NOT LISTENING TO YOUR CUSTOMERS

20 years ago agency reps started using “branding” for every situation and client, leveraging the term to increase their influence and authority without concern for their customers. They were never out to create a “brand” for the majority of their clients.

It has been 10 years since iPhone was launched changing the way we keep in touch and shop. Here are some interesting stats that should be used to plan and execute your website and marketing plans. Consumers are demanding innovative ecommerce shopping experiences. Those "smart" businesses that innovate will benefit with an increase their customer base and bottom line.

Restaurant and food business is tough. But you got into it because of your love for food. You have an advantage many businesses don’t. You and your staff interact with your customers everyday and have the opportunity to know first hand what they like, don’t like and would love to have from you.

Writing and posting to improve ranking is not just about the quantity. Many advisors will tell you more is better and that can be true. But the reality is that writing content that is not created around your SEO strategy will have limited ability to produce results. Frequency of posting new content has significant impact on the results of your SEO efforts efforts. Equally important is that the content supports the keywords you are claiming as your expertise.

I have seen a company providing deep tech support to clients posting blogs about accounting and tax strategy. They aren't accountants, CPA's nor offering small business operating consultation. A blog about tax deadlines is not supporting their core service ~ protecting their customers digital assets and computer hard and software function.

As health issues increase organic solutions have increased. There has been a big growth spurt in gluten free products. Organic baby products led the way in gaining acceptance in grocery stores from consumers. Organic meats and foods for adults have grown at a slower pace. Setting organic products apart from the standard fare requires your graphics on your product packaging  look different from traditional foods. There is a style that has surfaced that consumers can look for to identify an organic product in a food store. They typically have a lot of white and show a picture of raw food. Brand name includes "organic" call out and the name could remind one of simple foods like "Wild Oats" and "Honest".

Management Decisions that Kill a Brand

Could this happen to you?

In March of 2007, Circuit City set itself up for failure. It fired 3,400 of its highest paid workers. The company said that replacing these employees with those willing to work for less was part of an effort to improve the bottom line. 60% of those let go worked in the stores, their better employees. In 2007 analysts saw poor sales in expensive televisions... products that require experienced sales persons. It made a poor decision in eliminating their best performing staff.
By daysofthundr46 on Flickr