Campaigning

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Take One

 

Success they say belongs to those who identify a need and fill it or create a must-have and deliver it, but you know campaigning is what gives the product or service ballast in the marketplace.

Be different, bold, or funny, all the while taking what’s given and pushing it in a new direction.

Be different – appeal to the individual in all of us.

Be bold – the swashbuckler image still resonates, even when spoofing.

Funny works, laughs are welcome, so are chuckles. Is funny a good fit for your demographic?

What does your marketplace value right now? How do your customers perceive your brand?

Does the old 80/20 rule apply where 80% is ideation and 20% is building-out the touch points of the campaign?

Granted, a new campaign can mitigate the impact of a price increase, but it’s not just about price.

It used to be easier to position a service at the upper end since deliverables are more perception than with a consumer product, but an outstanding campaign can compensate for limited differentiators.

Best campaigning starts with an idea, builds-out to a narrative, and flows naturally.

What about that new campaign? Will it reinforce the company’s identity, strengthen customers’ perception of its capabilities, or even enable it to pursue new opportunities and a new direction?

Identification is who and what a company is and does – branding is the action verb that reinforces, strengthens, changes, or positions the company in its market.

The next time you see, read, or hear an advertisement, ask yourself if it is different, bold, or funny, and ask if it is designed to appeal to a taste for the expensive. Chances are it swerves into three of these.

Jonathan Gehris

 

 

Help is on the Way

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Blog

Help is on the way

Small business generates about 75% of new job growth. What is small business? According to the Federal Government, small business is any business that employs fewer than 200 full-time employees.

The past four years have brought more challenges to small business than at any time in the past sixty years. The old way of doing things still works to a degree, but not consistently as it did before the crash of 2008.

The economic outlook for the next several years is either optimistic or pessimistic, depending on the forecaster. How is this possible? The signs for an eventual full recovery are there, yet each month’s economic data provides mixed signals.

The loss of two million jobs from the economy since 2008 would put the unemployment rate in double digits now if they were counted.  Plus, there are millions of workers who now work multiple part-time jobs or have had their hours cut-back.

U-6 considers workers who recently have stopped looking for work and those who are working part-time but would prefer to work full-time. This measure of unemployment was 14.9% in June of this year. If long-time discouraged workers were included in this measure as was done until 1994, the total percentage would be 22.9!

Is this the ‘new normal’ or a rough patch that will magically morph into a robust turnaround in the not-to-distant future?

Hiring follows demand, not the reverse. Politicians complain because many businesses are holding onto their capital rather then spending it. Most savvy CEO’S will continue to do this until they are convinced the business climate is rife for expansion.

Most small businesses today need more customers and clients, not more employees. Our mission is to help you sell more, keep more, and attain your business and professional goals, period.

We specialize in creating strategies that will help you sell more products and services to existing customers, leverage relationships to reach more new prospects, and attract more new customers.

We employ traditional strategies, but we also utilize the full strength of the Web and the new social media. We believe change brings opportunity, even if it’s not readily apparent. We look for ways to take advantage of the change germane to your business, market, and industry.

We provide a Free consultation to get to know you and your business. This will help us create a snapshot of your business, its challenges and opportunities, your goals, and your plans for the future.

Above all, we specialize in creating solutions to help business owners attain their goals. Our business-building strategies and ongoing support are designed to produce more sales, stronger client loyalty, greater profitability, a larger market share, and more pure enjoyment from running your business. Yes, we do charts and use analytics, too, but that’s not only a small part of our service.

Find out what we can do for your business.

Jonathan Gehris