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Cook up Success for Your Brand

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How is your business doing these days when it comes to making revenue?

While all business owners would love to say their companies are running well that is not the case.

With that in mind, you want to do all you can to increase the odds of having a lot of money coming in and growth potential.

So, are you cooking up success for your brand?

Know How to Bring in More Business

In your quest to bring in as much business as possible, remember the following keys:

  1. It all starts with mission plan – Knowing why you went into business and having a mission plan are crucial. Running a business without a purpose can doom you sooner than later. As an example, if you opened up a burger business, did you do ample research on other such eateries around town? If not, you may soon discover that the area is overrun with burger businesses. While everyone should have a piece of the pie, the reality is most consumers will have favorites. Over time, you could find your brand being outdone for a variety of reasons. Know your mission from day one and do your best to stick to it.
  2. Hire the best – Unless you run a one-person show, you’re going to need to hire good help. With that in mind, be sure to investigate each individual you consider bringing on. Even if their role with the company will be minimal at best, you want the brightest talent out there. As important as their skills will be, make sure you hire people who want to work for you. Some individuals are looking for a paycheck and do not care about how much time and effort they put into a job. When you interview someone for a position with your business, get a feel for if they in fact want to be there or not.
  3. Is it time to grow? – If the business is doing well and growing now, when is the right time to expand? Know if another burger franchise for sale is in your best interests. Should you decide to grow, you want to make sure you find the perfect fit for such expansion. This includes the right part of town, the best property, and of course an audience of consumers to sell to.
  4. Give your brand plenty of promotion – Last; be sure to promote your brand as much as possible. This means not only via social media, but having a viable website too. Review your site on a regular basis to make sure it is chock-full of valuable info for consumers. You also want to be sure it loads fast. Many consumers will go elsewhere if they come to websites that are slow and tricky to navigate. Also have contact information easy for consumers to find when perusing your site.

From burger franchises to many other models you can come up with, being a business owner can be rewarding.

That said you need to do everything possible to make it work each day.

So, are you ready to get cooking on your business venture?

Photo credit: Pixibay

About the Author: Dave Thomas covers business topics on the web.

 

 

 

 

3 Keys to Marketing Your Brand Without Mistakes

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No matter what your brand may be, it is crucial that you do your best in marketing it to the public.

It is important to remember that your competition is more than likely doing all it can to get the upper leg on you. As a result, you may very well have to pull out all the stops to get ahead and ultimately stay in top.

That said are you driving ahead with all the right keys in making sure your marketing game is second-to-none?

Be Driven to Promote Your Products

In doing your best to promote your products, what marketing methods are you using? More importantly, are you using any and all of them without major mistakes in the process?

Among the keys to marketing your brand without mistakes:

  1. Staying on message – To start, what message do you want to get across to consumers? As an example, if you are a vehicle manufacturer or you sell cars and trucks, how much of an emphasis do you place on vehicle safety? Without safe vehicles to fill the roads, most consumers would have to rely on public transportation and other means to get around in their daily lives. Your message to consumers in marketing your vehicles should be that safety never takes a back seat. If promoting backup camera systems in the vehicles you make or sell, show consumers how this technology can lessen the chances for accidents and even save lives. The backup camera will alert drivers when someone or something is moving behind their vehicle as they get set to go in reverse. With the message of safety in your marketing, you will get the attention of countless consumers.
  2. Listening to consumers – One of the biggest marketing mistakes a company can make is not hearing what consumers are saying. Whether it is a current or potential customer, keep your ears open. Many consumers get frustrated with companies when it comes to customer service. If the former feel as if the latter is not properly listening, there’s a good chance they will go elsewhere. That means spending their dollars with someone else. So that you lessen the odds of losing potential business, be a good listener. Whether it is a problem with a product or a consumer is not pleased with the service you provided them, be attentive.
  3. Socializing the experience – Last but not least, it is imperative that you have your eyes and ears tuned in with social media. Given there are millions of consumers on social networking sites at any given time, you certainly do not want to miss out on the possibilities of connecting with them. This means you need to have active participation on venues like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and more. Along with promoting your products and services on these sites, run links to relevant information about your industry. The more informative you are to the public, the better the odds more consumers will come your way. Also, be sure to interact when needed with consumers. One of the great things with social media is that you and your team can talk to consumers 24/7/365.

