small business branding

Small Business Branding: Strategies to Build a Powerful Brand That Connects with Your Ideal Customers

“Companies with consistent branding are 3.5 times more likely to enjoy strong brand visibility,” according to Demand Metric. Branding is more than just a logo or color scheme—it’s how your audience perceives your business. Creating an impactful brand can be challenging for many small businesses, especially if they’re not attracting customers despite having a quality product or service. The issue might not be what you’re offering but rather how you’re presenting it. Strong small business branding requires a focused strategy that connects with your audience on a deeper level. Business owners often confuse a lack of customer engagement with a …

virtual marketing workshop

Boost Your Small Business Success: How a Virtual Marketing Workshop Can Align Your Strategy

“A goal without a plan is just a wish.” – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. This quote rings especially true for small business owners trying to navigate today’s complex marketing landscape. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, around 20% of new businesses close within their first two years, 45% within five years, and 65% by the ten-year mark. Shockingly, only 25% manage to survive beyond 15 years. But what causes this high failure rate? Because many dive into marketing without a solid strategy in place. For small businesses and startups, understanding how to reach your audience and communicate your value can …

how do Google adwords work

2022 Marketing Trends: Top 10 Eye Openers

Curious about which 2022 marketing trends will win the day?  Read on! We’ll cover: The rise of smart devices Visual search The Great Resignation Online competition The Creator Economy Privacy concerns Video trends Social media community AI and text-to-speech The founder for lead generation We all knew COVID would have a lasting impact on digital marketing, but over the past year, we have begun to realize its significance.  The pandemic accelerated the move to digital for not only searching and transacting but for learning, entertainment, and socializing.  Consumers looked for more things they could DIY, including products and services they …

Entrepreneurial Success Advice from the CEO: Dr. Ivan Misner, BNI Founder

Today I had the opportunity to be part of an intimate “ask the founder” question and answer session with BNI founder and the father of networking, Dr. Ivan Misner about his recommendations for entrepreneurial success.  Founded in 1985, BNI (Business Networking International) is the largest business networking organization of its kind, with over 200,000 members worldwide and generating over $11 billion in passed business by its members.  That’s equivalent to the GDP of a small country! I always enjoy meeting CEOs of large companies to ask about their lessons learned, observe their particular CEO persona, and hear first hand the …

Recipe For “Brand Chocolate”: How To Be Irresistible

How do some brands seem to have that irresistible quality that creates a loyal following of happy clients who talk about them and refer others?  How do some brands seem to be found while others disappear? To explain, I like to use the analogy of a chocolate shop.  The chocolatier’s dilemma is that she has this amazing ingredient to work with that so many people will enjoy once they experience it but there are other chocolate shops on her block, so many ways she could prepare her chocolate, and so many different customers she could serve.  So how does she …

Does Your Service Live Up To Your Tag Line?

A month ago my business networking group decided that we should all run a charity 5K together and that it would be even more fun if we had team shirts with our group name and logos on it, like the real running shirts you get in races.  We decided to get something nice, not one of those cheap throwaway tees but a sports tee that we could be proud of and wear again and again. I took the action to create the shirts and after having one of my talented graphic artists come up with a snappy looking design, I …

Why “Me Too” Marketing Usually Fails

I was speaking with someone the other day who wanted nothing more than to understand the “secret sauce” of one of his competitors.  If only he knew what this guy was doing to attract business he could replicate it and watch his own business grow by leaps and bounds.  Is it possible to peer into someone’s online strategy?  Sure it is.  You can see from the code on their website what keyword phrases they are likely optimizing for, you can see which other websites link to them, check out their traffic and know in which directories they are listed, where …

How to Clone Your Best Clients

You walk into your waiting room and there she is, Mrs. Manning, smiling as you enter.  Although she is a client, after all this time a handshake is too formal for her and you greet with a hug and a kiss on the cheek.  As you walk her into your office you chat animatedly about her kids, your kids and their latest soccer games.  Even as you get down to business the tone is light and truly collaborative.  You share a mutual respect but truly enjoy working together.  And thanks to Mrs. Manning telling her friends and work colleagues about …