When businesses think of branding and marketing, they often think in terms of the company as a whole. This is certainly important; however, personal branding can also be a big boon to your company. For sole proprietors and professional organizations (doctors, lawyers, accountants, consultants, etc.), showing off the personal expertise of the owners or management team is a great way to promote the company as a whole. Even larger organizations can benefit from showing the personal side of key executives—or touting their credentials to help boost business. (more…)
Archive for the ‘Marketing and Branding’ Category
Hiring Marketing Talent? Why Strategy Matters.
Tuesday, October 3rd, 2017
So, you’re in the market for a strategic marketing professional. You’ve screened hundreds of applicants, and it’s down to the handful you’ve picked to invite in for interviews. But this is an inherently creative position, and cookie-cutter interview questions about an applicant’s past experience or about their evaluation of their own qualifications might not give you enough insight to pick the right man or woman for the job. (more…)
If Your Content Isn’t Working in Concert, It Isn’t Working!
Thursday, September 28th, 2017
Despite talk about multichannel and omnichannel marketing, the reality is that content creation and dissemination are often still siloed within organizations. That can lead not only to conflicting messages, but potentially negative brand impacts. Ideally, every consumer experience with an organization-regardless of how large it is-should be aligned and seamless. Messaging should be consistent in terms of content and quality. Clearly, that’s not an easy outcome to achieve, particularly between seemingly disparate parts of an organization (for instance, billing and HR). But what about between marketing and sales-two parts of most organizations that are outward-facing? Wouldn’t it seem logical to assume that their messaging would be aligned and consistent? (more…)
Marketing: It’s Not Just For Getting New Customers
Tuesday, September 19th, 2017
When businesses think about marketing, it’s typically and understandably in the context of attracting business. People who will pay you money. But marketing your business to potential employees — those you will pay money — can be just as important. And yet, so many employers overlook the importance of such marketing. As Wes Gay writes for Forbes, “Businesses are familiar with investing in consumer marketing, yet rarely consider investing in marketing for new employees. This is especially important for companies looking to recruit top millennial talent, as reaching the millennial generation can be challenging for older companies.”
With that in mind, we thought we’d provide some tips on how to market yourself to potential employees. The process is very much the same as any form of marketing. Here’s what you need to know. (more…)
Email Marketing Still Works: If Done Effectively
Tuesday, September 12th, 2017
Tracking the engagement of potential customers on a website has become second nature to most marketers. Even a relative novice to online marketing understands the fundamentals: time on page, conversions, shares, scroll depth, etc. But, it’s important for marketers to go beyond the basics.
One of the issues, or areas of misunderstanding, that we often come across is the lack of consideration of the pathway that a consumer will follow in the earlier practice of email marketing. There is a process that most follow as they engage with the email messages that crop up consistently in their inboxes on a daily basis (if, that is, those emails aren’t stopped at a firewall or relegated to a junk mail folder).
Here we take a look at that process: (more…)
The Proof is in the Metrics: If You’re Using the Right Ones!
Thursday, September 7th, 2017
Today, virtually every business has a webpage, sometimes multiple pages. Not to mention social media accounts. But, while getting your name and your brand online is a crucial first step for raising awareness and preference for what you have to offer, it’s just one piece of the marketing puzzle. To be truly effective, you need to develop a process and method of tracking how effective your online marketing actually is. (more…)
Why You Should Build Your Brand Based on Reality—Not Advertising Campaigns
Thursday, August 17th, 2017
Marketers are understandably concerned about building and protecting strong brands. An Economist article from a few years ago discusses the power of brands. “Brands account for more than 30% of the stock market value of companies in the S&P 500 index, reckons Millward Brown, a market-research company. Everyone knows that a Ralph Lauren Polo shirt costs more than a polo shirt; Coke without the logo is just cola.”
But, brand-building efforts are sometimes misguided– (more…)
Retailers on Red Alert: Are They Doomed?
Tuesday, July 18th, 2017
Sears. Kmart. JCPenney. Macy’s. These are just a few of the growing list of retailers announcing store closures.
And yet, at the same time as many stores are shutting down, Amazon is opening brick and mortar stores and recently purchased 431 Whole Foods stores.
It’s an interesting dichotomy and one I considered recently as I was writing a column for the summer issue of Chippewa Valley Business Report. (more…)
Toward a Broader Understanding of Brand
Thursday, July 6th, 2017
Most businesspeople and students of marketing would probably agree with the statement that your brand is important. Yet, despite this importance, the concept of a brand isn’t always easy to grasp. Part of that problem is because a brand is made of so many components that it needs to be considered very broadly.
In an article for Forbes titled “Your Brand Isn’t What You Think It Is,” author Ty Kiisel points out that most people don’t truly understand what a brand is. Kiisel writes: “I think most people would agree (although there are still some holdouts), your brand is not your logo or your colors. Of course the colors you choose and the way you present your name to the world is considered part of your brand, but it’s not the most important part. Your brand isn’t what you say you are either.” This is true … but what is your brand? (more…)
Social Media: Not Just For Sales; Another Area of Big Value
Thursday, June 29th, 2017
Social media is a powerful marketing tool for any business. Business and marketing professionals are particularly drawn to the extensive reach of social media and its potential for driving droves of new customers through their virtual doors. However—and this may surprise you—social media marketers shouldn’t be focused exclusively on bringing in new business.
A recent article on the American Marketing Association (AMA) website by Lawrence Crosby looked at the effectiveness of social media marketing on another important measure of marketing success— (more…)
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