Inbound Marketing Case Study: Day 150 (Digital Friday/Promotion)

Hello, I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing.  Today is Digital Friday and I am going to share the Once a Day Marketing case study on Day 150.

The primary approach to create brand awareness for Once a Day Marketing has been inbound marketing or social media marketing.  The goal is to pull customers in rather than push our message out to them.

Generating brand recognition for Once a Day Marketing, which didn’t exist at the beginning of the year, is also a top priority along with establishing additional networking connections and creating lead flow and new business.

Results over the last 150 days:

·         3,400 YouTube view - up 125% in the past 75 days

·         60 YouTube views/day – up from the initial 5 per day

·         Viewed in 45 state and 85 countries – up 112% in the past 75 days

·         1,225 LinkedIn connections – up 65%

·         925 twitter followers – up 54%

Our viewers are specifically seeking out branding and marketing support, which aligns with our target audience.

On January 1, 2012 the names Once a Day Marketing, James Glover and That Branding Guy were nowhere to be seen on the front page of Google search results.  Now you will find those on page one.  Searches of the 7Ps of marketing also return page one results.  Our themes such as Smart Monday, Strategic Tuesday are also surfacing on the front page of Google as well as many of the other search engines.

I am extremely pleased with the results of our social media inbound marketing campaign over the last 150 days.  We have put in a great deal of time developing our brand using these tools, close to 400 hours.  You will have to devote the resources whether it is money or time to be successful.  Inbound marketing will deliver results and if you are you are committed.  I highly recommend it.

That concludes Digital Friday.  Join us next week for Smart Monday.  To discuss an online or face to face service engagement and enhance the marketing and branding for your organization, contact James Glover: (505) 501-1330 or onceadaymarketing@gmail.com.  I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing and we’ll see you next time.

Product Watch: Tracking Your Competition (Recon Thursday/Product)

Hello, I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy for Once a Day Marketing.  Today is Recon Thursday and we’re going to discuss taking a close look at your competitor’s products to identify opportunities for you to raise the bar.

Are you paying close attention to what your competitors are selling?  Do you know which of their products are selling the best?  Which products aren’t moving very fast?  Which products they are not offering at all?  Knowing the answer to these questions will allow you to spot gaps in a competitors offering.  You may be able to fill these by enhancing existing products or adding new products to your product line to surpass your competition.

Let’s revisit our taco stand on the plaza.  Suppose you are operating the stand and a customer comes up and asks if you have gluten free tortillas.  They mention that the restaurant across the street didn’t and they thought you might.  You have to apologize to the customer and tell them you don’t have any gluten free tortillas.  That customer leaves and doesn’t buy from either of you.

The lesson learned is to take note of the customer need and buy gluten free tortillas to have on hand at the taco stand.  Put up a big sign so the next time somebody comes up and asks if you have gluten free tortillas, you are able to say of course, how may I help you?

Take that same approach when you look at your competitors products to see if there are other opportunities that you can leverage to improve your product and attract some of their customers.

You can see that it is a very good idea to have a thorough understanding of the products your competitor offers.  That enables you to develop strategies to enhance your own products and consider how you can fill customer needs that competitors are missing.  Once you’ve enhanced your product mix, make sure you tell your customers because that will distinguish and differential you from the competition.

That concludes Recon Thursday.  Be sure to stop by tomorrow for Digital Friday.  To discuss an online or face-to-face service engagement and enhance the marketing and branding for your organization, contact James Glover: (505) 501-1330 or onceadaymarketing@gmail.com.  I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing and we’ll see you next time.

Advertising Deals: Seek and You Shall Find (Action Wednesday/Promotion)

Hello, I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing.  Today is Action Wednesday and I want you to know there has never been a better time to promote your business.

The economic rebound is not here yet.  There are still many people and businesses trying to sustain themselves in the slow economy.  One of the things businesses are doing is cutting back on their spending.  In particular, they are cutting back on their advertising, which means that the advertising channels are hungry for your business.