In doing your best to steer clear of marketing mistakes, make sure you are driven to connect with consumers on a regular basis.

Photo credit: Pixabay

About the Author: Dave Thomas covers business and marketing topics on the web.

 

 

4 Tips for Better Brand Marketing

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google-76517_640Are you more than a tad concerned about where your brand marketing efforts are headed (or not headed for that matter)?

In the event the answer is yes, what do you plan on doing?

For many business owners, it isn’t necessarily an issue of not attempting the right brand marketing initiatives, but more of a matter of being reluctant to do them in the first place.

That being the case, step back for a few minutes and look at how you’ve approached brand marketing up to this point. Are you simply not connecting with your target market, a market that undoubtedly is your key to making more revenue?

If you’ve been reluctant to move full-steam ahead, is that because of a lack of money, thinking that possibly brand marketing isn’t your strongest forte, or maybe even just not finding the right people to do the job?

It All Begins with SEO Plan

Before you can even begin to mount numerous effective brand marketing initiatives, you must make sure you have the right people in place to launch them.

With that being said, stop and look to see if the time has indeed come to reach out for assistance.

If so, that assistance might very well start and end by working with a San Diego SEO agency or one closer to home.

Keep in mind that search engine optimization (SEO) can do so many positive things for your business, things that you likely have been missing out on up to this point. In the event you do reach out to an SEO agency for help, how do you know which one is best suited to your needs?

Before just working with anyone, be sure you look for these qualities in an SEO partner:

  • Years of experience
  • Proven record of results
  • Open lines of communication
  • Pricing that is fair for the work in return
  • Honesty about how SEO really works

Once you’ve decided on an SEO partner, the next step is of course to improve your brand marketing initiatives.

Content is a Great Starting Point

So that your business can nail a number of key areas in the SEO brand marketing process, focus on these four for starters:

  1. Blog content

When was the last time you assessed your website’s blog? If it was recently, were you happy with what you came across?

For many business owners, their blogs unfortunately rank at or near the bottom of importance on their list of things to do. As a result, they miss out on a number of opportunities to connect with consumers.

In working on your blog, not only write content that is authoritative and informative, but that also connects with consumers. By doing so, the doors to increased revenue opportunities are certainly opened up.

  1. Drive off with better keywords

As part of that winning blog content strategy, it is imperative that you select winning keywords for your blogging content efforts.

One example would be for those in the auto selling business, specifically offering used cars for sale.

Sure, many used car dealers rely on TV commercials, newspaper ads; even word-of-mouth etc. in order to bring in business, but their websites shouldn’t be taken for granted.

With that in mind, your focus when writing content for this industry should include long-tail keywords, keywords that emphasize the auto industry and selling used vehicles.

Lastly, make sure you avoid any keyword stuffing, something that can send your Google search engine rankings into reverse sooner rather than later.

  1. Social media outreach

Just as lackluster efforts towards blog content can hurt your brand, the same holds true with mediocre social media outreach.

Given the fact millions of consumers are on various social networking sites at any point and time of the day, shouldn’t your brand be there too?

With the answer being of course so, make sure you are active on a number of social media sites, but with that activity, also be sure to make your time there count.

Along with posting links to your blog content and other relevant industry content (whatever line of business you are in), also take the time to engage consumers. Remember, the more engagement possible the better.

  1. Review your website regularly

Finally, do you take the time on a regular basis to review your website? If not, you could be hurting your brand more than you’ll ever know.

In reviewing your website; look for any and all glitches that could be hampering your efforts to make better inroads with consumers.

Such glitches can include:

  • Long downloading times
  • Pages that are broken
  • Hard to locate contact information
  • If you have an online store, difficulty for consumers in completing sales

Those are but some of the SEO website issues that could easily be curtailing you from better brand marketing, not to mention making more sales.

When it comes to better brand marketing, has the time come for you to invest some more time and energy in what you do?

Photo credit: Pixabay

About the Author: Dave Thomas writes for Organic Media Group on SEO and marketing topics.

4 Tips for Better Marketing Results

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microphone-639192_640As a business owner and/or marketer, how would you rate your marketing game?

If it is coming up short of the desired results, do you have a plan in place to change the direction it is headed? In the event you do not, will you sit idly by and watch competitors reap the rewards of your inept marketing abilities?

Unfortunately, some businesses do just that.

