Business professionals who want to do business by referral are...
Specific is Terrific
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GAINS profile
So often, BNI members are frustrated about not getting more...
Brand Marketing Is Like Planting Trees
Think about marketing as planting trees. The trees of brand marketing you plant today will guarantee business growth tomorrow. What you are communicating today is to help potential customers make the buy decision in the future when they need what you are offering.
How To Use Social Networks to…Network
If you’re like me, you have changed your approach to networking over the last seven months. As we have learned in our chapter, we can all find new clients by watching out for each other on Facebook. But Social networks are multifaceted tools being used to create awareness, promote, and build relationships!
Build your VCP (Visibility, Credibility, Profitability) on Zoom
It’s been eight+ months since we started doing our weekly referral networking meetings over Zoom. For some, it’s comfortable and natural. For others, we’re either still finding our way or getting pretty tired of doing this virtually.
Networking Virtually…tips for the new normal
With social distancing becoming the norm, networking has moved to online platforms, but it is still an essential tool for building relationships. To be successful, you must have the right mindset, where you focus on how you can help others, not how they can help you. This approach builds mutually beneficial relationships, which is the goal of networking. You can start by nurturing existing relationships, checking in on close friends, family, and colleagues. To meet new people, you can target specific groups or be open to random connections. Allocating just 30 minutes a day to LinkedIn can be an effective way to network online by skimming your feed, commenting on relevant articles, and sending personalized messages to your connections.
The Marketing Mix
Even after 40 years (or 60 in the case of the original P’s), the Marketing Mix is still very much applicable to a marketer’s day to day work. A good marketer will learn to adapt the theory to fit modern times and their own business model.
Talking the Talk: The Marketing Lexicon
Like any specialty, marketing has a language of its own. Recognizing some important terms and dropping them into conversations when talking to your marketing consultant would help us solve your business challenges.
Your Brand Needs a Purpose
Mission, vision, values, and positioning statements are the most widely recognized strategic tools used to define a company’s business, strategic objectives, and overall approach to reach those objectives. Another less frequently recognized strategic statement that many companies neglect to employ is the Purpose statement.
The Fortune is in the Follow Up
A follow up email or call isn’t about trying to sell additional products or services. The best follow-up is one that adds value to the recipient.
Your Website Is For Your Prospects
Your website is a reflection of your business, the value you offer your prospects, and what it’s going to be like working with you.
Brand Marketing in a time of COVID-19
Branding is long-term focused, rather than special promotions or a discounts. The tactics for staying top-of-mind 6 or 12 months from now are different than getting them to notice you right now.
How I Killed (and Fixed) My Email Campaigns
It took just ten minutes to update my DNS settings, and almost two weeks to fix the problem I created. This article is a cautionary tale of letting better get in the way of good enough.
Don’t Stop Marketing
Rather than stopping all of your marketing, consider instead changing your strategy. Instead of selling, inform. Instead of daily email blasts, send emails weekly (or monthly). Instead of doing the same thing you’ve always done, pivot to something different. Here are some specific ideas for this difficult time.
We’re all working from home now.
Since so many people are working from now, and Brenits Creative is a 100% remote-work team, I wanted to share the four things that I have been doing consistently for 20 years.
How To Name Your Brand
Effective brand naming isn’t emotional or political—it’s strategic. It should align with your positioning, resonate with your audience, and be memorable enough to stand on its own. More than a trivial detail, a name plays a critical role in shaping perception, signaling value, and reinforcing your brand’s promise. A weak or confusing name can dilute impact and force your brand to work harder to stay top of mind. Ultimately, naming is both a creative and disciplined process that deserves as much attention as any other aspect of branding.
How Behaving Like A Consultant Made Me A Better In-House Corporate Creative
Last year I wrote about some lessons learned while working...
The Difference Between Marketing Strategy and Tactics
Your website isn’t converting. The social media advertising doesn’t bring in as many leads as you hoped. The direct mail campaign was a waste of paper. Your emails don’t get opened. And none of it is bringing in any new business. Sounds familiar right?
40+ Types of Marketing for Your Business
Like many non-marketers, you might think that marketing is...
Free Event: Know your “it” Factor. Brand Workshop & Lunch and Learn.
Join us for a brown-bag lunch and interactive workshop on Thursday, January 24th that will help each you figure out just what your own “It” is that makes your businesses so special. Moreover, once you know your “It,” you’ll be able to attract the right customers to your business.
How We Gained Clarity, Focus and Growth With a Rebrand
Our organization, the Early Childhood Educators of Reformed...
The Care and Craft of Brenits Creative, in Our Client’s Words
My experience with Brenits Creative has been fantastic. I wish...
Scare Tactics In Branding and Marketing
Human beings have base fears such as the need for protection,...
We Get by With a Little Help From Our Branding Friends
Every business owner faces a series of challenges. We wear many...
How Writing Helps Me Talk About What I Do
I attend a fair amount of networking events every month. As an...
To-Do, To-Don’t, To-Done!
Sometimes it feels like there’s a lot on my plate. I run my own business, sit on two boards, serve as leadership for my referral networking group, and I teach. Most importantly, I’m a husband and father. I have a lot of stuff that needs to get done every day. But I’m never overwhelmed enough to say, “my plate is overfull.”
Goalsetting With A Vivid Vision Document
Most business owners have an idea of what they want their company to look like. However, their employees can’t necessarily see that same vision for what the future can be. If you are struggling with writing a clear mission statement and vision statement, then you should try to write a Vivid Vision first.
Plan and run better meetings
Meetings are a necessary evil in our business. Between staff...
6 Ways To Spot Cheap Logo Design
There’s only one thing worse than a cheap logo, and that’s a cheap looking logo. Even if your average consumer can’t communicate why your logo makes them feel embarrassed, disgusted, or confused, they’re still going to have that reaction anyway.
Defining Your Audio Brand Strategy
From Netflix's "Ba-Dummm!" to the "ba-da-DA-Dum" of Intel, or...
A Fresh Start: Rebrand Your Business or Refresh Your Website?
No business can afford to rest on its laurels. While your company may be keeping up with economic and market changes, is your brand keeping up? Does your website communicate to your target audience how you’re keeping up?
You may be trying to decide if you should rebrand your business, or just update your website. Here are 10 factors to consider helping you make your decision.
I Went from In-House to Consultant—Here’s What Helped Me Succeed
By the end of 2015, after nearly eight years as an in-house creative director—and over two decades in the field—I found myself self-employed for the second time in my career. Now, as I enter my fourth year as a brand and creative strategy consultant, I recognize how the lessons I learned in-house have directly contributed to my success as a business owner. Looking back, I can also see that my consulting mindset and teaching instincts played a crucial role in leading in-house creative teams effectively.
Lessons Learned Working In-House That Helped Me Be A Better Consultant
By the end of 2015, after being an in-house creative director...
10 Ideas To Build Your Small Business brand
Many small business owners I talk to already understand that branding is essential to their business, but a surprisingly high number of them don’t really know why.
Getting Mission, Vision and Values Right
The Vision, Mission, and Values statements guide the behaviors of people in an organization. The Vision statement describes where the organization wants to be in the future; the Mission statement describes what the organization needs to do now to achieve the Vision.
Does My Small Business Really Need A Brand?
I think maybe people get hung up on wording. If you were to replace the word “branding” with “reputation” instead, I think I might get your attention. You care about your reputation, right?