by Geoff on December 8, 2009
I wish I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard a business owner say something like, “We don’t care about branding and brand image and all that stuff, we just want to sell products.”
Well, actually I do have a dollar. Because some of these people eventually hired me to create branding programs for them and they were so glad they did.
But I understand the thinking—I really do. When many small business owners think about branding, they are thinking of something that, to their mind, is expensive, impractical, unnecessary, and wasteful.
In other words, to them,
branding suffers from a poor brand image
! Read more…
by Geoff on December 1, 2009
We’ve had a warm November here in New Hampshire. The golfers are still out! So we haven’t seen any snowballs yet.
But I want to tell you about a different kind of snowball—the kind that will create a kind of “awareness momentum” that builds and builds and helps build your business. Read more…
by Geoff on November 16, 2009
When small businesses think about branding, they often make the Goldilocks mistake.
First, they think that branding is too big for them, that it’s only for big companies with buckets of money to spend. That’s hogwash!
Or they think too small: they think that if they just have a nice logo, they have a brand. That’s also hogwash!
(I don’t mean to insult anyone. Actually hogwash is really important–when you want clean hogs!) Read more…
by Geoff on November 16, 2009
Every business needs a sense of mission. But I’ll tell you what a business does NOT need: one of those Deadly, Dry, Dull mission statements.
You know what I’m talking about: reading most mission statements is about as exciting as watching grass grow in the middle of winter!
For some reason, when business people begin writing a mission statement, they start using complicated, cliché language they would never use in ordinary conversation. Everyone nods their heads at mission statements like this—and then they nod off. There’s nothing to argue with. But also nothing to get passionate about. Read more…
by Geoff on November 3, 2009
Using “Goosebumps” to Goose Your Marketing
Do you know what business you are in? Really?
Someone once asked Alfred Hitchcock, What business are you in? He didn’t say I’m in the business of making movies. He said, “I’m in the goosebumps business.” Read more…
by Geoff on October 27, 2009
“Don’t talk to me about branding!” said the small business owner on the phone.
“I don’t need any of that, it’s a waste of money. I just want more sales.”
I understood why he felt this way. But he was dead wrong.
There’s a reason why 80% of purchases in America are brand name purchases. And there’s a reason why big companies calculate that 50% of the value of their companies comes directly from their brand. Read more…
by Geoff on October 20, 2009
Remember Aesop’s Fables? These simple stories have some common sense wisdom that has stood the test of more than two thousands years.
One of my favorites is the fable in which the Sun and the North Wind are watching a man in a coat who is walking down a road on a winter’s day. The North Wind says to the sun, “I’ll bet you I can blow that coat off the man,” and the Sun takes the bet. So the North Wind blows and blows and blows, and the harder he blows, the more tightly the man holds on to his coat. Finally, the North Wind gives up and the Sun says, “My turn.” The Sun simply begins to shine down on the man, and the farther the man walks, the warmer he gets, until he finally takes off the coat himself. So the Sun wins the bet.
I believe this story suggests two different ways to think about sales and marketing. Read more…
by Geoff on October 20, 2009
Woody Allen tells a story about a man who tells his psychiatrist, “My uncle thinks he’s a chicken.” The psychiatrist says, “Well, bring him in, we’ll try to help him.” The man replies, “Oh, I can’t do that.” “Why not?” “Because we need the eggs!”
I think that describes the way a lot of businesses feel about marketing. It can be a real pain in the posterior to try to figure marketing out, but you need the eggs!
Maybe this helps to explain why so many businesses end up doing so many crazy things when it comes to marketing. Read more…
by Geoff on September 8, 2009
One of the best marketing lessons I’ve received came from a salesperson in a luggage store. Here’s the story.
Years ago, when I lived in New York City, I happened to be doing a lot of traveling and needed new luggage. I visited several stores, then walked into a luggage store on 5th Avenue. A man greeted me and asked, “Do you have any questions or would you just like to look on your own?”
It was a simple question, but a good one. Usually, salespeople either hover over you when you don’t need them, or they aren’t around when you do need them. This guy resolved that little dilemma with a simple question.
Read more…
True story. I’m cruising through the grocery store, racing to the 10-items-or-less lane, when a sign above a pile of red grapes stops me in my tracks. It reads:
“Watch out for black widow spiders that may be in the grapes.”
Now I have to admit: at least this line got my attention. Read more…