They try to market their products and/or services, but ultimately come to the conclusion that they can’t for this or that reason. As a result, the competition gets rich off of them.

So that you do not end up kicking yourself for what effectively are bad marketing practices, stop and listen for a moment.

You can in fact turn things around if you’re so determined.

Don’t Settle for Second-Rate Marketing Initiatives

If the time has come to turn your marketing initiatives around so you can win a little bit more, remember the following four tips:

  1. Goals – First and foremost, what are your goals with your marketing program? Having clearly defined goals is crucial in order for you to succeed. If you’re a small business, you probably have some roadblocks in your way at times, notably your marketing budget. That said it does not mean you can’t accomplish satisfactory results. With this year almost in the books, now would be a good time to review what you set forth as far as marketing goals for 2017;
  2. Listening – You may think you are a marketing whiz (perhaps you are to one degree or another), but it never hurts to listen to others in the profession. If you have a marketing team in your office, have regular meetings to iron out where the marketing initiatives are headed. You might also find this great marketing podcast of great benefit to your endeavors. Such podcasts can provide a plethora of good marketing information like trends in the industry, where consumers have their heads at these days, why social media can never be taken for granted etc. There are more and more marketing podcasts, videos etc. on the market today than ever before. As such, you can learn lots of good information, information that you can then take and apply to your marketing strategies. While it is perfectly fine to think you know just about all there is to know regarding marketing, keeping your ears and eyes open never hurts.

Networking with Other Marketing Pros

  1. Networking – It is one of the proven ways of getting new business leads, yet so many businesses (and marketers for that matter) drop the ball all too often when it comes to networking. As a result, they miss out on some golden opportunities to secure new business. While your marketing budget may be tight, you should do all you can to attend valuable marketing conferences etc. Even if you have to meticulously pick and choose which ones to attend, do it. The door is open to potential new business at each and every conference, trade show, chamber of commerce event etc. Make those doors open even wider by attending and solidifying new business leads;
  2. Hiring – Last but certainly not least, are you hiring the right marketing talent at your business? In some cases, the answer to that question may be no. If you are not, that needs to change sooner rather than later. Take a look at what some of your competitors are doing when it comes to those they hire. Where are they getting these hires from? What kind of opportunities are they giving them to succeed in their careers? Knowing what winning marketing pros want from a business etc. is something you can never take for granted.

With 2017 just around the bend, take the time now to make sure your marketing goals for next year are ready to rock.

If they’re not, you could find yourself on the outside looking in when it comes to adding more business.

Photo credit: Pixabay

About the Author: Dave Thomas covers business and marketing topics on the web.

Marketing Products and Services That Involve Extra Effort

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Think Analyze Evaluate Assess 3d Words beside a thinking personWhether you simply market the product or service and/or you are the owner, it is important that you understand your marketing audience. One of the most critical reasons for this is due to some products or services getting a little more scrutiny at times than others.

If you find yourself having to market products or services that garner a little additional attention than most others, what is your strategy? Do you even have a strategy in place? If not, it would behoove you to take the added time needed to craft a sound strategy. Doing so will make it easier to get your product or service to market. As a result, you will see your revenue stream (or the stream of those you represent) improve too.

That said what extra efforts are you putting into marketing certain products and services to get them sold?

Use Myriad of Marketing Maneuvers

So that you can be a winner with any and all marketing products and services you put out there, the key is leaving no stone unturned.

For instance, are you marketing medical marijuana to the masses? While medical marijuana has gotten notable approval in many corners of the country, some feel it is a prelude to abusing marijuana and potentially other drugs. As a marketer for any companies backing medical marijuana, how do you put your message out there in a positive manner?

For starters, if you are touting the positive results of one getting a marijuana card online, use examples of individuals battling health problems to have benefitted from getting the drug.

Such examples can be shown in your blog posts or even videos on your website.

As an example, some testimonial videos from men and women having used medical marijuana to their benefit in fighting cancer or other diseases can do wonders. It not only sends a message of success with the product, but it gives others in that position hope.

With your blog posts, talk about not only some individual examples of medical marijuana success, but also trends in the overall marijuana industry.

Get Credible People Backing Your Marketing

One of the best groups to have backing your marketing initiative would be those in the medical community, notably doctors.

