How do you feel when you see the name McDonald’s?
In my mind, I see the Golden Arches. And I think “cheap, fattening food I can’t stomach.” Others love Mickey D’s because they know the Big Mac tastes the same, whether they’re eating it in Peoria or Paris. And that’s reassuring.
How about this one? Gillette.
I think “safe” and envision multiple layers of razor blades whizzing over whiskers.
And how about this one? Google.
I feel reverence, respect and ALWAYS a twinge of fear that’s directly related to how many orders I’ve gotten that day.
Branding isn’t just a snazzy logo, a clever tagline, attractive colors, a catchy jingle, or a compelling home page. It’s what you feel in your gut when you think about a company. Build a strong brand, and you’ll never let your competitors define you.
3 Elements of a Great Brand
Start with a distinctive name, visual identity and, most importantly, a solid reputation. Don’t like your name? You can change it within a few seconds.
Hate your logo? Find a good designer on Elance.com. My logo evolved with help from a graphic designer and clip art.But you can’t buy reputation. You must earn it, and that takes time.
My company, The Publicity Hound, sells content-rich special reports, CDs and transcripts, ebooks, and services that show people how to use traditional and social media to promote a product, service, cause or issue. The brand includes non-traditional elements you might not consider with branding, like an easy-to-find telephone number on every page of my website and a human being (me) who answers the phone.
A friend told me she heard at a conference that people who do business online should make it difficult for their customers to have access to them “because it makes people respect you more.” If that works for you, who am I to argue?
But when I talk to a stranger who calls me with a question, I can often close a sale. And I won’t hesitate to ask, “Do you want fries with that?” I’ve talked many callers into staying on the phone and buying an hour of consulting so I can REALLY help them.
Sometimes I can upsell them to The Publicity Hound Mentor Program. Even if I sell nothing, I can start a relationship with them which is far more valuable than a string of retweets. (Why do so many people, by the way, not answer their phones but think nothing of spending two hours a day on Twitter “building relationships”?)
Other elements of my brand include:
- My customer service manager’s name and telephone number everywhere. “If you need help, call Christine Buffaloe at 619-955-5772. Or me at 262-284-7451.”
- My personal replies to emails, even if people need help and I don’t know them. (They get a free tip, and often a link to a product I sell where they can find more.)
- Little surprises sometimes tucked inside product packages, from gourmet dog treats to Publicity Hound notepads.
- Humorous dog videos, jokes and quotes I share in my ezine and on the social media sites, just to keep things fun.
- A free special report or CD of the customer’s choosing when we screw up and ship the wrong order.
- My own vocabulary tied to The Publicity Hound theme. I call my followers my “Hounds” with a capital H. People who don’t know the correct publicity techniques are “media mutts.” And when I do something dumb, I’m “sent to the dog house without my dinner.” That’s called sub-branding, and I learned it from marketing strategist Tom Winninger. How do you know when it’s working? When your customers start using the same words and phrases, and suggest others.
Thing to Consider When Building Your Brand
Elements of your own brand might be very different from mine, depending on what you sell. Some things to consider:
How quickly do you respond when a customer complains?
How do you behave in public and online? Do you use four-letter words on the social media sites that you’d never use when meeting with consulting clients? Guest blogger Phyllis Zimbler Miller wrote about how everything you do online is part of your publicity
Can you add a prop to your official business photo—something that ties into your brand?
How often do you ask your customers what they think about your products and services?
What percentage of your social media tasks are spent sharing free tips vs. pushing free commercials?
How do you differentiate yourself from your competitors? What’s the one thing that’s uniquely you?
Can you use mobile marketing to strengthen your brand?
Can a customer who arrives at your website or a social media profile understand, within 10 seconds, exactly how you can help them?
Are you the first in your niche to show people new and innovative ways to solve their problems? Or are you a Johnny-come-lately?
Do you promote your expertise in everything you do?
Do you understand how people feel when they see colors like bright red, sky blue or forest green? Are the colors at your website evoking the types of feelings you want your audience to experience when they arrive?