Your action item today is to look at the various service providers and advertising channels.  Start with the content providers, businesses that produce videos, design websites, and create social media marketing and print.  Those companies have probably seen a decline in their business and are willing to negotiate on the development of content for you.

Traditional advertising channels such as radio, TV and print have seen slower business as well and may be willing to negotiate a better deal with you.  They may increase the reach, frequency or size of the placement for the same dollars.  You will receive a larger presence for your advertising with same spend.

Even in slow times it’s very important to continue to promote your business.  When your customer is finally thinking about spending money you want to make sure they are also thinking about you.  Take advantage of the deals that various channels are offering and explore new advertising channels as well.  If your competition has slowed advertising, you will be in a good position to gain additional mind share in the marketplace.  When the economy finally turns around, you will be in a much better position to capture more market share as well.

Thank you joining us for Action Wednesday.  Be sure to tune in tomorrow for Recon Thursday.  To discuss an online or face-to-face service engagement and enhance the marketing and branding for your organization, contact James Glover: (505) 501-1330 or onceadaymarketing@gmail.com.  I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing and we’ll see you next time.

Talentism: Best People = Best Brands (Strategic Tuesday/People)

Hello, I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy for Once a Day Marketing.  Today is Strategic Tuesday and we’re going to talk about a topic I call Talentism, or how having the best people makes the best brands.

Talentism is my term for the highly trained, valuable personnel in your company.  People are critical to the success of your organization and your brand.  We know that often good people are scare in the marketplace.

Even though the economic rebound isn’t quit here yet, it is coming fast.  Having the right people in your organization is going to be key to the success of your company.  Talentism, or having the right people, is even more important than monetary capital because if you don’t have the right people your business may lose competitive position.

With the inevitable turn around in the economy, you should be aware that your best people may soon have more opportunities outside your company.  This is the time to develop a strategy to retain those that you want to keep.

In addition to determining how to retain and train your best employees, also consider when you should manage out the under-performers.  Lastly, give thought to how you are going to recruit people to grow your business.  As the economy gets stronger and businesses are all vying for resources, it will become increasing difficult to hire talent people.

Talentism can have a positive benefit for your organization in that it could become part of your brand.  If you do seek the best talent and keep the best talent, as those employees interact with your customers that is going to be a very positive reflection on your brand.

That concludes Smart Monday.  Join us tomorrow for Strategic Tuesday.  To discuss an online or face to face service engagement and enhance the marketing and branding for your organization, contact James Glover: (505) 501-1330 or onceadaymarketing@gmail.com.  I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing and we’ll see you next time.

The Soul of the Brand Defined (Smart Monday/Positioning)

Hello, I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing.  Today is Smart Monday, the beginning of a new week, and today we are going to look at the soul of a brand.

Have you ever heard the expression an old soul?  That describes someone who is wise beyond their years, has strong emotional stability and seems to have greater understanding of the world around them.  Perhaps the kind of person you like to be around.  On the other side of the spectrum, you may encounter someone who lacks depth of character and not feel any connection with them.  You may not want to associate with that type of person.

Think about the people in your life, the personality of friends that you have gravitated to.  There is something about them that you like, that something is there soul.  Now think about yourself, how do you relate to the world around you, whether it is a first time encounter or people you’ve known for a long time?  What is your own soul?

The attributes we like about people are their core values.  The same applies to a company’s brand.  What are their characteristics?  Are they good, caring, helpful, adventurous or tough?  What makes the brand appealing?

We like to see positive values in the people we associate with, and we also like to see those things in the companies and the brands we associate with.  The soul of a brand is the company’s guiding principles and they are the reason we care and connect with that brand.  If values that are important to the customer are not there, there is no connection.

Take a look at the core values of your own brand, your own brand’s soul.  Do you like what you see?  If you do, then share that with your potential customers.  If not, then work to change those values and then share what the soul of your brand is all about.  People that are drawn to those values will find you.

