Work It Wednesday: The Branding Iron

Branding 101: Don’t Neglect the Importance of Branding

I’m sure you’ve all heard of branding, but do you know exactly what this ‘buzz word’ means? Let’s set the record straight. Branding is much more than your logo. Your logo is certainly part of your branding, but a lot of other things go into creating a recognizable brand.

Branding is as important to a small business as it is to a big business. Perhaps even more important because small business don’t have the same amount of money to invest in their branding efforts and consequently need to make sure that their branding is really effective to carve out their spot in the marketplace.

Did you know something as seemingly insignificant as the font you use in your logo should be considered an important part of your branding ?  Consider this. There are a ‘gazillion’ different fonts. Some are quite whimsical, while others are more serious. Many have a modern edge and there are an equal number that have a classic feel to them.  If you have business that is on the more serious side, a whimsical font is not going to represent your business well.  I chose a font for our etsy shop, Bates Mercantile Co. that had a more vintage feel, rather than modern because we carry a variety of goods like an old fashioned mercantile…..from art prints to vintage.

I added some modern touches, like color to signify the fact that some of our things have a more current edge to them. 

It may seem barely worth thinking about but, even something like font choice can have a big impact on how people view your business.  There are many things beyond fonts that go into building a brand……….how you answer the phone, the signature on your emails, your packaging, your marketing materials, and even the style of your product photos (I almost immediately know I’m looking at something from Irit’s shop, MesuhMaSH when I see her products on etsy- see below).  Branding is like a book with many of chapters. It’s up to you to make sure that together, they’re telling a story, and more importantly, a story people will remember.

 

via MeshuMaSH

My friend Kath’s restaurant, Blue Moon Evolution is a good example of branding being more than a logo, and that it should tell a story. When you go to her restaurant, you know you’re going to get fresh, delicious, organic, local food.  On the menu, the meal descriptions include the names of the farms that raised or grew the ingredients that make up a meal. Why is this important? Because it’s all part of Blue Moon Evolution’s effort to brand themselves as a restaurant that is focused on supporting local farmers, offering natural foods that are made from ingredients free of pesticides, and engaging the community in respect for the earth by choosing food that honors the earth and themselves.  When you sit down to your table, you’ll also find fresh flowers, earth tones and a simple stone on your napkin. These are all small parts of branding the branding puzzle that tell Blue Moon Evolution’s story of honoring the Earth.

Keep all of this in mind and think of branding as an outward expression of your business to the world.  It needs to reflect what your business is while taking into account a host of things like: your mission statement, your unique selling proposition, your unique product benefit, your service or product, who you are as a business owner, your target market, how you want to grow as a business, what you want to be known for….the list goes on.

Obviously, your brand says a lot about you and your business. So give it some thought. No, nix that. Give it a lot of thought. Because when you decide on a plan of attack for your branding you want to stick with it. Why? Because if you don’t, a lot of the effort and money you’ve spent on branding your product or service will be for naught.  All of the recognition you've built up with your target market and customers will have to be rebuilt. Have there been successful company re-branding efforts? Sure there has. However, you want to focus on growing your business at this stage of the game, not on facing the challenges of rebranding.

Do your business branding efforts reflect your business the way you want them to? Have you given any thought to all of the pieces that can make up an effective branding effort? Does your branding tell your story? If yes, how? If not, where can you improve your branding?

Now, talk amongst yourselves…………………I love reading what you all have to say on Work It Wednesday!

Enjoy the day. It's simply beautiful here.

LittleBigStuff

via cellardesigns

They DO Add Up

In this edition of Work It Wednesday, I'd like you to think about the little things and how they affect your business.  (Remember, I've said it before, a lot of the stuff from Work It Wednesday can be applied to life in general).

Do you pay attention to the little things? Or do you think 'little' things won't make a difference? Do you subscribe to the belief that you need to make a 'big' splash to get noticed and be successful?

Personally, I am a big proponent of 'little' things. I think it's the little things, that are often overlooked, that give us the biggest bang for our buck and make the most impact.

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What little things am I talking about? Well, these are just some of the little things that I do, that I believe make a difference and helps to set me apart from others:

• letting a customer know that you've received their order
• thanking a customer for visiting your store
• writing a personal note to go along with a product shipment 
• offering a 'thank you discount' to people who have purchased something from you
• including 'something' extra in a product shipment, that a customer is not expecting (think--- blue dinosaur) with their purchase
• sending a link along to another shop owner I know, that I think they'd be interested in
• saying thanks to those who take the time to include our shop in a treasury
• paying it forward by sponsoring giveaways, not just here on Mercantile Muse, but on other blogs to give them a helping hand
• package my product thoughtfully and include our logo on each thing that leaves my little office/studio

That's just for starters. What? You're not convinced that these things make a difference? Consider this:

"If you think you are too small to be effective, you have never been in the dark with a mosquito." -unknown

The little guy, that's you and me, can be effective,when we use our 'littleness' to our advantage and employ all the things we have at our command. Some of the easiest, and least expensive marketing tools you've got are your very own 'little things'.

Lessons To Be Learned From The 'Hangry' Pillow

Remember the 'hangry' pillow I featured last week, from the etsy shop mybeardedpigeon?

via mybeardedpigeon

As I do with any post where I feature a fellow etsy shop owner, I sent a message to each one that I had included in my favorite finds that day.  Most people usually respond with some kind of thanks, which is nice. On more than one occasion however, some shops who could probably do with some more sales, have not responded. Not at all. Not with 'I'll check it out', or 'thanks so much', or 'hey that made my day'. With nothing. Nada. Zippo.  What's interesting is, on more than one occasion, a successful shop owner that I've featured, one whose shop is rocking and rolling, has taken the time to say even more than thanks.