If you sell high-priced products and services, does your website convey the look and feel of elegance and quality? Do you charm your customers with five-star service?
Do you give your support staff the freedom to wow customers at every turn, even if it costs you a few bucks more?
What do you do when a customer complains about crappy service they received from a company whose products you promote as an affiliate? Are you as concerned as you’d be if the products were yours?
If you showed the name of your company to 10 strangers, how many of them would know immediately what you do?
Listen to Your Customers!
If you’re having trouble creating your brand, let your customers help.
I wish I could take credit for creating The Publicity Hound brand all by myself. But I can’t. My customers pushed me into it.
When I started my business 14 years ago, it was Media Relations Consulting, Inc.—a name dull enough to make your eyes glaze over. My eight-page print newsletter followed a year later and it needed a name. I worked for 22 years in the newspaper business, so “The Publicity Hound” seemed perfect.
The bi-monthly newsletter turned out to be the worst product I ever created because it never gained traction. It bled red ink and consumed my schedule. I kept it on life support far longer than I should have. But the good news is that people who saw the name loved it.“The Publicity Hound—how clever!”
“What a great name!”
“When I couldn’t remember your name, I could always remember The Publicity Hound.”
I eventually killed off the print newsletter, and turned it into an ezine, “The Publicity Hound’s Tips of the Week,” which quickly amassed 40,000 subscribers. It became the main marketing tool to sell my more than 100 info products. I added a Hound Joke of the Week, which has been expanded to include dog quotes and videos. Readers send me my best material, and I thank them publicly in each issue.
Finally, the light bulb went on.
Media Relations Consulting, Inc. became Media Relations Consulting, Inc. dba The Publicity Hound. If you’re a corporation, “dba” is a convenient way to turn a boring name into an easy-to-remember brand.
I started adding “The Publicity Hound” to my name on bylined articles. When I comment at blogs, it’s always as “Joan Stewart, The Publicity Hound” or just “The Publicity Hound.”
Today, I’ve dropped the stodgy company name from just about everything except my tax return and bank statement.
Let a Survey Help You
Early last year, I registered for a Stompernet teleseminar hosted by faculty member Don Crowther. His guest was survey expert Jeanne Hurlbert, PhD, who discussed the value of customer profile surveys and how you can use them to create a roadmap for your business.
Let a Survey Help You
Early last year, I registered for a Stompernet teleseminar hosted by faculty member Don Crowther. His guest was survey expert Jeanne Hurlbert, PhD, who discussed the value of customer profile surveys and how you can use them to create a roadmap for your business.
I was so impressed that I hired her to create my own survey. Jeanne helped me pinpoint exactly what I wanted to learn and then created the questions.
The survey results showed more than a 90 percent customer satisfaction rate (all those phone calls paid off!).
But more importantly, it gave me 60 testimonials I could use at my website. It laid out in amazing detail exactly what kinds of products and services my customers wanted, and how much they’d be willing to pay for them.
Surveys, done correctly, can help you develop your brand because you don’t have to guess about what people think of you.
Jeanne, by the way, is my new business partner. My survey showed, among other things, that my customers were hungry for information on how to use social media to promote. And Jeanne has been studying social networks since before Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg was born.
Our company, My Social Media Solution, LLC, dovetails perfectly with The Publicity Hound business.
Tips for Branding Your Business
- Choose a theme, something obvious that can be associated with your signature product or business. If your theme plays off the name of your cat, and your business has nothing to do with cats, go back and start over.
- If you’re having a difficult time thinking of a creative name for your business, don’t force it. Instead, go for a walk, or take a swim or shower. Water and exercise invite creative ideas. “The Publicity Hound” came to me during a six-mile walk.
- When you hit on a successful brand and get great feedback from your market, spend the money to trademark your company name and logo.
- Be consistent. Use the same photo, tagline, logo, colors, style and design in everything you do, from your website to printed materials.
- If you’re not sure what your customers think of your brand, ask. Consider a customer profile survey.
