June 23, 2005
June 23, 2005
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We who still believe in the rational tradition are screwing up. ... You have to frame things in a way the people will feel them. ... if you repeat something often enough, it becomes part of your brain and you don't need facts. George Lakoff |
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AbuLLard: Making the Most of Networking Audhumbla: On the Internet, Everybody Knows What Kind of Dog You Are Brand Element: An Artist's Logo Hayloise's Book Review: All Marketers Are Liars
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AbuLLard talks about Networking
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Making the Most of Networking It seems that every time you turn around there's another networking group forming -- one that promises to make you a millionaire, or at least triple your earnings in the first year. How is that possible? Maybe the questions should be, is it really possible at all? The secret in successful networking is to understand first that it doesn't happen overnight. Many people join an organization like a Chamber of Commerce, attend a few meetings, eat lunch, hand out some business cards and expect the business to start flowing in. It doesn't work like that. You have to earn referrals. People need to get to know you and learn what you do. The most important lesson we learned about effective networking is that it's not about walking out the door with orders in your pocket. It's about making connections that will develop into a wide reaching referral network. It's all about establishing relationships with the people in the groups where you network. In order to do that there are a few simple rules: 1. Show Up. You don’t need to attend every meeting of every group, but you need to be a familiar face. 2. Brand Yourself. Do something or wear something so that people will remember you or have a reason to talk to you... "What kind of cow pin are you wearing today?" people will ask me. 3. You Have Two Ears and One Mouth. Use them in that proportion. Ask questions of others and listen to what they have to say before you start pushing your products. Small talk is sometimes "big" talk ... it's the oil the makes the relationship run smoothly. And "smart" talk, having something valuable or insightful to say, brands you as somebody who should be noticed. 4. Follow Up. Stay in touch with your contacts even when you need nothing from them! 5. Talk to Everybody. You never know where business is going to come from. And it's not just who you know, it's who knows you that counts. If people know who you are and what you do, they can tell other people about you. 6. Be Generous with Referrals. Put people you know together who could potentially work together. If you see a fit, facilitate the meeting of the parties. Talk to potential competitors. Some of our strategic allies once considered us competitors. We realized it was about the result - delivering the best product for our clients meant cooperation and leveraging our respective strengths. 7. Most Importantly --Make It Personal. Be yourself. Be authentic. Have fun. |
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Audhumbla's Eye on the Internet
Ever use Ebay? Ebay feedback ratings are absolutely essential to the Ebay purchase process. Who are you more likely to buy from – the seller with a rating of -3 or the seller with a rating of +1146? |
Internet Ratings: Are You a Good Dog or a Bad One? We remember when the Internet was first used for business. The Internet extended the reach of small companies beyond the local community and past geographic boundaries. Your company brand was what you made it – the image and message you spread about yourself. And the popular phrase that described this phenomenon was “On the Internet, nobody knows you’re a dog”. Well, let us be the first to tell you, today what your customers care about is not that you’re a dog, but whether you are a good dog – attentive, service-oriented and customer-responsive – or a bad dog. Furthermore, the Internet gives your customers the tools to define and rate your brand themselves, with newsgroups, blogs, web sites, feedback forums and rating applications. In the old days of brick and mortar, potential buyers relied on a few, well-known, trusted entities like Consumer Union’s Consumer Reports to rate a company, its products and its brand. With the Internet, those trusted parties are still there, but they’re not alone. Buyers now have a say, and it’s a big one, in defining a vendor’s reputation. And it doesn’t matter whether you’re an established company or a start-up. On-line ratings of customers’ experiences buying from you is critical to your success. User feedback isn’t always stand-alone; it can be combined with traditional reviews to form a very powerful rating of brand experience. When AudhumbLa buys software on-line, she checks vendor credentials at C|net – i.e., is that vendor C|net certified. That check is the traditional review. Then AudhumbLa reads the shoppers’ experiences – and she uses that feedback to make her purchase decision. That’s the Internet phenomenon. And that’s just one web site. Newsgroups, forums, blogs – they all show up in search results and can all include the information about your customers’ experiences that rate your brand. Internet-savvy vendors understand this new phenomenon of brand experience ratings that the Internet enables. What does this mean for you and your business? If you’re a good dog, don’t be afraid to have this known. Encourage your customers to speak out on your behalf – maybe even set aside space on your web site for customer comments. Nothing speaks more to your brand than a happy customer. |
