custom and interactive. Don’t delay….or you know you will never make the time if you don’t commit!

Check out details, dates, benefits and my video invitation to you. And you can register here as well.

Stop making excuses. Start reinventing.. If you’re serious about creating a successful business, then see you there.

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

10 Signs Your Brand is Failing

Posted on by Red Slice

Last week, I posted about 5 signs of a Power Brand. This week, I’d love to share this great list from Derek Daye and Brad Van Auken of  BrandStrategyInsider.com, a super blog about all things branding. I’m adding their blog to my list of regular reading. With full credit to their powerful thinking, here are the 10 signs they say indicates a brand is failing. The list itself is to their credit; the “color” and examples are from Red Slice.

 

1. Your brand is mentioned to customers and potential customers, and there is strong negativity in their response: At workshops I give, people cringe when I ask them to tell me what words and attributes come to mind when I say “Walmart.” Usually it has to do with unfair labor practices and destruction of small local businesses.

2. Your brand’s external messages do not “ring true” with all employees: This is the most common one. A company says they are dedicated to friendly customer service, and you are met with a surly teen at the checkout counter who spends more time yakking to her co-worker than serving you.

3. Employees are not enthusiastic or consistent in recounting what makes their brand special: If you ask 5 employees what the company stand for and what benefits it offer and get 5 different elevator pitches, you have a brand consistency problem – and a confused workforce. Your employees are your #1 brand weapon. If they don’t live out the brand promise, you’re toast.

4. The brand’s market share is decreasing: Sales go down. Enough said. Doesn’t matter if you have the slickest ads or coolest viral marketing campaigns. Effective branding should lead to increased sales.

5. Competitors never mention your brand as a point of reference: If your brand is not stand-out enough for competitors to even be talking about why they are a better option than you are, that means you are not making a dent.

6. The press does not write about your brand: As mentioned in the Power Brand post, your brand should transcend what you sell and you should be seen as a thought leader in your category.

7. Your CEO does not have a strong vision for the organization and its brand. He or she talks more about financial targets than the vision: Vision matters. Mission matters. If your employees don’t know why they come to work every day, then that’s like a General failing to tell his troops the endgame of the mission. Everyone needs to be aligned around delivering the same value – and not dollar value, but customer value. I’ve seen start-ups fold because all they were about was chasing quarterly profits. They never stood for something bigger and more inspirational.

8. Your organization’s leaders never seem to “talk the brand” and “walk the brand talk.” Put your money where your mouth is. People are not stupid. Don’t write brand checks your company can’t cash. Everyone wants to be Apple, but if you deliver ugly, inferior, outdated products, then I’m sorry, you can’t claim to be like Apple. Walk. Your. Talk. Only promise what you are actually set up to deliver. Or, promise what you want, but then you’d better make sure you shift operations, policies and marketing to back it up.

9. Your organization fails to attract and retain high quality employees: When we talked about a Power Brand, we mentioned that customers and employees are proud to work with you. The opposite holds true as well. Good brand attract good talent. Failing brands do not.

10. Your brand fails to build customer loyalty: If your customers fall prey to discounted prices elsewhere or won’t drive the extra mile to your shop when there is a competitor closer, you have failed to build an emotional and connective brand. People go out of their way for brands they admire. Trying to rig the system with temporary discounts just to drive sales is a short-term solution that won’t have any lasting effects. That just means they are loyal to the price you are giving them at that time, not to you.

 

Any other signs you see when a brand is failing? Please share in the comments.

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

How to Parlay Your Personal Brand into Your Business Brand

Posted on by Red Slice

This is the number one brand challenge I hear from small business owners. “But so much of my business is tied up in my own personal reputation and who I am. How do I ensure the company builds its own brand, independent of me, so I can expand?”

Take a tip from Warren Buffett, who announced his heir for Berkshire Hathaway as an unknown 39-year old named Todd Combs. He is quoted in the WSJ as saying, ‘He is a 100% fit for our culture. I can define the culture as long as I am here. but we want a culture that is so embedded that it doesn’t get tested when the founder of it isn’t around.”

A culture that is embedded. Ah, Warren: a financial and branding genius.

