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The Beacon Journal Monday August 6, 2007 Page C10
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Computing•Personal Finance•Consumer Issues•Workplace
www.ohio.com/business
Branding makes its mark on sales
Distinctive color, shape increase recognition
Special to the Beacon Journal
Akron man offers owners of small businesses safe, inexpensive way to learn from those with experience
By Russ Vernon
Branding is hardly a new concept. Shopkeepers practiced branding with their ‘‘marks’’ 2000 years ago. Branding can be a color (such as Nexium, the purple pill, or the Yellow Pages). Or it can be a distinctive shape, such as the Coca-Cola bottle, or a symbol, like the Goodyear winged foot. See the stylized check mark ‘‘swoosh’’ on an athletic shoe, and it shouts Nike. Your company is first and foremost a brand striving to set itself apart through awareness and meaning. Webster defines brand as ‘‘a class of goods identified as a distinctive product (or service) of a particular firm or producer.’’ Brand is the customer’s dominant perception of a company. What you do, how you do it, what you say, how you say it, how you look, along with the quality/value of your product or service, critically influences your company’s identity with the consumer. You are who your customers say who you are. Make your brand noteworthy. In a world where the majority of businesses have the same technology you do and offer great service, it only allows you the privilege of staying in the game. What is it that makes a product or service special? What is it that differentiates your business from the competition? To brand and grow your business, seek advantage and uniqueness. Look for ways to add value to products and services. Value is not the same as price. Value is the benefit(s) offered for the price you ask. Good business happens when they are in balance. Seek to create a market, not share one. A business that makes a commitment to its core products and services will not have an ‘‘identity crisis.’’ Customers/clients won’t be confused by what your business provides and to whom the products and services appeal. If you know more about your customers/clients than your competition and do the best job of satisfying their needs and desires, it is possible to have less competition. Baby your customers and worship your staff. It’s an attitude and personal commitment that breeds success. In the next decade, more than ever before, business will be customer driven. Competition has never been as fierce as it is today. Appealing to the ever-changing, sometimes fickle customer will be the challenge that determines the winners and losers in the marketplace. Entrepreneurs can never afford to be satisfied or complacent. Make a ‘‘top down, bottom up’’ commitment to excellence. Never take the customer/client for granted. Adapt to change and create faster than the competition can copy! This will determine your share of the market – whether you succeed or fall by the wayside in the customer-driven business marathon.
Russ Vernon, chairman of the West Point Market in Akron, is a SCORE counselor. For information on small business, contact SCORE at 330-379-3163 or at http:// www.akronscore.org on the Internet.
MIKE CARDEW/Akron Beacon Journal
Akron business coach Ron Finklestein includes local sources in his book compiling marketing advice from successful entrepreneurs around the country.
Marketing strategies compiled in book
Beacon Journal business writer
Local businesses share marketing tips
Several Akron-area business owners contributed tips to the book 49 Marketing Secrets (That Work) to Grow Sales. Here’s a condensed version of some advice:
By Paula Schleis
Network for referrals
Source: Laura Leggett and James Hornyak, B-to-B Connect. Top-producing salespeople rarely call cold because they focus every day on developing relationships that will generate business by referral. The two cardinal rules of networking: Have the mindset of helping others, and don’t try to sell. At a networking function, look for people who target similar markets. Your first four questions should be: What does your firm do? What do you do for your firm? What is your target market? How long have you been with your firm? If the person might be a mutually beneficial contact, exchange cards and say, ‘‘Maybe we should get together to see how we can help each other develop some business. When would be the best time to call?’’ If they’re not a good fit, politely excuse yourself.
Akron business coach Ron Finklestein asked successful business owners around the country to share marketing strategies that they used to grow their companies. Now he’s compiled their tips into a book: 49 Marketing Secrets (That Work) to Grow Sales. Marketing is a major challenge for most businesses, Finklestein said, but it doesn’t have to be complicated, hard or expensive. ‘‘Smaller business owners don’t understand marketing, its importance or who to trust,’’ he said. ‘‘In creating this book I wanted to provide small-business owners with a safe and inexpensive way to learn about marketing from other business owners who have been there, done that,’’ he said. Noting that the book features a dozen local sources, he added: ‘‘I also wanted to help Akron by promoting successful people that few people know about.’’ The softcover book is available for $19.95 through Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, the Fairlawn Borders, or Finklestein’s own Web site, http:// www.49marketingsecrets.com. Finklestein is president of Akris LLC, a business coaching and consulting firm, and has authored other books. Each contributor to his latest book was selected for the uniqueness of his or her marketing strategy, and the ability to implement that strategy immediately, Finklestein said.
Paula Schleis can be reached at 330-996-3741 or pschleis@thebeaconjournal.com.
hosting online seminars. You can use them to demonstrate your product and explain to listeners/viewers how they would benefit. Or use your knowledge of the market to reach out to people through educational seminars. Tips for Webinars: • Keep your e-mail announcing the Webinar short. • Focus on sharing knowledge. • Offer a written report to attendees. • Bring in industry experts. • Record the sessions and post online. • Know your conference software. • Incorporate survey questions.
bonuses on that day. Find a way for a couple of your vendors to participate. Have some kind of simple finger food available.
Stay informed
Source: John Blakeney, Idea Firm. Business owners ignore daily news at their peril when they can become globally savvy in 10 minutes a day. Call the Wall Street Journal at 800-568-7625 and sign up for a trial subscription. Reading it online is not as effective; your eyes can interpret 10 times more information in print. Try this strategy for quickly determining whether there is anything relevant to your industry or your life: Section A: Read What’s News. On Page 2, scan headlines for an idea of pressing economic issues. On the opinion page, read the first and last paragraph of each editorial. Section B (Market Place) and Section C (Money & Investing): Skim the headlines while asking yourself whether any of this is relevant to you or your industry. If not, move on. If yes, skim the story, then set it aside for more thorough reading on the weekend.
Hold a party
Source: Deborah Chaddock Brown, AllWrite Ink. Plan a one-day event designed to bring curious potential customers in to explore your store. But pay attention to the details. Have a clear objective, such as a grand opening, a year-end inventory clear-out, or a customer appreciation day. Select an offer that will appeal to customers and inspire people to come visit you. Get your employees excited, perhaps offering them special commissions or
Host ‘Webinars’
Source: Don Philabaum, Internet Association Corp. Find new customers by
Be open to change
Source: Randy Geller,
Please see Tips, C12
Phone goes where you can’t
AT&T’s new Video Share lets you send live image in your place
by Greg Bluestein
Associated Press
RAY STUBBLEBINE/AT&T via Associated Press
Above left, Adam J. Schwadron and his wife, AnnLee, try the new AT&T Video Share phone service as they tour Times Square. Above right, friends Ashley Crooks (left) and Jessica Klein do the same while in Central Park.
ATLANTA: My cell phone flickered to life in the middle of a rowdy party, and seconds later, my fiancee’s face brightened up the screen. ‘‘Sorry I couldn’t make it,’’ she said. ‘‘I wish I was there.’’ She wasn’t at the party, but her presence – or at least her agony at being stuck in the office – was felt, thanks to AT&T Inc.’s new Video Share service. As I panned my phone around the table, I saw how this technology can come in handy.
The service, which AT&T claims is the first to pipe live video from one cell phone to another, worked well. Still, you can’t quite call it a ‘‘video phone,’’ because Video Share is only a one-way link, meaning one party can see the other, but not vice versa at the same time. AT&T Video Share works only on four phone models so far – iPhone users need not apply – and only when the phones are within range of the company’s 3G network. The phones cost anywhere from $25 to
Please see Share, C12
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