Giveaways typically have multiple purposes. They are a way to attract people to your booth, they provide a way for you to collect leads which hopefully turn into sales, and they are a way for you to promote your brand to prospective customers. However, these purposes can sometimes be at cross-purposes. Exhibiting at a tradeshow is expensive. Get the most from your tradeshow budget by not just driving “traffic” to you booth, but by driving “prospective customers” there.
Keep in contact with your customers to keep them informed about things that affect them, but balance this with the need not to annoy them with too much contact.
When it comes to merchandising, the item you select becomes an extension of your brand. Make sure that it is something that reflects the quality of your brand and that it is something that your customers will relate to you.
A style guide is the way that you can make sure that everyone writing content for your company is using tone and vocabulary and presenting your brand in a consistent way–whether it is web copy, brochures, technical papers, or even correspondence.
A marketing plan is critical to every company. If you don’t have a plan in place yet, commit to taking just one hour to create a “Minimalist Marketing Plan” so you can rely on more than just luck to make some sales and move forward.
Whether you have a startup company looking for an angel or you’re a one-person shop looking to freelance, one of your very first steps is to come up with a good business name and domain.
Wherever people encounter your product or service is an opportunity to express your brand. Look for ways to inject some personality where your customers will find it a pleasant surprise.
There are many reasons why having a messaging document for each of your brands is important, but the most compelling reason is so all the players on your team will be moving your brand in the same direction.
I knew it was important for me to jump into the social media fray, because not participating in popular social media outlets would only result in a conspicuous absence. But I’m not a “social” person. I don’t care what I can do in social media, as much as I care about what the minimum is that I really must do.
Creating community is important, but don’t forget that any time you create a community, you tend to exclude others. That might be fine if you truly ONLY want to reach that particular community, but that’s usually not the case.
