|
|
| Branding Information |
|
|
|
|
What Make Us Unique and Different
Starting a business can take a lot of time, money, and energy. And because we don't want to completely re-invent the wheel, we often want to copy (legally) other techniques, strategies or processes used by others. While copying others has many benefits, namely using tried and true methods as well as saving time and money, the true success of your business will come from your own uniqueness. You are unique, different from each and every other person on the planet. Leveraging your uniqueness and embracing it as your true self is the key to creating a marketing message that comes from your passion and purpose. And, it is your passion and purpose, combined with the unique way you develop and deliver your product or service that makes you attractive to customers. 1. DNA. You are encoded uniquely by virtue of your DNA structure. No one on the earth has the same DNA as you. That is a big thought. At your most basic level, you are unique. How can you take that idea and celebrate the fact that you are one of a kind? 2. Strengths. Each of us possesses different strengths, which add to our uniqueness. What are your strengths? Sometimes we don't really see or want to acknowledge our strengths. Consider asking your friends or family members to help you identify them. Or, buy the book Now, Discover Your Strengths, which offers an online strengths survey that will provide you with your top five strengths. How are you leveraging your strengths in building your business? Are you a great public speaker? If so, how are you using that talent to attract more clients? 3. Personality. Your personality or character is also a stamp of uniqueness. It's a mix of behaviors and attitudes that you wear in all your interactions with others. How is your personality conveyed through your marketing materials, the colors and designs on your website, or through the quality of your personal network? What personality do you wear at home as opposed to at work? Are there things you want to emphasize or minimize with regard to how you come across to others? How is your personality serving to enhance how you communicate your marketing message? 4. Physical characteristics. Your shape, size, hair and eye color and other physical characteristics also make you unique. Unless you are an identical twin (and they are not exactly alike because of their unique DNA), no one else will look exactly the way you do. Our physical characteristics can help or hinder us in our business dealings. To be at our best, especially if we deal with the public face to face, we might consider simple changes to make ourselves more attractive including using cosmetics, teeth whitening, exercise, and changing our hair color and style. Simple changes can greatly enhance how we come across to others. 5. Life experiences. Our life experiences can offer us rich opportunity to not only create our businesses, but also to market them. Many businesses have been born from people's personal experiences, which may have been either fortunate or unfortunate in nature. Your business might be an example of that. Our experiences often serve as the underlying passion for what we do, becoming the material and the message that we want to share with others. 6. Family and friends. How do your family and friends reflect upon you and your uniqueness? We inherit many things from our families including personality traits and physical characteristics. Our friends, on the other hand show our uniqueness in another way. Our friends reflect our interests, hobbies, beliefs and personality characteristics. Our mix of family, friends, and associates is truly unique. Sometimes they can serve as a wonderful catalyst for developing new businesses, ideas, or ways of marketing our business. 7. Education. From the subjects and ideas we are attracted to, to the various degrees we have earned, our education serves as another unique identifier. The way we communicate, the people we like to associate with, our interests and even the products and services we buy are all influenced by our educational level. Likewise it will influence how we position and market our businesses. How does your education influence your marketing message and the types of people who you attract? 8. Quirks, passions, and hobbies. How can you take your passions and hobbies and use them to create something new for your business? Similar to your life experiences, you may find a business in your interest or hobby. Or, better yet, you might find some aspect of your interest that might add an interesting twist to your business products or services. For example, your interest in travel might express itself in offering retreats or getaways for your clients. 9. Travels. Our travels serve to define us as unique individuals. Even though many of us have visited the same places, each of us possesses a unique travel log. Our travels influence us greatly ? introducing us to new sites, sounds, people, cultures, and experiences. Travel enriches our lives by filling us with new ideas, attitudes and even, at times, influencing our long-held beliefs. For example, a trip to an impoverished third-world nation where we can experience first hand the suffering of others might prompt us to create a non-profit or to donate a portion of our profits to help those in need. How has travel influenced your view on life? And, how might that translate into something unique for your business? 10. Beliefs. Each of us possesses a unique belief system. No one else has the exact same mix of beliefs, values, standards, ideas or ideals. Our beliefs about others and ourselves can influence not only the types of products and services we market, but also the way we communicate our marketing message. We need to carefully examine our beliefs to leverage them into more opportunities. For example, our belief in taking care of our environment might translate into developing community or corporate programs to promote ecologically sound products. Or, our interest in communicating ideas might motivate us to start a newsletter or to write articles. © Copyright 2004 by Alicia Smith Alicia Smith, a Coach and Trainer whose specialty is helping people Make Money Now. This article is derived from just one of the 90 lessons contained in e-course, http://www.90daymarketingmarathon.com. To learn more about that course and her other products and services, please visit the following sites. (You also can email her at alicia@aliciasmith.com)
|