That concludes Smart Monday.  Join us tomorrow for Strategic Tuesday.  To discuss an online or face to face service engagement and enhance the marketing and branding for your organization, contact James Glover: (505) 501-1330 or onceadaymarketing@gmail.com.  I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing and we’ll see you next time.

Melding: The Shape of Future Products (Digital Friday/Product)

Hello, I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing.  Today is Digital Friday and I’m going to share a strategy I call “melding”.  You can then assess if leveraging it would be a strategic advantage for your business.

Melding is a situation where you combine various digital features into one product.  Companies don’t often think about doing that.  For example, right now there is a bit of conflict going on between Apple and Google.  Apple sells the iphone and Google offers the android.  For years a large percentage of Google’s map application users have been iphone owners.  Now, Apple is launching their own mapping application, i.e., melding it with their other offerings.  This has numerous implications for Google and future business trends.

Start thinking about how to meld different digital offerings into or along with your product.  It’s important not to keep doing business the same old way, there are no barriers here except your imagination.  You may want ask your customers what they would like to have and then you can begin revising your product/offerings to deliver a melded result to your customers.

Let’s take a look at mobile applications as an example.  We know there are thousands of mobile applications, apps for the yellow pages, coupon based, entertainment oriented or calendars of events, etc.  There is a separate app for everything, which seems a little confusing to me.  Melding is the solution.

I know someone in Taos developing a single application for the whole community.  It will be divided into two parts, local and visitors.  If you are local you select that area, you will find all the information you need to have a great experience living in Taos.  When the visitors section is selected, it’s the same thing, the app provides tourists in Taos access to all the information they need to have a great experience visiting Taos.  One app serving all needs, rather than a half a dozen apps that have to be sought out separately.

The Taos app is a very good example of melding as is the Apple/Google illustration.  In the future, melding is going to happen more and more.  Make the effort to look at your company and identify opportunities to meld multiple digital applications into one to provide a better product to your customer.

That concludes Digital Friday.  Join us next week for Smart Monday.  To discuss an online or face to face service engagement and enhance the marketing and branding for your organization, contact James Glover: (505) 501-1330 or onceadaymarketing@gmail.com.  I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing and we’ll see you next time.

Placing Products in the Right Place (Recon Thursday/Place)

Hello, I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing.  Today is Recon Thursday and we’re going to look inside your company at Place, one of the 7Ps, also known as distribution.

What channels are you currently leveraging to make your product available to customers and potential customers?  You may be in a direct sales or retail environment; perhaps you’re selling your products online or using distributors or catalogs.  Your business may be centered on trade shows and the Bt2B environment.  There are many outlets to sell your product.  The question of course is where are the right places to be?

Seriously evaluate all the ways your customers can buy your product.  Are you everywhere you should be?  Are some channels working well and others aren’t?  Do you need to make changes?  Should you find new channels?  That is what you have to ask yourself.  Also, monitor results by distribution method on an ongoing basis to ensure customers are finding your product where they want it to be and you are achieving the results you expect.  If a particular channel is working for you, then keep pushing product through it.  If another channel has poor results, consider shutting it down.

Also research what your competition is doing.  You may be able to identify an interesting practice that you can emulate.  Search from a broader perspective as well, there may be another company doing something creative with respect to how they are pushing their products through a channel and you can do the same thing.

Lastly, you can always ask your customers which distribution methods best meet their needs.  Again, the goal is to be where they want to find your product, not necessarily in the channel that you prefer.

That concludes Recon Thursday.  Be sure to stop by tomorrow for Digital Friday.  To discuss an online or face-to-face service engagement and enhance the marketing and branding for your organization, contact James Glover: (505) 501-1330 or onceadaymarketing@gmail.com.  I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing and we’ll see you next time.

Staff Training: Customers Are Always Right (Action Wednesday/People)

Hello, I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing.  Today is Action Wednesday and we’re going to discuss in-house staff training in the area of customer relations.

It’s important to remember that every interaction a customer has with your company is an opportunity to create a favorable or unfavorable impression about your brand.  It is critical to consistently provide a good customer experience.  The question is then, why do we keep forgetting the basic rule that the customer is always right?

