by Miriam Hara | Feb 18, 2015 | Business Success, Latest, Marketing
If you’re the owner of a business that is 5 years or older, you are obviously doing many things right. It takes real know-how to keep a business sustainable. Good for you – no, great for you! Many businesses never make it past the 5-year mark.
So how do you springboard from your current success? How do you continue growth so that your business prospers even more?
It always amazes me how many successful businesses don’t take marketing seriously. Either that or they don’t understand it well enough to evaluate if what they are currently doing actually is “marketing”. It stands to reason that no one knows your business better than you do. However, when it comes to marketing, many business owners tend to have a misconception of what marketing really is, how it works and how much it costs.
To help explain this common marketing pitfall, here’s what marketing isn’t.
Marketing isn’t inexpensive. It isn’t a business card. It isn’t a logo and no, it isn’t a website. If that were the case, then crowdsourcing would rule the industry!
Instead, marketing is a professional vocation that takes a look at any business or brand holistically. Business owners should take more care about entrusting their business to just anyone. Just because you can write, doesn’t make you a writer. Just because you can draw, doesn’t make you a graphic designer and just because you have profiles on Facebook and Twitter, doesn’t make you a social media expert.
Marketing definitely includes all of the aforementioned skills. However, marketing a business involves much more. Marketing is about defining your promise to your audience as well as your ability to articulate it succinctly to them. It’s about developing how your business will be perceived from a simple leave behind, visiting your website or receiving a direct mail piece.
From the get-go, marketing is about determining your definition of success for your business. It’s about setting clear objectives and then formulating a plan to achieve those objectives. Once you outline a plan, you must keep in mind that every initiative you implement, (from business cards to direct mails or even your website), needs to feed into your business position and promise.
Business owners don’t usually think twice about the expense of hiring a certified accountant. But, they won’t usually invest the appropriate amount for their business marketing. Make no mistake, marketing a business properly is an investment. The dollars you spend for your business in marketing, when executed properly, will bring in more business. The old adage, “You have to spend money to make money”, has some truth to it. But you also need to spend the money properly. One of my favourite sayings is, “Spending $1,000 may be more expensive then spending $10,000.” If the $1,000 isn’t attached to a pre-designated outcome and brings your business nothing, then it’s like burning money. If $10,000 is spent with pre-designated objectives and achieves appropriate results, then it’s a good spend.
If you haven’t been already, it’s time to market your business properly. Don’t get caught unaware of this marketing pitfall. After all, doesn’t your business deserve better?
by Miriam Hara | Feb 13, 2015 | Branding, Business Success, Communications, Latest, Marketing
The most common marketing pitfall that brand keepers make that I have come across is “talking to themselves”. I am not eluding that I have never fallen into that marketing pitfall myself. However, I believe after years of training against “talking to myself”, the lesson has finally kicked in!
It goes without saying that most of us marketers pride ourselves on the the fact that we know our brand. Not only do we know it, we live it, breath it and love it. In order to excel at our profession, we need to understand and know our product, our market, its various segments, the competition and of course our target markets.
It’s so easy to fall into the marketing pitfall of “talking to yourself”. After all, aren’t your views, your expertise and experience what the brand needs? Isn’t that why you’re at the “marketing table” so to speak? The short answer is yes and no. How do you determine if you are succeeding to make important decisions about your brand not basing them on your own point of view?
As professional marketers, it can be easy for us to believe that we see the world the same way that consumers see it. Simply put, that’s not accurate.
That’s really the most common marketing pitfall. Think of it this way: There’s a reason why market research surveys eliminate those of us who say we are in marketing. We just don’t view the world the same way.
The truth is, to be a good marketing professional, you need to immerse yourself in your brand and then you need to step away from it. You need to ask the key questions, listen to the responses and most importantly, be prepared to make the necessary changes.
As marketers we need to understand that consumers don’t think of our brand for a fraction of the time that we do. Hopefully, your brand is in the subconscious minds of your consumers, although they just don’t think of it in the same way that you do. But, your brand will become top of mind for those consumers who are in need of the ‘product’, from cars, tablets, detergent to salt. Of course, that’s if you’ve done your job properly.
So when you’re designing your next brand campaign or building a better website, don’t assume. Research, develop questionnaires that are designed to flesh out the real story of your brand to determine what it means to consumers and how they perceive it. To avoid this marketing pitfall of “talking to yourself” you need wear your consumer’s shoes. That way, you’ll talk the way they do.
by Miriam Hara | Feb 11, 2015 | Business Success, Latest
Just in time for Saint Valentine’s Day, here’s a post about business love!
Business love: Does it have a place in the work-life balance mindset of today’s business environment? There are many times while in the process of interviewing potential employees, I hear about the importance of work-life balance. Although, I rarely hear about the passion for the work or business that is necessary for the role they’re applying for. I recognize that there is a shift in people’s mindsets regarding the “space” that work or business takes up in their lives, and I am all for that. With technology making us all so accessible, it is often difficult to set parameters. However, setting parameters doesn’t mean giving up on business love.