- Listen to what your customers say about your brand. If they aren’t saying anything, it’s probably not a brand.
- Remember that reputation absolutely supersedes everything.
And Bogie Makes Two
In keeping with the dog theme, my German Short-Haired Pointer, Bogie, is joining me in my new business profile photo which will appear at my website. But I’m not sure which of two photos I should choose for the homepage.
In keeping with the dog theme, my German Short-Haired Pointer, Bogie, is joining me in my new business profile photo which will appear at my website. But I’m not sure which of two photos I should choose for the homepage.
Through my brand, I’ve build a strong community of other Publicity Hounds who love being a part of my business. So I’ll ask them.
And you, too. Which of the two photos do you like? Bogie on my lap, or nose to wet nose? Let me know by stating your preference on this one-question survey. Thanks for helping me continue to build my brand. Now, go build yours.
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Dog-gone good tips — particularly “Why do so many people, by the way, not answer their phones but think nothing of spending two hours a day on Twitter “building relationships”?” I understand how social media equates to publicity, but “relationships”? — Real relationships happen in more than 140 characters and usually in person. (Although I completely understand the power of the Letter — I know of a couple who “dated” for 4 years via letters between the US and England. They’ve been married for more than 40 years!)
Hello:
Bogie on your lap, although the other pic is adorable too.
Regards,
Jeanessa
Puerto Rico
Hi Joan! I like the face-forward one for your main picture; the nose-to-nose one is cuter, but would be more appropriate for a dog groomer/trainer/communicator. 🙂
I mainly wanted to say that while your article is packed full of great advice, there is one thing I’d like to correct. You mentioned your logo was put together with the help of a graphic designer and clip art. I’m not a lawyer, but after doing quite a bit of research on clip art copyright and usage issues for my workplace, I found that clip art is almost exclusively forbidden for use in logos in nearly any terms of usage. Microsoft, for instance, expressly prohibits use of their Office clip art in logos.
It’s because a logo represents a business, and therefore becomes the intellectual property and symbol of that business. But clip art can’t be “taken” for use by a business, it’s only licensed for use (e.g., borrowed), so using it as part of a logo violates its terms of usage.
Of course, if the clip art has been used only as inspiration, and significantly modified from the original by a graphic designer (enough that it now qualifies as an original piece of art), then it’s able to be used in a logo.
Just a friendly heads-up for you and your readers. 🙂
Thanks,
Jennifer Nagel
Dandelion Video Production and Marketing
http://www.dandelionvideo.com
Thanks for your comments, Jennifer. I consulted with an attorney first to make sure I was on solid legal grounds. I then had his wife, a graphic artist, make significant changes to the clip art so I could then use it for my logo.
Good reminder for others who are considering using clop art for their logos.
Thank you very much for those links – solid gold nuggets, there!
Half-way through reading the branding article a tag-line for my forthcoming website hit me squarely between the eyes! I’m off to check to see if anyone else has thought of it. . . !
You really do deserve the number one spot in the publicity world!
Glad I could help, Les. Can’t wait to see the tagline.
Joan, I appreciate your explanation of branding demonstrated with your own example. It’s such a comprehensive look at ALL the many things that make up brand, not just your adorable logo. As a dog person your brand stood out to me when I first found you ages ago, but it was the depth of expertise in PR that kept me engaged in your work.
Surveys (or simply asking your clients) are such a good way to get a feel for what’s coming across in your brand. In one I did last year, some smart-aleck wrote, “You want ME to tell you what YOUR brand is?” I thought, “Of course, I do, dopey!” No amount of Expert in my job description makes me enough of a mind reader to know what my clients perceive.
FWIW I love that gravatar with your big smile, and I’d recommend the very polished Joan-with-Bogie pic for your main headshot with the fun kissing one as an alternate (great to break things up – maybe on the About page).
Of course as a dog person I like the kissy face pic, but
not every one is a dog person; that might be a turn off to some, so I am voting with the others: lap picture as primary and kissy face as a secondary.
Great article!