How do you begin creating “brand awareness” for your products? Over time, one needs to establish positive brand awareness that promotes the possibility of the purchase of your product in the future. The initial impression of your brand is of utmost importance! Beyond this, however, are all of the future impressions that may be formed regarding your brand. BRAND AWARENESS Your brand awareness measures a consumer’s knowledge of your product. Challenges in creating brand awareness: 1. Do potential customers even know that you exist? 2. Is your product better? 3. Why pay more for your products rather than from a less expensive alternative? Maintaining Brand Awareness: Ensure your brand promise is clear. Be simple, be direct, and by all means, be consistent. Focus on creating a well-conceived brand name. Even the most clever branding strategy will fall flat if the name you seek to brand is poorly conceived. Understand the competition – No one operates in a vacuum. While originality is important, it’s critical to be aware of your competitors’ branding strategies. Set branding goals. You can’t very well determine your success if you don’t have a benchmark against which to measure it. Know where you want to go and when you want to get there. Remain committed to the brand while being flexible. Branding success doesn’t occur overnight; it takes commitment to maintain focus and build loyalty. But that doesn’t mean strategy changes might not be necessary along the way, so be open to tweaking your approach as necessary. BRAND EQUITY: Brand equity is strategically crucial but it’s also difficult to quantify. There have been a multitude of experts who have developed tools to analyze certain assets but there is no universally accepted manner in which to measure it. One must fight to maintain a reserved mental space in the consumers mind. There are four aspects of brand equity: 1. brand loyalty 2. awareness 3. association 4. quality perception Business Week ranks brand equity: Sony: -16% Sony spent $1.6 billion on advertising last year, according to Advertising Age magazine, but it wasn’t enough to stem Sony’s slide in global brand value. Its drop of 16% is all the more troubling as rival Samsung passed the Japanese giant in brand value while spending far less on ads. According to Interbrand’s Jan Lindemann, who directed the ranking, Sony’s brand value has dropped because it gave up leadership in MP3 players to Apple by not innovating and because it hasn’t been a player in cell phones. Another minus: Sony has devoted considerable resources to its film and music recording businesses, where its brand carries little weight with consumers. THE IMPORTANCE OF CONSISTENCY: Consistency is the same message with the same style. The message should be consistent. Tide detergent, for instance, has always placed an emphasis on how clean their detergent will...
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A mid-size Ohio corporation was being featured in a professional publication. This corporation had a reputation for an excellent product. Their bottom line showed the result of good management and efficient production methods. The veteran journalist who wrote the article in the trade journal arrived for his appointment with the company’s CEO. During the interview, the journalist asked a simple question. “What is your product?”. to which the CEO responded, “Satisfied, mature and well-balanced employees“. The answer caught the journalist off guard so he rephrased his question. “What I was asking is what does this company produce?”. He received the same response. The CEO elaborated by explaining that the particular “product” the company manufactured for the auto industry was only a tool to produce what the owners and leadership had established the company to produce, which was satisfied, mature, and well-balanced employees who were good citizens and provided a positive contribution to society. In our first blog of this series, I asked leaders to focus on the purpose of their business. This Ohio company began with a very different purpose and they were very good at fulfilling their purpose. Employees retention was extremely high, the pay was competitive, and the benefits were first-rate. Employees’ families were treated like royalty, the content employees produced greatly, and whatever they produced, they took pride in and the financial bottom line reflected such. When will many of our nations’ companies understand that great ideas, great teamwork, and happy employees produce more? Why are workplaces still filled with hypertensive bosses who use foul language to belittle and berate their underlings hoping that fear and intimidation will increase both production and quality? When do the blinders come off and the harsh tongue become silenced? The majority of employees want their companies to succeed. Company success is the employees’ best hope for job-security, family provision, and a solid retirement. But, many employees consider their job to be who they are and what defines their life. When asked by a new acquaintance as to who they are and what they do, 9 times out of 10, they will reply with a job-related answer. Their job is their identity. Understanding that concept is foundational for a business seeking to hire well, to retain its employees, and to see strong returns on their investment. It is important to develop a culture that provides for the well-being of the employees. History has witnessed and recorded the struggle between business management and the employee union. One can read of the great robber barons throughout history and cringe in anger and disgust at the calloused brutality of leadership motivated only by greed. I want to close the history book and start my own employee’s union in protest. Then, I’ll open a newspaper and read about the power-mongering and blatant disregard for quality and respect for a business...
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We hope you’re enjoying our on-going flip series, The 8 Phases of the Flip – Atlanta. This week, we’ve posted information for our third house located in Atlanta’s East Village. Be sure to check back to watch these transformations evolve! East Atlanta Village Rebuild House Atlanta, GA 30316 We are taking the opportunity to completely tear down and rebuild this home that was originally built in 1935. Size: 3 bedroom 1 bathroom 1,151 square feet = Living Space 4,356 square feet = Lot Size Location: This diamond in the rough is located in the East Atlanta Village neighborhood. The East Atlanta neighborhood has been around since the late 1800’s and was voted as Atlanta’s Best Neighborhood for two consecutive years in 2007 and 2008. East Village is known as being a friendly, warm community and residents rave about the local Farmers Market. There’s a wide variety of food, entertainment, and coffeehouses that make East Village a peaceful and pleasant community to be a part of. Numbers: Purchase price = $108,000 Rehab/New Construction cost = $85.00/square foot Upon completion, this house will be 2,150 total square feet = roughly $182,750 to $190,000 ARV = roughly $400,000 to $420,000 How I found the property: We obtained this property from one of our real estate agents who constantly scours the MLS for houses. We have multiple agents locating deals for us. Budget: We plan on spending $85.00 per square foot which is a little on the higher side due to the premium upgrades that we plan on using. Total budget = $182,750 to $190,000 ...
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In this week’s DIY video, Andrew reminds you to always be on the look-out during the flip process. You might just find an extra bonus or wow factor. These are pre-existing wow factors installed by the previous owner that may save you money or increase your profits! ...
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