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Build Brand Identity - Brand Identity Guru
Successful Guru marketers have a secret weapon that they use every single time they communicate about their businesses. It's one of those intangibles that are easily misunderstood. It's the ability to generate excitement about what you have to offer. And when your prospects are excited about your services, marketing becomes a whole lot easier. You get more attention, more response, more sales and more referrals. Excitement is often misunderstood because we usually equate excitement purely with displays of high energy and enthusiasm. The stereotypical marketer is PT Barnum and Anthony Robbins rolled into one with enough energy to light a small city. This ideal is not so easy to emulate. Most of us give up on the idea of generating excitement because we don't think we have the personality for it. We feel it would be artificial and forced. Does an infectious enthusiasm about what you offer make a difference? Of course it does, but we believe it's only a small part of the equation. It's way overrated. Enthusiasm can be shallow. It can me manufactured. It offers no real proof that what you offer delivers true value. Prospects don't become interested and excited about your services just because you show enthusiasm. They become excited when they understand that your services will make a real difference in their lives and their businesses. What I find so frequently with Independent Professionals is that they have failed to discover and articulate the *inherent excitement* in the services they are offering. When they discover that excitement and learn how to express it, their marketing goes to a whole new level. While we were writing this we got a call from a client, a financial planner, who we had helped with the copy on his web site. His previous site failed to generate excitement and he wasn't getting any new business from it. With the new copy, prospects got excited and started to call him. He now generates most of his new business from this web site. The good news is that generating excitement is a whole lot easier than it may sound. Let me paint you a little scenario. We have two sales consultants, A and B. They both do pretty much the same thing (they even offer the same program). They are equally intelligent and capable of producing valuable results for their clients. However their messages are very different: Consultant A uses the following marketing message: We offer sales training for people newly entering your sales team. We use the Fast Start Sales Training System, which is specifically designed for new salespeople. We offer training programs from one day to one week in duration and we cover all the most important sales skills. We are able to customize the training programs for your industry and company. We have experience in 107 industries. Consultant B uses the following marketing message: Are your new sales people slow in getting started and meeting their quota? We use the Fast Start Sales Training System that's guaranteed to help new sales people reach their quota in 60 days or less. Our customized system ensure that your salespeople meet or exceed their quota 82% more frequently than sales people who have not used our system. Proven in 107 industries, including yours, our system increases revenue per salesperson by an average of 63% in the first year. Do you see the difference? Consultant A talks about the training services he offers and the process he delivers. It is all about what he does, there is nothing about what the prospect gets. There is no inherent excitement in this message. And no matter how enthusiastically he delivers this message it will fail to generate excitement in the prospect. Consultant B focuses his message on exactly what his prospects will receive from his sales training programs. Even though he offers the identical program, his message, expressed in the language of solutions and results, is inherently exciting. This consultant doesn't need to show wild enthusiasm for what he is offering, quiet confidence will do. If you want your prospects to get excited about what you are offering, the magic key is to start talking about specific solutions and results. It's as simple at that, but it's amazing how many people miss this completely. Take a look at your own marketing messages, both verbal and written, and ask if they pass the excitement test. If they don't, work at making the necessary changes as quickly as possible. You'll start seeing results almost immediately. Recap: You will generate excitement with all your marketing messages and written marketing copy if you use the "What's In It For Me" copy. Put your information in the following order for best results. 1. Problem - Information on the problems, issues or challenges your prospects are facing. 2. Solution - Information on what things would be like if the problem, issue or challenge were resolved. 3. Offer - What do you have to offer that can address the problem and provide the solution. 4. Benefits - What are all the reasons your offer is the best solution for your clients? 5. Credibility - Who else has experienced your offer and gotten good results? What is your background and success record? 6. Action - What do you need to do next to take advantage of this offer? To measure how strong your brand is copy and paste: (http://brandidentityguru.com/bightml/brandmasterpiece.html). Then click "Take the brand strength test". This is a short survey that measures the strength of any company's brand. It's a great tool to see where you are today. Scott White is President of Brand Identity Guru (http://www.brandidentityguru.com), a leading brand consulting and market research firm located in Easton, Massachusetts, USA, near Boston. Brand Identity Guru specializes in creating corporate and product brands that increase sales, market share, customer loyalty, and brand valuation. Over the course of his 15-year branding career, Scott White has worked in a wide variety of industries: high-tech, manufacturing, computer hardware and software, telecommunications, banking, restaurants, fashion, healthcare, Internet, retail, and service businesses, as well as numerous non-profit organizations. Brand Identity Guru clients include: Sun Life Financial, Coca Cola, HP, Sun, Nordstrom, American Federal Mortgage, Simon (America's largest shopping mall manager) and many others, including numerous emerging growth companies. Scott White is a very enthusiastic speaker and has the gift of being able to explain the principles of branding in a compelling and entertaining manner.