Countless doctors have seen first-hand how medical marijuana can give hope to those battling illnesses, diseases, pain and more. As a result, it is not uncommon these days to hear more and more physicians backing medical marijuana.

As part of your marketing initiatives, using some information from said doctors would help back your cause. In many cases, people are more apt to get behind something when credible individuals say they support it.

Gambling with Marketing Initiatives

Another example would be gambling.

For decades, there have been supporters and non-supporters behind the idea of not only casino gambling, but also online gambling. As a result, millions and millions of dollars’ worth of marketing (for and against) have been spent on gambling ads and more.

If you back gambling, your marketing initiatives would want to show how the proceeds from gambling go to help residents of the respective states (senior citizens, children when it comes to schooling, public transportation etc.). If you are against gambling, your marketing efforts are typically directed at showing how some people can lose everything. While there are many responsible gamblers out there, some do not know when to call it quits. As a result, they can end up losing pretty much everything when all is said and done.

As you can see, marketing some products and services can at times prove challenging, but that is why having a sound strategy is so important.

In being a marketer, how do you go about marketing certain products and/or services that some individuals and/or groups may be against?

With marketing being such an important cog in the business machine, taking that extra time and effort in some cases can make all the difference.

Photo by BigStockPhoto.com

About the Author: Dave Thomas covers business and marketing topics on the web.

Market a Brand Consumers Will Come Home to

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work smarter advice - words in vintage letterpress wood type bloIn today’s world of B2C marketing, it is imperative that businesses do their utmost to get their brands properly marketed.

That said some companies are literally dropping the ball when it comes to telling consumers why the brands they have offer the public are light years better than the competition.

So, what are you doing to go out of your way to market your brand properly?

Whether it is more along the lines of traditional marketing methods, perhaps leaning more for mobile and social media marketing, there are myriad of ways to get your brand heard and recognized.

At the end of the day, the goal should always be to market a brand consumers will come home to.

Get Your Message Out There

In order to have your brand stand out from the competition, make sure you are doing the following:

  1. Properly planning – Your first and foremost objective is to make sure you are properly planning any and all marketing initiatives. For example, if your company’s main offerings are home renovations and other home improvements, be sure your marketing efforts are geared towards the right demographics. While some senior citizens later in years do in fact make notable renovations and/or additions to their homes, many of them are content with what they have at home or are renting properties (senior center apartments or condos etc.). As a result, they’re not going to be your primary source of business. On the flip side, people who are either moving into an older home that needs work or consumers looking to upgrade the homes they have had for a number of years now, these would be some of the individuals/couples you want to target. Having done your research will help you in more effectively targeting the right audience;
  2. Imagery is key – Even though information etc. is certainly important in the area of home renovations and additions, the impact quality imagery has can’t be overlooked. Whether you are Utah web developers or another such brand, showing consumers images that can’t be beat will help you in landing more business. This is where both your website and a quality social media presence are so important. Be sure your website is chock-full of imagery, imagery that shows how quickly a residence can go from looking rather ordinary to looking quite extra-ordinary. That imagery should also be shared on social media sites, especially ones like Instagram and Facebook, both of which are great for telling a story through pictures;
  3. Providing unparalleled customer service – Where are you when it comes to providing customer service? This is one of the critical elements of being a successful brand, so don’t take it lightly. For example, consumers may come to you in-person or via the web to ask questions about home improvements. Don’t use the opportunity to try and push a sale down their throats, but instead use it to not only educate them on the best ways to go about home improvements/renovations/additions etc. but also to show that their interests are your interests too. By being there to answer their questions and give them the information they were hopefully looking for, you potentially gain their trust. Once that is gained, the door can quickly swing open to be a potential business-customer relationship for many years to come.

While sound marketing is not rocket science, it does take some effort and ingenuity, both of which should always be two staples of your business approach.

In the event your brand marketing techniques have been coming up a little short as of late, there is still plenty of time to change course, giving you the opportunity to make headway with consumers.

Some brands naturally sell themselves; others need a little extra push.

If your brand is one of those that needs a little extra kick in the pants to secure more business, don’t be afraid to step outside the box with your marketing initiatives.

Whatever you can do to secure more business, make sure you are doing it.

When consumers know your brand is the one that offers them the most, they are certainly more apt to come home to you.

Photo credit: BigStockPhoto.com

About the Author: Dave Thomas covers business topics on the web.