The process of branding your company starts in an unlikely place--your product's packaging. It's your business's image on the marketplace. You need to understand that your product's packaging will always have an influence on the purchaser--be it positive or negative. If a customer doesn't like the way your product's been packaged, it'll detour them just as much as positive reactions could influence them to buy.

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I have been told, no matter your business, the defining decision a customer or client makes in determining whether to purchase from you or your competition, comes down to one single element: service – the overall experience and delight of dealing with your company.

Let’s face it, the price tag of the purchase determines whether customer service is a factor or have a big an impact it, makes on the decision. We all have to buying groceries so convenience can out weight the fact that a store doesn’t provide customer service. Great customer service won’t make a difference if you have a limited budget and you don’t expect to need help with set up or troubleshooting.

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The acclaimed Disney Institute focuses on details as markers for success.  Interiors, door knobs, parking lot, even the office pictures influence consumer experience. Do the details support the image being built?

Traditional or online, the most successful marketing encompasses every aspect of your business no matter the industry you are in. The difference is solely in what your customers notice most...the small details.

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What is branding? That's been the question for as long as human beings have learned that looking at shiny objects is cool. Since the rise of structured economic systems, however, the question has shifted a bit. Now, it's: What is branding in business?

Whether you're still trying to impact the market with your new startup company or simply looking stay relevant in the fast-pasted, ever-changing times, branding is everything. Seriously. If we've learned anything from being a consumer-based society for so long, it's that banding can make or break a company's longevity. A memorable logo and smart product packaging can transform a burgeoning business into a household name. But on the flip side, awkward or ineffective stylistic and creative choices can sabotage a company's chances at staying in the sphere of public influence.

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Photos get noticed and sell your product.

Many businesses think they are saving money by providing their own photos for packaging and marketing. To them the objective of being economical out weights the marketing impact. 

I always stress that every impression is an opportunity to move your business forward and that must be the biggest influence on the graphic solution produced. This is not to say you have to spend a lot of money. But short cutting the creative development, tieing the hands of your marketing department or graphics provider can negatvely impact product sales.

A Package Tells A Story With Great Photographs

You have a great product, tell its story with great photography. A photo can create an emotional connection with your customer and stop them in the aisle. Cutting corners can save money up front but be a big financial mistake in the long run. It is important that you are smart when making any purchase. Smart is the key to this discussion. Cutting corners in the package design process can hurt sales just like a poor decision about rebranding has for some well know brands.  (4 Reasons Package Rebranding Goes Wrong).

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If you haven’t started Inbound Marketing as a strategy for your business - Here are 75 stats that will convince you that this is the direction you can’t ignore anymore!

SEO

• 61% of global Internet users research products online. (Interconnected World: Shopping and Personal Finance, 2012)
• 44% of online shoppers begin by using a search engine. (Interconnected World: Shopping and Personal Finance, 2012)
• 70% of the links search users click on are organic, not paid. (Marketing Sherpa, February 2007)
• 75% of users never scroll past the first page of search results. (MarketShareHitsLink.com, October 2010)
• Businesses with websites of 401-1000 pages get 6x more leads than those with 51-100 pages. (HubSpot Lead Generation Lessons from 4,000 Businesses, 2011)

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There's a lot to be learned by studying your online B2B leads.  Software Advice did just that when they tracked and analyzed over 6,000,000 unique visitors.  Review their findings and determine what can be applied to your business.

 

Conversion rates for B2B online leads are highest at the beginning of the year.  In part because companies are starting a new fiscal year, budgets are unspent and focus is put on new initiatives according to a recent analysis by Software Advice.

Conversion rates drop in the summer during prime vacation season.  And again in December as the holidays roll around.

How This Applies To Your Business:  Put special emphasis on responding quickly to leads generated online during the beginning of the year as your chances of success are statistically much greater!

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