You’ve been out in the market place and seen confrontations between a business and a customer.  By allowing a confrontation to take place, the company’s brand is diminished in the mind of that customer.  There is no situation where the customer isn’t right.  What we are going to talk about now is ensuring that everyone within your organization always services customers in a straightforward, positive manner.

Here are five points to keep in mind for yourself or to share with your employees when interacting with an unhappy customer.

One - The customer is always right.  That is your mantra.

Two - Listen without judgment.

Three - Ask the customer what they want.  They’ll probably tell you.

Four - Provide a remedy in a timely fashion.

Five - Really enhance the brand by following up with an unexpected reward.

Example of an unexpected reward; in the scenario where a customer is dissatisfied with the quality of their hotel room, the front desk may be empowered to tell the customer the room is on the house, or provide a complimentary dinner.  Anything you are able to do that the customer doesn’t expect will make them feel more positive about your brand.

Your action item for today is simple.  Begin implementing the customer is always right strategy asap.  Do it yourself and share it with your staff.  You will find that practice makes perfect and over time it will become part of your culture.  Your customers will feel great about it.  And of course all of this will favorably impact the brand and your business.

Thank you joining us for Action Wednesday.  Be sure to tune in tomorrow for Recon Thursday.  To discuss an online or face-to-face service engagement and enhance the marketing and branding for your organization, contact James Glover: (505) 501-1330 or onceadaymarketing@gmail.com.  I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing and we’ll see you next time.

What Motivates Your Customers? (Strategic Tuesday/Positioning)

Hello, I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy for Once a Day Marketing.  Today is Strategic Tuesday and I’m going to give you the opportunity to play psychologist and put your customers on the couch.

To create strategy that will motive customers to buy your product, you have to understand what drives them when they are buying your product.  Let’s look at several factors.

First, is the functional benefit, perhaps the motivation is they love what your product does.

Second, the emotional benefit, how the product makes them feel when they use it.

The third factor is what we call the self-expressive benefit, and that is the association customers want with your product.  For instance, they might want to be seen walking into your building because there is a certain status associated with that.

Lastly, the driver may be something as simple as price.  Customers may be drawn to your product because of favorable pricing or perceived value.

Since you can’t actually put your customers on the couch, you’ll have to find another way to determine what is motivating them.  One option is formal research.  This is often very expensive and may not be a practical approach for a small business.  However, you may be able to leverage studies that have been done which identify the buying behaviors of customers similar to yours.

A simple option may be to put yourself into the head of your customer.  You know your customers and have experience with them.  Do a little role playing and see if you can uncover the motivator that is driving their purchasing behavior.

You can also let your experience be your guide.  You’ve been in the business, understand your product, understand people in general, and your experience tells you which attributes are the motivators for customers to buy your product.

The reason for going through this strategic exercise today is pretty straightforward.  If you know what motivates your customers, you are going to be better able to provide what they want.  That is going to drive more business, create more satisfied customers and in the end that is going to enhance the bottom line.

That concludes Strategic Tuesday.  Join us tomorrow for Action Wednesday.  To discuss an online or face to face service engagement and enhance the marketing and branding for your organization, contact James Glover: (505) 501-1330 or onceadaymarketing@gmail.com.  I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing and we’ll see you next time.

How's Your Marketing IQ? (Smart Monday/Process)

Hello, I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing.  It’s is Smart Monday and that means we share knowledge about branding and marketing to enhance your IQ.  Today we are having a quiz, five questions related to topics I’ve profiled in previous Once a Day Marketing blogs.  Hopefully the answers are top of mind, if not you can always look back at past blogs.

Get out your paper and pencil:

Question #1 - What is a brand?  I’ve frequently discussed what a brand is at Once a Day Marketing.

Question #2 - What is branding?  There are past blogs on that topic as well.

Question #3 - What are the 7Ps of Marketing?  I talk about this all the time.

