Branding Strategy: The Power of a Positioning Tagline
Which candy “Melts in Your Mouth, Not in Your Hand"? Which car is “the Ultimate Driving Machine”? Which auto insurance company puts you "in good hands"?If you're an American consumer, you know the answers to these questions without even having to think, because smart marketers like Mars, BMW, and Allstate have created unforgettable positioning taglines that have become powerful components of their brands.What is a positioning tagline? Does your brand need one? And how do you create a great one?In part one of a two-part post, I explain why marketers use taglines in branding. In my next post, I’ll share seven tips for developing a tagline for your brand in a smart marketing strategy.
Is That Super Bowl Ad Effective Marketing? 7 Ways to Judge
An estimated 111 million people will be watching this year’s Super Bowl and a recent survey showed that many American adults prefer watching commercials to watching the game. That’s why marketers are willing to spend an average of $3.8 million for a 30-second spot.When you have an audience that big and that eager to hear your message, your ad had better be great.But how do you know if an ad campaign or creative concept will be a winner -- or be worthy of such a huge marketing investment? What makes an ad effective?As a marketing consultant, I believe the principles of great advertising are the same whether an ad appears in a mega-event like the Super Bowl or in a small industry trade publication.Here are seven criteria I use to assess the effectiveness of advertising in a smart marketing strategy. Keep these factors in mind when you’re evaluating Sunday’s Super Bowl ads.
Why Listening is the Most Powerful Skill in Marketing
A successful career in marketing requires many skills, such as copywriting, graphic design, and project management.But there’s one skill everyone in marketing needs to master, no matter what their role: Listening.Here’s why listening is essential for marketing success and 10 tips for doing it better.
Don’t Underestimate the Power of “Old School” Direct Mail
Social media and web marketing have pushed direct mail to the back burner for some marketers, but a classic direct mail package, using all the tactics and techniques that have been tested for generations, can still be a powerful marketing tool.Here’s why “old school” direct marketing still packs a punch – and some tips for using it in your smart marketing strategy.
10 New Year’s Resolutions for Smart Marketers
At the beginning of a new year, most of us will resolve to live healthier lives and clean out our closets.New Year’s resolutions also can extend to marketing – and many smart marketers use the turning of the calendar page to make some long-overdue changes to their marketing strategies.Here are 10 resolutions to make your marketing more effective in the New Year.
How to Use Your Brand Voice to Be Heard in Social Media
Social media is the noisiest place on the planet. Every day, there are over 1 billion Facebook posts and 400 million Tweets.If you’re straining to be heard amid the social media din, try using one of your most powerful marketing assets: The voice of your brand.Here’s why brand voice is important in a smart marketing strategy, especially for social media marketing.
How to Develop a Marketing Plan: 10 Essential Steps
One of the biggest mistakes marketers make is focusing on the tactics of marketing – the new website, direct mail campaign, or Facebook promotion – without first developing a marketing plan.Though a comprehensive marketing strategy for a large company can be a big undertaking, nearly every marketing plan involves these 10 essential steps.
10 Ways to Start Off on the Right Foot with a New Client
Landing a new client is always great news for business-to-business marketers.But once the celebrating is over, it’s time to get serious. The way you begin a new client relationship can have a big impact on how long you keep the customer.Here are 10 ways to start off on the right foot with a new client in a smart business-to-business marketing strategy.
5 Reasons Your New Marketing Campaign May be Doomed to Fail
A brilliant creative concept is often at the heart of a great marketing campaign.But sometimes the creative goes too far -- and what seems like a breakthrough idea at the concept stage results in marketing that misses the target and confuses the audience.Here are five signs a new marketing campaign is a little too creative to succeed and some tips for avoiding these mistakes in your smart marketing strategy.
Getting Started with B2B Marketing: The First 5 Steps
Companies that sell to businesses often rely on referrals to find new customers.But the day may come when referrals aren’t enough. New competitors, new technologies, new types of customers, or new sales territories can create new challenges for your business. To achieve your goals – and capitalize on your opportunities – you need marketing.If you’ve relied primarily on word of mouth to promote your business and you haven’t done much marketing, where do you begin?Here’s advice on the first five things to do to create a smart business-to-business (B2B) marketing strategy.
11 Ideas for Using White Papers in a B2B Marketing Strategy
If you’re a business-to-business (B2B) marketer, white papers can be a powerful way to demonstrate your expertise and differentiate your company from competitors. In part three of a three-part series, here are 11 ideas for using white papers as marketing tactics in a smart B2B marketing strategy.
How to Create a Great White Paper: 10 Tips for Success
White papers are one of the best ways to market a business or professional services company. But there's more to developing an effective white paper than just writing about what you know. To create a white paper that supports a smart marketing strategy by establishing your credibility as an expert in your marketplace and positioning your company as a preferred solution provider, you need to plan carefully and think strategically. In part two of a three-part blog post, here are 10 tips for creating a great white paper from my experience as a business-to-business marketing consultant.
How to Create a White Paper to Market Your Business, Part 1
If you market to business decision-makers, there’s a powerful marketing tool that can help you stand out from competitors and demonstrate your expertise: A white paper.Part 1 of a three-part blog post explains why white papers are so effective in business-to-business marketing and how to create a high-impact white paper for your smart marketing strategy.
7 Ways to Show Your Social Media Followers Some Love
One of the best ways to engage and keep social media followers is to make them feel special. Here are seven ways to show some love to social media followers in a smart marketing strategy.
How Breaking a Customer Promise Can Hurt Your Brand
our company’s brand represents the value customers receive when they interact with your business. It's a promise: When you choose to purchase from us, this is what we will deliver to you.When you break that promise – through defective products, shoddy workmanship, or poor service – you might lose the customer.But in this age of social media, you might also lose your reputation. Remember the musician who made a YouTube video about United Airlines breaking his guitar? It got more than 12 million views and spawned a whole culture of people creating videos so showcase their service complaints.How can you avoid mistakes that hurt your brand? And what can you do if those mistakes happen? Here are four insights from my recent experience for your smart marketing strategy.
7 Misconceptions about Marketing that Can Hurt Your Business
A smart marketing strategy is critical to the success of your business. But many companies have misconceptions about marketing that can hamper their ability to successfully promote their products and services in a competitive marketplace. Here are seven marketing misconceptions I often see in my work as a marketing consultant that can limit the effectiveness of your marketing plan and cause you to miss sales opportunities.
Make ‘em Love You: 10 Ways to Be the Client’s Go-To Supplier
External suppliers are critical to the success of nearly every business. Some vendors become trusted partners. Others have good intentions but struggle to deliver. A few fail so miserably they’ll never get a second chance. What makes a great client-vendor relationship? Here are some insights and 10 tips for becoming your client’s favorite vendor.
4 Simple Lessons in Branding from Blackie, the Stray Cat
There was a stray black cat in my neighborhood near Cleveland, Ohio. The three little girls who live next door fell in love with him, so they convinced their parents to adopt him and make him their pet. And of course, they gave him a name: Blackie.As a marketing consultant, I think Blackie the cat offers some helpful reminders about the principles of effective branding. Here are some branding insights for your smart marketing strategy, as demonstrated by the future marketers in the house next to mine.
And the Winner is…You! 10 Tips for Winning Business Awards
Winning awards for excellence is a valuable way to distinguish your company in a competitive marketplace, especially if you’re selling business services. Here are 10 tips for increasing your chances of success in business awards competitions and using awards in a smart marketing strategy.