Case in point, Cath, from mybeardedpigeon who sent this nice note:

"Thank you so much for the lovely feature on your blog. My daughter says to me mum you need to eat something... you are HANGRY. Before I made this a cushion I didn't know anyone else who got HANGRY, seems to be a lot of us.

Now off you go and eat something!

Kindly
Cath"

See, the thing about this note is that it made me stop and think. Here's this woman over in New South Wales, Australia, a world away from me and who has had close to 1700 sales since March of 2010, who still managed to take to time to say thanks and make a personal connection.

Then I thought to myself, hhhhmmmm, I may have read something by Cath before and if I remember what she wrote correctly, she is doing exactly what she advised others to do. 

A few messages back and forth between us and we figured out that I had read some of her thoughts on Epheriell Designs, Jess Van Diem's blog. I think you should read it (btw, if you don't subscribe to Jess's blog, you should do that too).  It's all about doing the little things and how doing those things made a difference to her etsy business. (Don't miss what Cath has to say about marketing your product. She is really tuned into what makes her product unique and how that helps her market her product, something we've been discussing on Work It Wednesdays).

via AccentsbyAustin

Now, before you dismiss the little things and decide they aren't what will make a difference to your business, think long and hard. When was the last time you did business with someone who went above and beyond what you expected and how did that make you feel? Pet Peeve Alert: What about the last time you walked into a store and the clerk, who may have even been the owner, didn't even acknowledge you? How that made you feel? Personally, I choose to spend my hard earned money when and where I feel appreciated, not when I am made to feel like I don't matter.   

To hit the point home about little things, check out this great story about LaCoste on Jim Joseph's blog The Experience Effect, which also addresses how little things make a difference. Please note the name of Jim's blog......because whether you're selling and product or a service, it's all about the 'experience you create' for your customers.

What little things do you do to set your business apart? What experiences have you had as a customer that proved to you that little things make a difference? What new 'little things' do you think you can employ to make your business stand out from the crowd?

I encourage you to share in the comments so we can all help each other learn and grow. That's what it's all about here on Work it Wednesday.

See you on the flip side,



A Proposition For You

It’s time for another round of Work It Wednesday. It’s the business side of Mercantile Muse where I share 18+ years of experience as the owner of Speakeasy, an advertising/PR/marketing firm that specializes in working with small businesses.

Marketing 101: Part 3/Your Unique Selling Proposition

Hi guys. Last week I talked about your Unique Product Benefit and how to define your UPB.  I stressed that this was an important step in the process of marketing and growing your business because it lays the foundation for establishing your Unique Selling Proposition. If you missed it, you can read it here.

What’s so important about your Unique Product Benefit and your Unique Selling Proposition? These two things will help you determine your ‘edge’. They will help you convince people to buy from you.  They will help you zero in on your uniqueness and what that means to your customers and potential customers.

Let’s consider some basics and we’ll use pizza as an example.

You make pizza. 

So what? There is a pizza shop on every corner.

via paisleyparrotdesign

What’s your unique product benefit? You make pizza with all natural ingredients that are sourced within a 50 mile radius, making it the freshest pizza you can get.

How do you translate that to your Unique Selling Proposition? First and foremost, don’t try to sell yourself based on your competition’s benefits (I.e. we’ll have a pizza to your door in 15 minutes or it’s free).  Worry about your own benefits.

via perchpapercompany

Consider the top benefits that your product/service offers to your customers.

·        Locally sourced, fresh ingredients

·        Natural ingredients without chemicals you can’t pronounce

·        Full flavor that comes from using fresh ingredients

·        Just about everyone loves pizza

·        They don’t have to cook to feed their families a fresh meal

Then write down why the benefits you offer are important to your target market (customer and potential customers).

• They care about where their food comes from.
• They care about what their family’s health and what they’re putting into family’s bellies.
• They’re busy, but still want to feed their family a meal that tastes good and is good for them.

Now, think about how your Unique Selling Proposition can shine a light on your Unique Product Benefit and communicate it in such a way that it makes it obvious why someone should by from you. Remember, you’re trying to boil  all those benefits down to one sentence the really reflects what your business is all about; what makes you unique; and why someone should buy from you instead of your competition.

The Unique Product Benefit of the pizza being made with natural, organic locally sourced ingredients may translate into a Unique Selling Proposition like this:

“Farm-fresh, wholesome flavor is our customers’ favorite topping.”

Or

“Farm-fresh, wholesome goodness everyone loves, from our pizza oven to your table.”

Don’t try to sell yourself based on your competition’s benefits (i.e. we’ll have a pizza to your door in 15 minutes or it’s free).  Every business is different and that’s what you need to focus on. Sure, you can consider your competition, but simply to recognize what you aren’t.

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In the end, your customers and potential customers are going to buy from you because of your benefits. Succcinctly stating this in your Unique Selling Proposition will make the reasons to buy from you apparent and hard to ignore.

One last thing, be truthful to yourself in the assessment of your Unique Product Benefit and in the creation of your Unique Selling Proposition. If you can't deliver what you promise, what's the point?

If you'd like to share your Unique Selling Proposition, and how you arrived at it, please feel free to do so in the comments. I'd love to see how you're all working this out for yourselves.

(If you would like to share this information in any way, other than a link back to this original post, please be sure you contact me for permission. Thank you. ©Pamela J. Bates)

Sunset Meadows

I was lucky enough to skeedattle away from my desk a few minutes early yesterday. Lucan and I were off to the field for a walk.  We both needed it and the sunset was nice enough to to acknowledge us with wink and a smile as we headed home.