Question #4 - What is the difference between branding and marketing?  Professionals struggle with this.

Question #5 - Why is a positioning statement so important to your organization?

Did you get all those?  I hope so.

We want you to have a good experience using the Once a Day Marketing blogs so we’ve created a recurring theme base for each week:

Smart Monday - Share knowledge to enhance your branding and marketing IQ

Strategic Tuesday - Focus on strategies to penetrate the market / gain market share

Action Wednesday - Roll up our sleeves and plan implementation of tactics

Recon Thursdays - Evaluate your own business, your market and your competition

Digital Friday - In-depth look at inbound marketing, social media and how to use these powerful tools to get your message out to the marketplace.

To further facilitate using Once a Day Marketing blogs, they are categorized by the 7Ps of marketing.  And so as soon as you answer the question above about the 7Ps, you’ll be able to use those categories to search through our blogs.  Whether you use the themes or one of the 7Ps, you can quickly find the blog related to your desired topic.

That concludes Smart Monday.  Join us tomorrow for Strategic Tuesday.  To discuss an online or face to face service engagement and enhance the marketing and branding for your organization, contact James Glover: (505) 501-1330 or onceadaymarketing@gmail.com.  I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing and we’ll see you next time.

YouTube: A Great Way to be Seen (Digital Friday/Physical Evidence)

Hello, I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing.  It’s Digital Friday and today I am going to talk about YouTube and why I am such a big fan of this amazing tool.

I’ve already discussed how important it is to be using video to market your business.  Remember, people love watching videos and there were one trillion views on YouTube last year.  That is a lot of people tuning in.

YouTube is great tool and there is no cost associated with using it.  You create a video and upload it.  It’s stored free of charge and, with the whole world tuning in to view videos; hopefully potential customers will find yours.  Once you have video stored on YouTube, you are able to send a link to customers and share your content with them directly.

Another compelling reason to have video content online is that search engines will return that content in search results.  When your business is found, through Google perhaps, your videos will be displayed.  If you have a series of videos such as Once a Day Marketing they will be displayed as well allowing people to view your message.

Using YouTube is easy.  First establish an account under your company name, brand name or something else that represents you well.  Then you will be able to create a YouTube channel where you can post all of the videos that you are going to produce and upload.  Videos may be designated as public or private.  Public will be shared with the world.  Private content may be a message you only want to share with your customers.

YouTube also has robust analytics.  They report who is viewing, how often and how long along with where viewers are located.  Metrics around sharing, commenting and likes are generated as well.  And best of all, this is being provided to you by YouTube at no cost.

It’s never been easier to share video than it is today leveraging the YouTube channel.  Give how essential it is to include video as a component of your branding, marketing and sales strategy, I strongly recommend you establish a YouTube account and begin using it today.

That concludes Digital Friday.  Join us next week for Smart Monday.  To discuss an online or face to face service engagement and enhance the marketing and branding for your organization, contact James Glover: (505) 501-1330 or onceadaymarketing@gmail.com.  I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing and we’ll see you next time.

Understanding Your Customer Mix (Recon Thursday/Process)

Hello, I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing.  It’s Recon Thursday and today we are going to discuss the importance of understanding your customer mix.

Businesses often don’t have a good understanding of their customer mix.  They may know who their customers are, but may not know which customers are generating the greatest sales or the most profits, which customers are the easiest to approach or the customers that cost more than it should to bring in as new business.  This knowledge is foundational to identifying the easiest path to growth through customers.

Now let’s take a look at those factors.  The best way to dive into the subject is for me to share data from my consulting practice, The Idea Group.  We have three different types of customers; businesses, municipalities and non-profit organizations.  I know the mix between them and, over the 10 year history of my consulting business, the specific businesses, non-profits and municipalities I have been working with.

This information has enabled me to establish the lead time to develop new clients in each of the customer categories, evaluate the cost / benefit associated with each type of client, time required to service each type of customer as well as the fees generated from various types of engagements.  Given that knowledge of the customer mix, I am continuously developing new strategies to bring in a specific type of client.

