May 2011
4 posts
Week 11 - You Need A Roadmap
How you get to your final destination is just as important as the final destination itself—because without proper attention towards the method of arrival, you’ll never get to where you want to be. Aligning your brand strategy with your business strategy is absolutely essential to your success. But how do we determine the best way? Well, that’s where brand strategy comes into play.
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Week 10 - Define Your Strategy
There’s a lot that can be said, and already has been said, about business strategy. We’re not going to get into a lot of details in discussing business strategy - there are many who have gone before us and have written material that really can’t be surpassed. Instead we’re going to focus on your brand strategy — what it is, why it’s important, and how to define it...
Week 9 - How to Develop Your Vision
This blog is meant to be practical, and I’m including elements from my standard branding process that I’ve used with clients for several years. The next section contains a variety of questions and exercises that will help you craft a vision statement for your business or organization. I hope it proves fruitful and effective for you. Answer the following questions about your business,...
Week 8 - Define Your Vision
So we know that a carefully defined vision is important because it provides direction to our decisions, gives purpose to our actions, and influences our practice. Let’s get a little more practical and talk about 3 important elements that make up a properly defined vision:
1. You Must Be Passionate
If you’re a business owner, product designer, or key decision maker, you have to be...
March 2011
2 posts
Week 7 - Why Vision Is Important
A Vision Provides Direction
John walked into an architecture firm on an early Friday morning to meet with one of the partners of the firm. John and his wife Mary were finally ready to build their dream house, one they’ve always wanted to live in. After pleasantries were exchanged the architect asked John what his vision was for the project. John replied, “well it’s our dream...
Week 6 - You Must Be Able to Evolve
In order to achieve lasting success, and to not end up as just a flash in the pan, your brand must be able to evolve. The first step is to create a unique brand idea. The second step is to define why consumers can’t live without your brand. The third is to develop a long-term strategy for growth that allows your brand to stay ahead of the curve, and evolve with the changing market trends...
February 2011
1 post
Week 5 - You Must Be Relevant
Last week, we talked about the first key to branding, “You Must Be Different”. As important as it is though, you can’t just be different. It’s not enough to offer your potential customers more choices - you have to offer them a better choice. Your brand must be relevant. Your brand has to matter to the consumer - otherwise, you may have the most unique product on the...
January 2011
4 posts
2 tags
Week 4 - You Must Be Different
If you’re a small business or organization and it’s been a while since you’ve looked at your brand strategy, or if you realize you’ve never given any thought to developing your brand, now is the time. Before you make one more sales call, print one more flyer, or invest in new office equipment, why not spend some time focusing on the most important aspect of your...
2 tags
Week 3 - Common Misconceptions
When we think about brands and branding initiatives, more often than not we think on a large scale. Global brands come to mind, or Fortune 100 companies. Rarely, when we think about branding, do we think about small business. And if you’re a small business owner, chances are you haven’t given much thought to your branding strategy either. Small businesses have a myriad of challenges...
Week 2 - A History of Branding
I’m a fan of studying history, and firmly believe that no matter the topic or industry, a study of history makes us better at what we do. We can learn from the ideas, failures, successes, and processes of others, and can find some incredible inspiration for our brands and businesses.
As we look at branding, and seek to define how to build a successful brand, it’s important to look...
2 tags
Week 1 - Definitions
Branding is almost a secret code word, used by many but understood by few. If you ask 10 people to define what branding is, only three would give you a honest answer, and each response would probably be different. It’s no wonder then that most small businesses and organizations don’t understand or simply don’t care to understand the practice of brand building. The key is not...
December 2010
1 post
2 tags
Getting Started
Running a small business or organization is challenging stuff. In a small business you don’t have the luxury of a bloated savings account, a posh marketing department, or a “who’s who” board of advisors. At times you struggle just to keep payroll from bouncing, and you’ve probably spent countless late nights crunching numbers while watching your to-do list grow ever...