Latest News:Site: Yahoo! News Search Results for news Myanmar's Suu Kyi to get family letters, news mags (Reuters via Yahoo! News) Detained Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has managed to wring small concessions from the ruling generals in the form of letters from her family and some international news magazines, her lawyer said on Friday. JCDecaux in talks for News Outdoor Group in Russia (AP via Yahoo! News) French outdoor advertising firm JCDecaux SA said Thursday it is negotiating to buy Russian rival News Outdoor Group from global media company News Corp. News Corp tightens grip on Premiere with new CEO (Reuters via Yahoo! News) Rupert Murdoch tightened his grip on German pay-TV broadcaster Premiere by appointing News Corp executive Mark Williams as CEO in a move to get the company back on track. SEC Looks Into UAL Stock Scare; Implications For Online News? (CBS News) A ton of digits have been devoted to this in other spots but the SEC's decision to investigate takes it to another level. The backstory: a six-year-old news story about UAL declaring bankruptcy made it into the Tribune-owned Sun-Sentinel 's current news flow, was picked up by a Google (NSDQ: GOOG) News bot and, via a reporter for a newsletter, made it onto Bloomberg News. After a lot of buck ... JCDecaux and News Corp. in talks to combine outdoor ad groups (International Herald Tribune) The News Corp. chief executive, Rupert Murdoch, has recently expressed nervousness about investments in Russia, where News Outdoor generated the bulk of its revenue last year. Help News pick Stadium's greatest moment (New York Daily News) The News is marking the countdown to the final game at The House That Ruth Built by reflecting on Yankee Stadium's greatest moments - and we're asking you - the reader - to help us pick out the best of the best. SEC Looks Into UAL Stock Scare; Implications For Online News? (paidContent.org via Yahoo! Finance) A ton of digits have been devoted to this in other spots but the SEC's decision to investigate takes it to another level. The backstory: a six-year-old news story about UAL declaring bankruptcy made it into the Tribune-owned Sun-Sentinel's current news flow, was picked up by a Google News bot and, via a reporter for a newsletter, made it onto Bloomberg News. JCDecaux in talks to buy News Corp. billboard unit (AP via Yahoo! Finance) In a deal that would create the world's largest outdoor advertising company, French conglomerate JCDecaux SA said Thursday that it is in talks to buy Russian rival News Outdoor Group from global media company News Corp. Phila. mayor to announce grim budget news (The Philadelphia Inquirer) The Nutter administration is expected to announce grim budget news today, which is all but certain to lead to significant spending cuts - perhaps as high as 10 percent - in some city departments, according to three sources familiar with the budget. News Corp says Mark Williams interim Premiere CEO (Reuters via Yahoo! News) News Corp. executive Mark Williams has taken over as chief executive of German pay-TV broadcaster Premiere in an interim capacity, News Corp. said after the move led to renewed takeover speculation. Site: news - Google News CNET News Daily Podcast: Facebook, Google open competing services - CNET News
MORE RESOURCES: Site: Yahoo! News Search Results for branding Supervalu picks Fame for branding campaign (Minneapolis - St. Paul Business Journal) Supervalu Inc. has selected the Minneapolis ad agency Fame to handle creative duties for part of a new national branding campaign. Ivy Hotel Checks in to Departure for Branding, Creative Campaign Needs (Marketwire via Yahoo! Finance) Departure, a hybrid advertising agency combining traditional and digital capabilities, and Ivy Hotel, a Kelly Capital Property and San Diego's premier urban resort destination, have teamed up to create branding concepts and associated campaigns that will attract new audiences and captivate its current devotees. Report: Longview branding evaluation (The Daily News) The cities of Longview and Kelso recently hired a Seattle-based marketing firm to evaluate the cities through the eyes of a stranger. Branding history: The tale of a logo (La Crosse Tribune) MADISON ? How do you market the oldest and most ignored institutions in society while incorporating topics both diverse and arcane, esoteric and beloved, academic and entertaining? Branding Datu Piang victims as 'child warriors' a cowardly act - group (GMA News) MANILA, Philippines - A group rehabilitating children on Wednesday criticized the military for branding the children killed in a recent air strike on Datu Piang as "child warriors," adding that air force men involved in the killings should be charged before the courts. Pinkberry serves lawsuits to six frozen yogurt shops (Los Angeles Times) The Los Angeles-based company is accusing the businesses of deliberately emulating its 'highly distinctive branding.' Seeking to freeze out imitators, L.A.-based Pinkberry Inc. filed six lawsuits this week against what it contends are copycat frozen yogurt shops. Children's minister raises doubts over age-banding (Guardian Unlimited) Ed Balls has advised 'caution' over the controversial use of age guidance branding on children's books Fashion Week: Gods of the Garment Center (Portfolio.com via Yahoo! Finance) New York's Fashion District branding efforts have long been half-hearted--a few designer bios embedded in a 'Walk of Fame,' the better for passersby to pay tribute with the soles of their hurried feet, an uninspired oversized button and needle at ... Site navigation (Reading Evening Post) A French restaurant had hoped to paint the town red ? but was told to tone down its branding to honour one of the ?finest buildings in Reading?. Café Rouge was given the green light to transform St Mary?s Church House in Chain Street into a restaurant with an outdoor seating area. Branson bid to block BA/AA merger (ITV.com) Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson is campaigning to block a proposed merger between British Airways and American Airlines. Sir Richard has been vocal in his opposition to the plan, branding it a "monster monopoly". Site: branding - Google News AT&T forms co-branding partnership with ChaCha - CNET News
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