Are you doing the same for your business?  Once you understand you customer mix you will be able to develop new strategies, marketing plans and sales tactics to bring on the types of customers you want.  As you move forward, continue to monitor the customer mix to ensure you are always on top of your planning.

That concludes Recon Thursday.  Be sure to stop by tomorrow for Digital Friday.  To discuss an online or face-to-face service engagement and enhance the marketing and branding for your organization, contact James Glover: (505) 501-1330 or onceadaymarketing@gmail.com.  I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing and we’ll see you next time

Staying Alive: Ensuring Brand Longevity (Action Wednesday/Positioning)

Hello, I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing.  Today is Action Wednesday and we are going to discuss brand longevity, or, keeping your brand alive.

If you are starting up your business like Once a Day Marketing, you efforts are around gaining awareness for your brand rather than being concerned with longevity.  However, if you have been in business for two or three years you should be planning how to sustain your brand over a longer period of time.

One challenge to overcome is complacency.  To avoid your brand fading from customers’ memories, it is important to actively support your brand on an ongoing basis through a variety of efforts.

Perhaps no one is better at brand longevity than a classic rock and roll band.  I’m going to talk about four that I think have done an amazing job over the last 50 years of maintaining their brands.

Let’s start with the Rolling Stones.  They created their band in 1962, which was fifty years ago.  They are still touring and recently posted a thank you to their fans on Facebook upon reaching the 10 million followers milestone on their Facebook site.  You may have seen Keith Richards in Pirates of the Caribbean.  The band members remain in the public eye making sure their brand is staying alive.

Next is U2, they are an incredible band.  One of the methods they use to get their message out is embracing social media.  U2 fans can follow the band, access news and obtain concert and new music information.  Another facet of U2 that raises awareness their brand is involvement in worldwide social causes.  That is something Bono is especially good at, an unofficial world ambassador so to speak.

Then we have Bruce Springsteen, perhaps my all time favorite musician.  The Boss is amazing, he has a new album out, he is touring and was the keynote speaker at one of the largest music festival in the country, the South by Southwest (SxSW).  So again, maintaining a public presence and keeping his brand name in the music news.

Last but not least, I am fortunate to be friends with Ben Smith, the drummer for the rock band Heart.  I love Heart.  Ann and Nancy Wilson continue to give their fans what they want: Ann belting her songs and Nancy mastering her guitar.  They also work hard at creating new music and touring consistently.  One of the things they do to keep their brand alive is touring with other great rock and roll band like Journey, Cheap Trick and Def Leppard.  All of the techniques employed by these bands are sustaining their brand longevity.

The key to maintaining brand longevity is devoting resources to a sustained branding campaign.  Your action item for today is to evaluate your ongoing branding strategy, campaigns and results.  Hopefully you are not living on your laurels and are focused on how to constantly brand yourself and keep a presence in the market place and in the minds of your customers.

You may refine your position as needed, however, the main point is that you are staying the course and moving forward to ensure your brand will be remembered and have the image you want in the minds of your customers.

Thank you joining us for Action Wednesday.  Be sure to tune in tomorrow for Recon Thursday.  To discuss an online or face-to-face service engagement and enhance the marketing and branding for your organization, contact James Glover: (505) 501-1330 or onceadaymarketing@gmail.com.  I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing and we’ll see you next time.

Building Customer Loyalty Programs (Strategic Tuesday/Promotion)

Hello, I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy for Once a Day Marketing thank you again for following my blog, that means you are looking at marketing every day so you should pat yourself on the back for a job well done.

Today is Strategic Tuesday and we’re going to look at the question of whether or not you are rewarding your loyal customers.

This is a very tough time to be in business.  Prior to the explosion of digital format and social media your company likely competed in a small/local market.  With the advent of the ever-growing digital environment, you may now be competing in a global market place.

In this very competitive landscape I know you are working very hard to land the customers that are using your business.  The strategic question is whether or not you are doing a good job of rewarding loyal customers who continuously seek out your product.

