how many of you guys work on branding your company?

[Mikey P]

If this thread didn't make you want to come hand with the boys at MFE, you're either a kept man or were born on May 5th

 

[Mark Saiger]

I guess you could say I work on "our Brand"...or also could say we work on "our image" around our area(s)

I think Joe Applebee said it best though....

It is about how to brand your image with what will give the best bang for the buck...

But we also have a uniformity in mind when doing what we do...

Is it perfect everytime? Not a chance!

Some things we have tried do not turn out as we hoped or thought, but we have also discovered what our area responds to better at times.

Then what worked great one time, does not work as well another time.

We still keep a uniform look and thought in mind. Also, we try to make everything we do very recognizable and readable....and sometimes we still make mistakes, but I also see professional graphics people make the same mistakes.

I just keep studying so I can let them make a few of the mistakes first

I do intend to touch on this at the MFE in Clearwater Beach....hope we get to finally meet in person Dave!

 

[Willy P]

 

[Steve Toburen]

I feel you should treat your best employees BETTER than your customers.

However you must add the flip side: Your best employees will treat your customers like GOLD.

Yeah, Lee. I tell every SFS class, "If you want your employees to make Cheerleaders out of your customers you must first of all make Cheerleaders out of your employees!"

Steve

PS It sounds like Dave has done a good job of this with his people. (Even though the realist in my also wants to scream out, "No good deed goes unpunished." I hope I am wrong.)

 

[Ron K]

"No good deed goes unpunished."[/I] I hope I am wrong.)

Steve, I never want to meet your "realist" he sounds like a real Ahole!

Dave I agree with you 100%. I once worked for a company that had a profit sharing plan and some guys there had over 250,000 in it. You wouldn't believe it but those people always gave 100%.....I wonder why Steve I wonder why????

 

[Jim Martin]

Put 5k into branding and then put it into marketing. See where you come out ahead.
We're small business, not Starbucks, Apple, Shell...

I put next to nothing in marketing and have always used what I can for branding...

Branding takes way more time then marketing...but for us it was the way to go and it has served us very well...

 

[Joe Appleby]

There is no right or wrong way to do things as long as you're making money.
I just happen to agree with Joe Polish and never thought I'd quote him.


Branding Is Bullshit, by Joe Polish

by: Simon Eder on Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Joe Polish makes some awesome points in this post he placed on facebook and he and Dean Jackson and discusses the point on his latest blog post and podcast on I love marketing.
The main points are:

• -Branding does not put money in the bank
• -You can't bank your logo or tag line
• -Unless you have $millions or decades then forget about branding.
• -Small business need to focus on direct response marketing that leads to a sale (and puts money in the bank in under 90 days, Brendan Burchard mentioned this bit in a previous blog post).
• -Getting Rich is far cheaper than getting Famous
• -It is better you know the name of your next client than they knowing yours.

Here is the link to I love marketing podcast post - http://ilovemarketing.com/episode-101the-one-about-branding/
Here is Joe's post
Let me know what you think of my article called:

BRANDING = BULLSHIT?

The title of this article is sure to 'rustle some jimmies'. Well, truth often rustles jimmies.I recently got an e-mail from an individual asking me the following:"Joe, who do you recommend I speak to that is good at Branding?"
I wanted to make sure to give this individual an answer that wasn't sugarcoated.The reality is, I could have answered his e-mail with 2 words."No one."
Let me explain: The pursuit of building a brand versus making a sale with proper positioning has caused more companies to go bankrupt then I could ever imagine.Look, I'm a Direct Response Guy, not a Brand Guy. You can't deposit "name recognition in the bank"...you can only deposit money.

The reality is I don't know of anyone who is good at branding (without other elements in place) and I think Brand Building done "right" (i.e. Profitably) is a function of Direct Response. Branding as a primary goal is a total waste of time and will throw a lot of money down the drain. It will cause someone to take actions that won't result in smart strategic marketing and sales. Branding is simply the worst way to fish if the goal of fishing is to catch fish.

I once heard David Ogilvy on an audio say that a Brand is "The personality of your product or service".

You can't just give someone a personality, they have to pay for it or develop it. I'd rather just give people best practices, techniques and strategies that help them sell stuff.

One of the main reasons that 25K (www.25KGroup.com) and I Love Marketing (www.ILoveMarketing.com) will help you, or anyone else for that matter, is that it will help you realize what paths to go down and what paths not to.

Why does someone want to "brand" something or build a brand anyway?

People need to focus more on the substance of what they sell and less on the "image".

YOU need to focus more on the substance of what YOU sell and less on the "image".

Forget about "brand building".

Get a direct response.

JOE POLISH

 

[Lee Stockwell]

There was more good advice in that post than in the $900. gobbledygook mishmash of typographical nightmares we bought from JP in 1997.

 

[Jim Martin]

I disagree...not only is he wrong but I am living prof that he is wrong...

branding is the only thing that I have done...

so it has put money in the bank...carried my entire company...put a roof over my head...food on the table just like it should...

the only thing branding did not put money in was in his pocket...

 

[Willy P]

 

[davegillfishing]

yea he is dead wrong..branding is what keeps us slammed with 0 advertising money spent..it will not put money in the pocket today but if the game plan is consistent and stuck with through
thick and thin in 5 years the branding will pay off as the phone rings and your customers tell you they heard about your reputation and see you everywhere (people think we have 10 trucks on the road lol)

 

[Shane Deubell]

You guys are talking about two different subjects.
Both are right...

 

[Joe Appleby]

There is no right or wrong way to do things as long as you're making money.