Generally speaking, I’m surprised to see that there seems to be a lack of enthusiasm about the “business” itself. Regardless of work-life balance, there is still a considerable amount of physical time spent at work – making “business love” necessary. However, business love doesn’t mean that work must be all consuming. What it does mean is that people need to take ownership and have consideration for the business they’re in.
Ultimately, practicing business love translates into loving the business you’re in. There is really only one key factor that determines if you practice business love. That factor is passion. Whatever you do, no matter the industry or the role, in order to have business love you need to be passionate.
Here is a list of ways to practice business love:
- When you are entrusted to do something, do it. Ensure it is done in the precise manner and time it requires.
- Understand that good enough is never good enough. It must be better than good. It has be right and it has to sparkle.
- Do more than just show up. Just like exercise, showing up and going through the motions won’t get results. You have to be dedicated during the time you’re there!
- Understand that business isn’t personal. Just because something doesn’t go according to your plan, doesn’t mean that the business love you’ve exercised was a waste of time. In fact in any business, flexibility is a must. Learning to bend is always a good thing!
- Loving what you do doesn’t take away from your work-life balance – it actually enhances it. Loving what you do makes for a happier you.
So embrace enjoy your work-life balance while reaping the rewards from practicing business love!
by Miriam Hara | Feb 9, 2015 | Branding, Business Success, Latest, Marketing
What type of marketer are you really? Are you a brand maker or a brand keeper? Is there a difference? Before going any further, I would like to point out that there is no shame in being one or the other – Brand and business need both.
In the era of personal branding, it is becoming vastly important to define yourself within your profession so that you and your brand can achieve success. At the same time, there is no gain in not being truthful about the qualities you have.
Defining these two types of marketers is probably the best way to distinguish their differences. A brand maker is involved with key decisions that involve the destiny of a brand or business. Whereas, a brand keeper holds to the path of the brand as it has been determined by others. Also, a brand maker takes risks, albeit calculated and educated risks, but risks all the same. A brand keeper is ofter risk adverse. A brand maker relies on intuition coupled with the information they have through all other channels. They can “see” the next curve and aren’t unafraid to go up to bat and fight for the direction that the brand needs to go in.
In reality, a brand existence needs both to grow and flourish. In my view, whether you’re a brand maker or brand keeper is subject to the market environment. Due to globalization, it’s a market reality many marketers are faced with today. However, regardless of why, the truth of it still applies.
I read a statement from Beloved Brands, taken from a slide presentation about Personal Branding for Leaders. The author, Graham Robertson, eloquently and succinctly stated, “With less control over the pure direction of a business or brand, marketing becomes a bit more of a do-er support function who explains what has already been done by the brand, rather than a strategic marketer who leads the business.”
As markets are merging, and the world is getting smaller, so is the business world. The advent of technology has facilitated the ease of viewing information and content internationally. Like all situations in business, it’s a matter of opportunity. There does still exist opportunities to shape business and brands wherever you are. So essentially it’s a matter of if you are willing to take that opportunity and run with it. You decide.
by Miriam Hara | Dec 4, 2014 | Communications, Latest, Social Media
Social Media blogging has become very accessible for businesses. With the advent of easy to implement content management site systems such as WordPress, the business blog is now a staple on many business’s websites – ours included! The business blog has provided one way to make that first impression count on many levels.
With the introduction of social media blogging, digital first impressions took on a more dimensional tone. Businesses created a voice and personality through the content creation on their blog. However this content didn’t necessarily have to be in the form of words. Blogging included videos, how-to demonstrations, photos, instagram pics, infographics and of course written posts. It’s safe to say that the blog has taken over the “consciousness” of many businesses, propelling thought leadership, significant and qualified content and delivering a new way to develop relationships with potential clients. This has allowed for the first impression to have more dimension and interaction.
A decade after it began, social media blogging is undergoing a shift in its perception and its fundamental measurement of success.
Having had its day in the sun, social media blogging, like everything new, is no longer as “in” as it once was. Being “on-trend” and the “must-do” initiative for many businesses may have contributed to the demise of the popularity of social media blogging. It could also be that there is now just too much information online, too much good content (and still loads of not-so-good content) that people are simply overwhelmed.
Much like the introduction of digital ads, which in their infancy experienced double-digit click-through rates, only to spiral down to less than 1% and are now selling on “impression counts” – social media blogging is now maturing and is experiencing a growth adjustment. The same thing can also be said for the emergence of websites. Many early adopters of the social media blog enjoyed robust conversations with their subscribers/viewers/readers. Although now, site visits to blogs in general and comments on posts are slowly ebbing and are no longer touting the excellent traction rates they once had. This may be the result of blog sharing via other sites such as LinkedIn, Facebook or Reddit etc.
Does this mean that social media blogging is over and done? My feeling is no. People are still searching for information and are still reading, so the business blog is still very viable. It just has to work harder to attain the numbers and the feedback it once took for granted. Like everything new, the “craze phase” is over. Now the real work begins: to refine, to hone, to stay the course and achieve the long term objectives originally set forth. Ultimately, like everything else in business and marketing, a long term view is necessary. Consistent application is the only sure way of achieving success, no matter how it’s defined.
What do you think about social media blogging? Is it here to stay? If you can spare the time, I would like to hear your views and opinions.