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Branding Strategy - Brand Identity Today, in many organizations around the world, branding is treated as a cosmetic exercise only, and regarded merely as a new name, logo, stationary and possibly a new advertising campaign. But, to associate your "brand" with such superficial cosmetics is like saying that people are really only the sum of their name, face and sometimes their clothing Santa - The Brand Every Christmas Eve, a burglar named Santa busts into homes around the world, but he has never been charged with B&E. He has one of the best, most positive brands around and it continues to inoculate him against any hint of impropriety, as it has for generations. Brilliant Branding Builds Business Branding is more than product recognition or a simple logo. It is the overall intellectual and emotional impression people have when they think of your company and its product. It is a strong and consistent message about the value of your business. Logo Design - Corporate Identity Branding - Brand Identity Guru Like it or not it's who you are. Your corporate Identity touches all aspects of your business and plays a vital role in your customer's overall feeling with your organization. Having a strong integrated identity throughout your marketing communications is the first step to building your company and a solid brand image. Your Web design, brochures, ads and all other collateral should be developed to enhance the corporate identity of your company and enable customers to instantly identify with your organization's spirit and messaging. Understand Brand Branding has been defined, explained and examined extensively. There are books, articles, publications, seminars, and groups all dedicated to exploring the meaning and use of brand today. Branding Advertising Agency Branding used to be a fancy business word, but it is becoming more and more used in everyday business meetings. Finally! For decades, big corporations have used in-house, very well paid brand managers - someone in charge of managing everything that relates to the brand, including design, package and partnerships. You've heard enthusiastic talks about branding, but you are still not sure if you should get a brand management plan going for your business. New Uniforms Could be the Gold Charm for the Golden Arches New designer uniforms could be the gold charm McDonald's needs to connect their new hip marketing campaign to their fast-food restaurants. This possible gold charm for the fast-food chain has the ability to let the actual fast-food restaurants reflect the image they are portraying in their advertisement campaign. The new "I'm lovin' it" marketing campaign has attracted a youthful audience to the fast-food chain. However, when this trendy younger crowd comes to McDonald's, they do not see the same fashionable place that they saw in the commercial. Instead, they see the same thing that they would see at just about any fast-food restaurant. McDonald's hopes to further entice this target market into their restaurants by updating their restaurants with new employee uniforms. How a Great Tagline can Help your Business "Just do it." "We try harder." "The Ultimate Driving Machine." "Be all that you can be." Taglines are one of the best ways of branding a product, service, company, or organization for years. Like these: Brand Identity Guru - Is Your Brand Vital? The world is not waiting for you?or your product or service. Or your firm. Or your firm's message. They're getting along just fine without you. Until you give them a reason to think otherwise, it'll continue that way. This isn't news, though. That's why you advertise and market. But so does every other business out there. What are the chances you'll be noticed? Almost nil. Unless? Brand Extension; Going from Consumer to Commercial As more and more home pressure washers are sold at leading retailers such as Wal-Mart, Sears, Home Depot, Cosco, etc. We are seeing companies offer products in brand line extension to service this niche. Armor All is the newest company to offer it's brand name customer loyalty to sell these products. They of course have been heavy into the Car Wash Industry with National Networks of Distributors in Canada and The US and Europe for tire cleaners and protectants, now they are offering a concrete cleaner for home pressure washer do-it-yourselfers. Which Of These Words Attract Your Clients Whether it's your business card, tagline, article title, web site title and description or ad, just the difference of a few words can either pull in prospects and clients or push them away. Getting it right can determine whether your phone is ringing off the hook or you are twiddling your thumbs hoping someone will call. Introduction to A Branded World: Adventures in Public Relations and the Creation Of Superbrands You'd have to labor to shield yourself from the power of Branding; it's hard to avoid it in today's business and social climate. Even in the backwoods of very, very small-town America, you couldn't emancipate yourself from the in-your- face concepts of Branding messages from all over the world. Even in conversations that don't discuss it (and those are becoming few and far between), Branding is present. On television, in the supermarket, at the movie theater, in your car, Branding is constantly with you. If you're in business-any business-you are involved in Branding in some way. If you are a sole proprietor, you may, yourself, be a brand. Attract More Clients With A Brand Identity You've probably heard that people buy products and services from people they know, like and trust. And, as I have done, you've probably wondered how you can foster more of this "Know-Like-Trust" factor in your business relationships. Pictures are tied to our emotions in powerful ways, so strategically using your logo and brand identity materials (business cards, letterhead, brochures, website, etc.) to enforce this connection is a great idea. How to Work with Your Graphic Designer As a graphic designer, I can tell you something right here, right now, right off the bat without blinking?.the graphic design process is a pain in the butt. From the graphic designer point of view, here's what it looks like. The Very Basics of Design Design is a very subjective thing, therefore, if you ask me how to come up with a first class design for your marketing collateral or publishing mediums, it would be very unfair for me or anyone else to tell you what is a good design and what is a bad design. But there are certain elements and principles that we should look for in a design to determine whether the design and layout of the material will be able to carry the message across effectively to the readers and your potential market. The main aim of every design material related to advertising or promotion is either to sell something, promote something or brand a company. Picking The Design Company Which Is Right For You So you've decided to go for it-you're ready to choose a design company to create your logo and other marketing materials. It seems easy enough. After all, when you make a purchase online of, say, a book, you simply go to an online bookstore. You already know what you're buying. But now it's not so clear. You do a search for "design companies" and hundreds of names pop up, all claiming that they are the ones who should do your logo. The Secrets of Starting Business Successfully Starting Business Secrets will help you to start your own business successfully. All About Branding In this article i will explain how you can make your brand an succes. Do What Works "Can you hear me now?" Corporate Branding and Professional Logo Design Any business with the minimum interest to be successful should concentrate on developing their corporate image and when I say "any business", I mean it, absolutely any business-even if it's a mom-n-pop shop. "Corporate image" might be a big word for such small ventures, however, what I meant by that is how the business wants themselves to be perceived by their customers. Irrespective of the size of the business it is very important to determine how do you come across to your potential customers? How do you compare to your competitors? These factors are largely determined by your branding and marketing strategies. Branding tools like logo designs, business cards etc goes a long way in creating your corporate image. Any marketing communication material should ideally have your corporate logo on it, which would give more credibility for your business as well as help your client to perceive your business as a professional enterprise.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2005 |