He played pro baseball and basketball. I liked his later work as The Rifleman, but yes, he was "Branded" and made lots of money.

 

[Lee Stockwell]

Branding is "burned in", not "stuck on".

 

[Lee Stockwell]

We are talking about different parts of the elephant.

 

[Joe Appleby]

Agreed Shane. I do think we have a semantics issue. I am speaking of "Branding" as the thread first started. My interpretation of what Dave and Jim
are speaking of is reputation. Branding refers to slogans, logos, company colors, etc...

 

[davegillfishing]

branding is what your company is known for..branded with excellence and a great great reputation..not just visual but reputation is a brand..

mercedes is branded with quality and high value at the mention of their name

yugo is branded as economy and lower quality at the mention of their name

its way more than a logo and some business cards..its whats behind the logo and business card..its what people think of your company
as soon as they hear its name

 

[jcooper]

its way more than a logo and some business cards..its whats behind the logo and business card..its what people think of your company
as soon as they hear its name

That's practically the definition of reputation.
Reputation - the beliefs or opinions that are generally held about someone or something.



Just screwing w/ya, Dave!

 

[davegillfishing]

Yea yea

 

[Jim Martin]

Agreed Shane. I do think we have a semantics issue. I am speaking of "Branding" as the thread first started. My interpretation of what Dave and Jim
are speaking of is reputation. Branding refers to slogans, logos, company colors, etc...

I am referring to.......slogans, logos, company colors, etc...this is how I brand my company..........

 

[steve_64]

Branding is simply the worst way to fish if the goal of fishing is to catch fish.

not if you are fishing for a particular species.
you dont fish for salmon with worms. but worms will catch "more" fish.

to me branding would be like a fisherman who specializes in a particular catch. he doesnt want to catch all the fish, just the big ones.
you brand to specialize in a particular customer base.

your reputation is that you do quality work. but apartments wont call you and waste your time if you have branded yourself as a high end residential business.JMO

 

[Shane Deubell]

Yes ^^^^ you guys are right.

But i think joe is talking about spending advertising dollars every month solely on branding.
Sooo, like running a direct mail, billboard, radio commercial just letting people know you exist.

With no direct response mechanism.

You guys are not spending money on advertising but relying on repeat/referral.
Which is fine but he is talking about running ad campaigns.

How I see it anyhow...

 

[steve_64]

With no direct response mechanism.

i think this is the key.
you can "advertise" to get the phone ringing now, or "market" yourself for the future.

 

[Shane Deubell]

or both ....

 

[Desk Jockey]

We do both.

Direct response becomes difficult when you're talking about restoration work.

 

[WillS]

Branding = Strategic

Marketing = Tactical

Your "brand" better be bigger than any sort of marketing effort. The branding of your company is what remains after the marketing part has been swept through the room.

Brand determines if someone will become and stay a loyal customer.

I believe branding has many parts to it.. a couple of those being..

- Reliability
- Upholding Standards
- Quality (obviously)
- Knowledge of what you are selling

If you own your own business, you better be working on all of the above. Otherwise, you'd probably be working for a cleaning company, not owning one.

 

[Joe Appleby]

Brand and Branding
"A brand is a customer experience represented by a collection of images and ideas; often, it refers to a symbol such as a name, logo, slogan, and design scheme. Brand recognition and other reactions are created by the accumulation of experiences with the specific product or service, both directly relating to its use, and through the influence of advertising, design, and media commentary." (Added definition) "A brand often includes an explicit logo, fonts, color schemes, symbols, sound which may be developed to represent implicit values, ideas, and even personality." Source: SEMPO and Wikipedia

 

[Steve Toburen]

We do both.

Wow. I just read the entire thread with my 5:00 AM coffee. (Weird now that I haven't punched a clock for many years I wake up earlier than ever even when I want to sleep in!)

Any way, pretty profound stuff. And once again I agree with "The Oracle From Topeka". It doesn't have to be "either/or". Both branding and marketing can and should work hand-in-hand with each supporting the other.

One point that may have been overlooked is the very low "pro-rated" cost per day of branding. For example, if I letter a truck that "branding investment" may be seen by thousands over the next five years. So divide that investment in signage by 1,825 days. Pretty low, huh?

Another benefit from branding (assuming it has a good ROI) is it is fixed and long term. We tend to flit from one marketing scheme to the next. But that truck signage or whatever is a one time decision and then it stays with you. (Or you are "stuck with it" if you made a bad decision.)

The takeaway? Wise, long term branding investments will support your ongoing marketing. So why choose (or bicker over) only one?

Humbly submitted,
Steve

PS Don't forget the venerable "TOMA". (Top Of Mind Marketing) Fir example...

My guess is due to their long term branding over the years "Chavez Restoration" just naturally "pops into the consciousness" of the majority of Topkeans (is that how you say it?) when they walk into their bathroom and say "Oh, crap" when they find poop blown seven feet high on their walls. Why? TOMA! Mmmm... off for my second cup of coffee.

NOTE to Richard: Should you make "Oh, crap!" part of your branding? Or at least a marketing campaign? (No charge for the idea.) See how "marketing" and "branding" are intertwined?

 

[Desk Jockey]

Actually I've been thinking of using "When you think of sh*t think of us" but I'm not sure if it has that zing to it?

 

[Steve Toburen]

I think 90% of your market base already think of you folks that way, Richard.

Steve

PS Maybe a simple way to classify the two words is "Branding" is long term and "Marketing" is more short term. Not too deep but I'm still reflecting on the "depth" found in some of Richard's bathroom photos over the years.