It's What Your Customers Say That Matters
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Brand Element of the Month:
A New Logo for
Before:
Too bright and hard-edged for Liza's style |
Liza Sandford of Candy Apple Design creates really elegant websites. Her designs meet the client's specific business, financial and aesthetic goals in a way that makes them really stand out. In addition, she is a very talented artist in traditional media. Liza has worked with us on a number of projects and helped us "delight" our clients. How daunting... to be given the task of designing a Brand Identity for a very talented artist! But being a proverbial "Bull in a Design Shop" we charged ahead. We reviewed Liza's work, talked with her about her own particular taste, and then came up with a number of design concepts for her to consider. It was a fun process because she had very definite likes and dislikes and could clearly articulate how to adjust the concepts we presented her with. Best yet, she was incredibly enthusiastic when we started getting close to the final version. Her comment? "I love it! I love it! I love it! You have managed to create a design that really expresses me. It captures the essence of my work! I'm already getting very positive feedback on my new look. Thank you so much!" We did point out to her that the reddish swoosh on the teal background might drive up the cost of printing. It was one of those "Yin-Yang" trade-offs we talk about. It cost a little more to print but because the design really did capture the spirit of her work, she decided it was worth it. |
The "New" Look for Softer, flowing, subtle colors | |||||||||
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HayLoise's Books of the Month
Are there any books that have given you important insights into
branding? Send HayLoise |
All Marketers Are Liars : The
Power of Telling Authentic Stories in a Low-Trust World Seth Godin has done it again. He’s written a short, easy to read book that explores an important aspect of marketing. Here he investigates Storytelling. Godin presents the case that the best marketers are the best storytellers. Forget the ‘feature, benefit, solution’ triad that we all learned, and pay attention to the stories we tell and more importantly the stories we all tell ourselves, i.e. the stories our customers tell themselves. To really excel at marketing you must tell a story that fits into your audiences ‘worldview’. If you can tell a story that your customers can buy into, easily remember, and repeat to their friends – you’ve created a powerful basis for spreading the word about your company and/or product. If you can’t fit your story into their worldview, they can’t/won’t hear you. He goes on to point out that your story must be authentic – and today it’s easier than ever to find out if your story’s a fib rather than a story. Your customer’s will abandon you if they can’t trust the story you’re telling. To fully understand your own brand, take a moment to reflect on the stories you tell your customers, partners, suppliers, and employees. And don’t forget yourself! Do your stories meet Godin’s criteria? Finally, I was particularly thrilled to see the emphasis on AbuLLard’s first two letters: A –‘Appropriate’ and B – ‘Believable’. But, then why should I be surprised. AbuLLard is, after all, a very wise cow. |
Click on the book cover image to go to its page on Amazon.com
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Brand Tip of the Month
"A brand is a living entity - and it is enriched or undermined cumulatively over time, the product of a thousand small gestures"
- Michael Eisner,
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There are a lot of articles on the Internet today about "Living Brands." The bottom line for most of them -- every person in an organization needs to live the brand -- from the top down. Delivering the brand promise is the underlying factor that will determine success. It will get you remembered in the Networking organizations AbuLLard talked about. It will get you those good reviews who's importance AudhumbLa described. And it will enable the "storytelling" HayLoise reviewed in Seth Godin's book. There are three aspects of living your brand -- image, message and behavior. Each is equally important. Take for example a client of ours, a company that places temporary personnel. They present a consistent professional image. They say that have strong family values in their business -- "Show up. Work hard." And when some of their temp employees didn't show up for a clean-up job one day, the president and his son went on site and did the work! They have a strong brand that lives its values. And their clients say, "I wouldn't do business with anyone else!" |
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Copyright 2005 CattLeLogos Brand Management Systems, LLC. All rights reserved. CattLeLogos is a Registered Trademark of CattLeLogos Brand
Management Systems, LLC. |
Published June 23, 2005 Contact us: | ||||||||||
