Brew you a cup…and build you a bike?
Here’s a shout-out to Michael Salvatore and his new bike shop cafe, the Heritage Bicycles General Store, in Lakeview, an example of two timely trends coming together for the very first time in Chicagoland, and getting coverage in The Atlantic, of all places…
Not that this hybrid (the shop, not the bikes) hasn’t been seen before — elsewhere. Bike-shop-coffee-joints been established in Minneapolis and Portland, among other spots. But the idea of selling locally-made bicycles which are (we hope) rugged enough for the streets and parkways of Chicago is a great point of difference. Your coffee and your tourer, both brewed locally! What urban hipster — or biking commuter — could want more? Read more
In B2B marketing, don’t fall into the “me-too” positioning trap.
What makes your brand or product really stand out from the crowd?
As a Chicago branding agency, when we speak with some prospective clients, they often answer this by reciting a list of attributes that are intended to give them a “parity play” — to show they belong in their audience’s consideration set. They say things like…
“We’re easy to install and integrate.”
“We’ve got excellent service and support.”
“We’re a cost-effective solution.”
Well…duh. If you’re remotely competitive in your category — if you’re moving product and keeping your head above water — then of course you’ve got these squared away. But none of them truly “positions” your brand in a way that makes it stand out, or stand above.
Six steps for Controlling Brand Static in 2012
Here are just a few resolutions we’d suggest to marketers to help cut down on the sheer static and clutter that’s multiplying through the digital media universe. It’s beginning to create a flood of BS and non-content that, in the long run, only damages the chance of creating real relationships with customers and consumers.
1. “Like” like you mean it. Don’t use the “Like” function on Facebook just to capture mass lists. Because social media users will come to resent it, and won’t ever believe in the sincerity of your brand or message if you’re spamming them with coupon offers. Read more
Eight simple steps in launching a successful social media marketing promotion!
It’s not a bandwagon: it’s a change in how businesses approach marketing, and that includes B2B marketing, too. So how can you, as a B2B marketer, successfully and simply set up a successful SMM promotion?
1. Set goals, first and foremost. What are you after – more Likes? More website traffic? CRM opt-ins? Sales? Figure that out first, not just for your first promotion but for your entire social media promotion calendar, and get alignment from internal stakeholders and external resources before you make a single move. And while you’re setting goals, make sure you’ve got detailed budgets in mind, too! Read more
Branding — is it about repeating patterns, not messages?
Here’s an excellent post about the cognitive processes behind effective branding from Fast Company. Its point? That branding should address our propensity for pattern recognition, versus simply re-stating messages time and time again. Those kinds of patterns don’t have to be graphic, or communicative in the traditional sense: They can be about patterns of behavior, for example, that define you in the audience’s mind.
Apparel market Uniqlo, for example, has “no brand message: Instead of selling a lifestyle to a target market, it creates small, unique projects that become tools for the user. Each new project…differs from the others as related parts to a whole.” Read more
Social marketing for B2B: Attrition versus Amplification.
Unless a social media marketing program is built on precise business intelligence tools that can mine the social graph to create an accurate profile of users’ prior behaviors, preferences and recommendations, any social targeting program will see a great deal of slippage – just like traditional media programs.
It’s the marketer’s choice — do they prefer attrition or amplification from their SMM campaign?
Some would say there’s a measure of both in any social media marketing effort, but a good marketer is out to optimize ROI. That’s accomplished by precision social targeting…not “carpet bombing the social Web” with coupons.
For B2B marketers, identifying your real audience and converting them to loyalists is critically important in utilizing social media. Read more
Are consumers too smart for traditional advertising?
According to the pundits quoted in this story at Futurity, they are. TV viewers are no longer “captive” — they have too many ways to surf, fast-forward or DVR-skip your advertising, if you’re interested in reaching a huge audience.
So marketers for major consumer brands are increasingly turning to product placement in films and television programs, to the Web, to social media and viral tactics, to experiential and WOM strategies, to try to reach their audience.
But we’d argue there’s a different dynamic at work in how B2B marketers interact with their audience — it’s a very active, versus passive, group. Even when they’re leafing idly through a trade magazine, it’s usually during working hours, or at a point where their attitude and attention is engaged in “workthink.” In many cases, they’ll be searching for solutions to issues…or they’ll file away your brand and product particulars for later recall, if they’re in your category, even if they’re not buying quite yet. Read more
Four ways to turn Facebook fans into evangelists.
What’s the difference between a casual prospect, a so-called “Fan” and and an absolute evangelist in Facebook? And why should a B2B marketer care?
Facebook is an increasing channel for engagement among B2B firms, both through outbound promotions, advertising and newsletters, and as a complement to other sales and CRM channels. Here’s an infographic that describes exactly how Facebook users escalate from potential fans on up to “Super Fans” – or as you may consider them, Brand Evangelists who not only give you permission to interact with them, but spread the word among their own private networks, including co-workers and industry contacts.
That makes them incredibly valuable to you, and that’s why reaching and converting them must be a key strength of any social marketing effort a business might attempt…efforts that should follow these four “best practices…” Read more
To build industry presence, be present on other blogs.
Your insights and earned experience are valuable, to your business, to your clients, and to your own in-house marketing efforts, including blogging and other social media outreach. And they’re also excellent currency for building a reputation and positive perceptions about you and your business by participating in other blogs around your industry.
The simplest way to do this is to identify 2-3 blogs in your category, then regularly review them so you understand their topics and discussions. Then simply participate, but do so by adding real value: provide anecdotes with key learnings and insights. Do not spam them with self-serving hard-sell approaches. You’ll only get flamed for it.
Some good resources for finding popular blogs include Alltop, or – for business-specific blogs — Technorati’s list of the Top 100 Small Business blogs.
If you’ve participated earnestly and constructively in these blogs, reach out to their admins or owners and ask if they’d be interested in see you guest post an article. They’ll probably have specific requirements and editorial say-so, but it’s a great opportunity for larger exposure. Take it a step further: give them a chance to guest post on your blog, too.
There’s an ecology and pecking order in blogworld, of course. You may have to play in the minors for a while before you get invited to the big leagues. But wherever you’re participating, you’re driving buzz and dialogue you can shape to benefit your business.
The “Shack” to shuck its agency?
If you don’t think this has anything to do with the abortive attempt to re-name and re-position Radio Shack as “The Shack,” well, you’re just wrong.
A client doesn’t launch a review unless there’s dissatisfaction at work somewhere, and in this case, it’s with the fine folks at BSSP who sold in the notion of “The Shack.”
Was “Radio” so prejudicial a word? Did it mire the brand in the world of hobbyists and tech geeks, as opposed to trying to position itself as a kind of mini-Best Buy? The problem may not be with the branding but with the positioning. Calling itself “The Shack” told us even less about the store than “Radio Shack” did, and seemed to spit in the eye of whatever heritage and awareness it already had. The best solution? Fix your product mix and consumer awareness issues first, before blaming it on the name. Have some inventory that’s scary/exciting to get people interested again.
There’s a reason Best Buy sucked it up and gave away so much real estate to Apple, and it goes beyond just selling Apples.