Companies do this all the time, so it’s not as hard as you think. The company brand reflects the values and philosophy of the founders, but in a way that applies to the corporate entity. See Disney, Nordstrom, McDonald’s, Facebook, Microsoft, Nike, Wendy’s. Many of these companies end up with very strong brand stories about their founders’ passion and values and serve to further attract customers.

Here are some tips on how to inject your personal brand into the DNA of your business so that it lives on even if you are not at the helm:

1) Depersonalize: The biggest thing about personal brands are the values and attributes that the founder shows as a human being. Take those and make those the values and attributes of the company as a whole and how you do business. If your own reputation and image is based on honesty, integrity and straight talk, then bake those attributes into your company’s standard operation procedures, policies and visual identity and make sure they live somewhere that the entire company can see. Turn what you are known for into what your company is known for. I also call this “operationalizing your brand.” If people come to you because you are the type of gal who always returns calls the same day, then make that a company policy that any call is returned within 24 hours, no matter who received the call.

2) Document: You can’t measure and manage to something that is just inside people’s heads or inherent in only your own personal actions. How is that repeatable? Once you develop your values, mission, and the brand attributes for which you want to be known, write them down. Revisit this brand playbook periodically – it may need to evolve as you grow. This playbook can then start to inform all of your brand communications: visual, verbal and experiential. This is the whole premise by which I consult with my clients and why I wrote my book. Ya gotta WRITE IT DOWN if you want to standardize it.

3) Hire Right: Warren Buffett and others understand that brand informs culture, and culture informs how you hire and who you hire. Do you recruit people intentionally who understand and embrace your brand? (Hint: if it is not documented anywhere per #2 above, that’s your first problem) Or do you just hire the marquee names and checklist of skills on their resume? I recently heard a recruiter talk about how they hire by the Iceberg principle. Meaning, above the waterline, you look for the right skills and resume from a candidate. But it’s the skills below the surface – if the person embodies your brand, culture and values – that matter even more to success and longevity of the company. She said more often than not, the problems occur because of misalignment on these “below the water” soft skills and attitudes. If you have personal values and a reputation that is the number one reason people do business with your company, then you’d better make damn sure you’re hiring people who reflect that same work ethic and brand. See Mr. Buffett’s quote above. Use your brand strategy to guide hiring decisions – not just to decide upon your colors or packaging.

Photo credit: Brooke Lark, Unsplash

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

Microsoft finds the brand sauce…finally

Posted on by Red Slice

I’m pleased as punch about Microsoft’s new branding directions lately. They are finally starting to connect on an emotional level with some consistency across their consumer products. Hurrah!

OK, I’m not on drugs: I know they don’t necessarily have the rabid fans of Apple. but they are making strides for a company that has previously made all their consumer products feel disconnected (and with poor, confusing names, I might add – but that’s for another post).

After their success with Windows 7 “My Idea” campaign, which showed how users just want technologies to fit our lives and be what WE need them to be, they continued those efforts with Bing. Presenting Bing not just as another Google, but as an alternative to every search engine by being more about finding the right answer versus “search overload proved effective, believable and got people talking.  Bing is indeed a different experience from Google. May not tear Google die-hards away, but their point was not to do that. It was to provide the alternative to those looking for one; for those who were not getting the experience they wanted from Google.

Now Microsoft will be launching it’s brand new Windows 7 phone. A bit late to the party? Hell yes. But from all accounts, I’ve heard this will be pretty sweet indeed. And they were smart about it. Their brand campaign will not be about “another smartphone:” It’s not about competing with the existing phones on the market – Blackberry, iPhone, and Android – but about turning the entire way we look at all smartphones on its head. According to a recent article in the Puget Sound Business Journal. it’s a commentary on our “culture of mobile distraction”. Ads will show horrible predicaments caused by people lost in their phones, texting, playing games, etc and the consequences of that. Then it will present Windows 7 phones as being able to “get you in, and out, and back to life.”

When others zig, sometimes you have no choice but to zag.

Microsoft knows they need to stand out. They need to be a bit edgy, a bit devil’s advocate, because they are lagging in this market. But I for one feel like their brand efforts are finally going in the right direction and are beginning to uniformly stand for something: making technology work for us, not the other way around. We shall see if this new brand effort actually delivers on its promise.