There are many ways to thank your repeat customers for their business.  You can have a formal system or an informal system.  In a formal system you keep track of all the exchanges with your customers.  An informal system is a less complicated.  An example of an informal reward process may be a stamp card from a local restaurant.  After the customer presents it to be stamped for a specified number of meals, they are rewarded with a free meal.

There are all sorts of premiums offered such as free flights, hotel rooms and meals or, some offer discounts.  The main task is to keep track of the activities between you and your customers and reward them accordingly.

A well thought out customer loyalty program will ensure your customers feel appreciated.  The reward you offer should be something the customer will value such as the examples cited above.  In exchange they will be loyal and have a greater appreciation for your brand.

A reward program does maintain the loyalty of your customers.  The strategic question today is what sort of customer loyalty program will you devise?

That concludes Strategic Tuesday.  Join us tomorrow for Action Wednesday.  To discuss an online or face to face service engagement and enhance the marketing and branding for your organization, contact James Glover: (505) 501-1330 or onceadaymarketing@gmail.com.  I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing and we’ll see you next time.

A Brand is More Than a Product (Smart Monday/Positioning)

Hello, I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing.  Before we begin today I want to remind you that we have a LinkedIn Group for Once a Day Marketing.  If you are a small business or entrepreneur looking for branding and marketing support I recommend you join the group.  If you are a branding and marketing expert I would like to invite you to join the group as well and share your knowledge with small companies.

Today we are going to talk about the misconception of what comprises a brand.

I frequently lecture on the subject of branding and have found that many people don’t have a clear understanding of what a brand is.  Many think the brand is a product.  They think about the qualities or attributes of the product and its uses and conclude that is the brand.  On the other side of the continuum others think a brand is a symbol like a logo or a slogan.

For those that think the brand is the product, well, they are correct.  Those who think a brand is a logo or a slogan are also correct.  However, a brand is much more than that.  It’s also the personality of the company, the emotion it invokes and the implied benefits of the product as well as the brand-customer relationship.  In reality, a brand is simply everything related to a company and its products.

As you are developing your brand keep these aspects in mind to ensure you are considering all of the factors that will truly become your brand.

That concludes Smart Monday.  Join us tomorrow for Strategic Tuesday.  To discuss an online or face to face service engagement and enhance the marketing and branding for your organization, contact James Glover: (505) 501-1330 or onceadaymarketing@gmail.com.  I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing and we’ll see you next time.

Using Twitter Hashtags (Digital Friday/Promotion)

Hello, I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing.  Today is Digital Friday and I hope you’ve had a great week marketing every day.  Today’s blog is going to address Twitter’s hashtags.

What are Twitter hashtags?  The pound sign (#) is the symbol for a hashtag.  It is used to search words, letters, phrases or even other symbols related to a specific topic.  The hashtag groups tweets by a common theme so people can search for particular interests.  For example, you may search #NBA for tweets related to the playoffs or #MIB3 for items talking about the latest Will Smith Men in Black movie.  Whatever you interests, you can probably find a hashtag that is centered around it.

When you are logged into Twitter, at the top of the page you will see the # with the word Discover (#discover).  When you click on that you are able to type in the # and any key word search related to a Twitter topic you are interested in.  Hashtag searches will return tweets for the last week.  If you are looking for a recent posting you should be able to find it.

You can also use a hashtag in your own tweets.  I often use #branding and #marketing so that people who are seeking out marketing or branding information may find my tweets within the last weeks’ worth of tweets.

Be creative, us hashtag to promote sales or other events that are going on within your own business.  Log on to Twitter and look at other hashtags to get more involved in the community of Twitter.  You will discover what’s going on in social media within Twitter and use hashtags to allow people to discover you as well.

That concludes Digital Friday.  Join us next week for Smart Monday.  To discuss an online or face to face service engagement and enhance the marketing and branding for your organization, contact James Glover: (505) 501-1330 or onceadaymarketing@gmail.com.  I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing and we’ll see you next time.