There are a great deal of skeptics and cynics in the small business industry, and for good reason.
A capitalist drive to sell, sell, sell is behind most every piece of marketing material or hot tips article, and not necessarily on the same keel. There seems to be a disconnect between what’s being told and what’s being sold.
Our agency has made a point of pulling out the intrinsic greatness of hard-fought small businesses and creating brand identities that bring that greatness to center stage. … read more
There exists a growing trend in the small business sector that we feel needs to be addressed before it’s allowed to continue.
A rising quandary we have encountered with a number of our clients and prospects is the use of sites like GoDaddy.com and Network Solutions. These web-hosting services seem to provide a picture-perfect need: a low-cost web hosting option with minimal maintenance and reasonably–priced additional services.
But while it may seem like a good deal on the surface, … read more
Brands, brands, brands. If you haven’t yet noticed, brand building is what we’re all about.
Our agency has been doing it for quite some time, and after creating hundreds of competition-crushing brands we’ve uncovered a number of winning secrets. We’ve also seen time and time again true recipes for disaster; surefire ways to curtail success and literally sell yourself short.
So without further adieu, here’s ten of the biggest brand blunders that businesses make:
1. No Branding. … read more
Less than a week ago, Facebook began unrolling a new 5-star rating feature for small businesses. Like large online software services and utilities often do, Facebook unleashed these changes without warning or announcement. Small businesses nationwide need to be made aware of just what implications this rating system carries with it. So we’re here to shed some light on the situation:
Why Did They Do This?
The star rating system is not a new feature, but instead one that just got moved from the mobile to desktop version. … read more
Quick tips and tricks are a dime a dozen in business. Yet very few are actually worth their weight.
The reason why most don’t work fully (or even at all) is because they are dead on arrival, doomed from the start. They harp on a business’ ability to leverage its greatest asset.
And the biggest asset that a business has is itself. Its outward projection to the world of its value, mission, and identity. Simply put: its brand. … read more
For the less glamorous services available in today’s market like plumbing companies, differentiation may be a tall order. Still, this presents a unique opportunity for some well-placed and implemented creativity to help separate your brand from the rest of the competition.
The fundamentals of the business remain the same: a commitment to friendly, efficient, timely and effective service will gain you word-of-mouth notoriety. However, an easy way to spur that word-of-mouth along is with a properly executed truck wrap design or fleet branding effort for larger businesses. … read more
Imagine this.
You’re an auto mechanic working seven days a week to make ends meet. You save for a few years, purchase an old Thunderbird, and spend the next three years fixing it up at nights and between shifts. You finally finish working on it, and instead of hitting the road, you turn the keys over to a stranger.
They immediately drive into a tree.
Crowdsourcing your logo is exactly the same thing.
Any hardworking business owner, … read more
It’s safe to say that business takes place in both the physical and Internet world, not just in separate ways but also as one.
Getting in front of your desired audience takes diligence, a working blend of organic SEO and well-placed content, and an individual or team with superior knowledge of the SEO game.
This team needs to maneuver through your competition, financial resources, and a well-intentioned strategy to make SEO work for you. However, they must also work with Google – the constantly changing, … read more
“Content is king” is the moniker most social media experts propel nowadays. High quality (original, timely, & compelling) content is what’s going to get your business the Likes, Followers, Pins and everything in between needed to make it an online powerhouse. This, in turn, will lead to new leads, clientele, and the next level of future success.
So what does that look like for small business?
It may seem like your spinning your wheels at the beginning of launching a social media strategy. … read more
All it takes is a quick 5-minute drive through town and you’re bound to see it.
A company truck, cruising amidst locals and commuters—usually with a ridiculous or bland advertisement—is quite literally your brand on wheels. Unfortunately, this effective means of mobile marketing is often reduced to a 5-ton waste, mostly because of poor execution.
Small businesses stand to reap the most from these in-area beacons of their brand, yet more often than not, poor execution of a truck wrap gets them negative impressions. … read more
