They say there’s nothing new under the sun. But some things really are new. At least they are for a while. Think of great inventions like the wheel, printing press, the cotton gin, the mass-produced automobile, the airplane. One really new thing today is artificial intelligence. It’s unlike anything we’ve had before. If your […]
What kind of return on investment can you promise to your customers? If they buy your products and services, how is that going to impact their bottom line, increasing revenues and/or decreasing costs? And how fast can they realize that return? If you have that kind of offer to the market, you might consider building […]
Here’s another post in my continuing series on Crafting Your Brand Promise. Small business owners get a great deal of advice about how to avoid commoditization–how to bundle products and services that add value, thereby increasing the price you can charge. But some small businesses have a real edge in offering their customers a low-cost, […]
Some years ago UPS introduced a campaign “I love logistics.” They had a jingle, visuals, and actually defined and claimed “logistics” as their own. They kept it going for a long time, with fresh new ad episodes. Not everyone loved it–some people found the song maddening and had a lot to say about that. BUT […]
Michael Miller, account representative with Pearson Digital Learning, had a sales territory consisting of exactly 25 customers, no more. Michael had n0 opportunity to acquire a larger territory or to locate new prospects within his territory. His customers were school districts in Arizona, and his product/service was educational software. He did not have ALL […]
No, I am not rushing the holiday season. I am talking about products and how they can represent your brand, in the continuing series on branding that started with this post on crafting your brand promise. It’s a series of 31 various ways of building your brand, finding authentic, unique ways to associate your company […]
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Too many small companies try to be all things to all people. Well, we can do this, and that, and the other thing too! Why not offer all of our things to all of our people? The problem is this: if you do all kinds of things, no one will think of you when […]
Your customers want to know why you are able to do what you do, how or where your learned to do it, how have your industry and your peers recognized your accomplishments, and other measures of fitness we call “credentials.” Credentials come in a wide variety of forms. There are the basic ones like […]
In my continuing series on brand differentiation, today’s post focuses on the value of case studies in building your brand. Prospective customers really like to read compelling case studies about how your customers have engaged with you and achieved certain desirable outcomes–more money, less hassle, greater efficiency, higher profit margins, higher quality, etc. But case […]
Does your company have a unique capability? Something that only you can do or that few competitors do? If so, perhaps that is a unique differentiator for your brand. Let me give you some examples: A Call Center has the capability to specialize in the healthcare industry (which has very strict regulations about collecting payments) […]
In my continuing series on differentiating your brand, I’m writing today about references and how you can develop them as a powerful way to stand out from your competitors. I’m not talking about testimonials from happy customers here; I wrote about that idea yesterday. References can be distinctly different from testimonials in positioning your brand […]