Are You Brand Blind?

We are all close to our businesses, after all, that is what we do every day. We sweat blood and tears to build our products or our services and try as hard as we can to make sales. But when was the last time you asked your clients, or more importantly people who are your TARGET client what they thought of your business, product, marketing materials, or website?

Often we see ourselves one way and the public, or our target audience, sees us completely differently. And as they say, perception is reality. Many small businesses jump into business accidentally, without a strategy or a brand plan in place. Typically on a budget, I see clients and potential clients who have  DIY’d their marketing materials and website without sitting down and thinking about strategy, a target audience, and a plan so that everything works together and integrates, building upon each layer with a cohesive message. The shotgun approach typically doesn’t yield the most cohesive results.

Now your mom and your spouse may tell you that your website is pretty, but if I ask your target audience are they going to say “it took me 6 clicks to find the product I wanted” or “I can’t find a phone number” or “I’m confused about what they do?” If I ask you what are the top words you would use to describe your business, and you say “quality” and “inexpensive” and when I ask a client they say “cheap,” that is a disconnect. Do you know where you lie compared to your competitors?

I like to do research projects for clients where I do informal focus groups with their product/service and that of competitors. Some people refuse to acknowledge that they have competitors, but we all do, even if the other option is to just not purchase anything because you aren’t showing your value. If you are more expensive than your competition, are you communicating your value with your website and marketing materials being upscale and professional? You wouldn’t expect the same look and feel from your bank’s website as you would for a children’s party entertainer but both can be professional and easy to understand and “on brand.”

When I do brand audits for clients, I look at many things. Their marketing materials, website, product, service, positioning compared to competitors, etc. Brand is ALL these things, as well as your employees, your physical location if clients visit, how you present yourself on social media, your tradeshow booth, packaging, etc etc etc. And often I see a disconnect between what they THINK they are selling and what the customer thinks they are selling from a brand perspective. Customers do not like disconnect, they like everything to build upon the same message and cement the brand into their minds, along with the product or service experience making good on the brand promise.

Are you sure you are seeing your brand clearly? Or are you brand blind? And is your target audience aligned with your message?

Why Your Website Sucks (or Didn’t Even Happen)

I know what you did. You hired someone’s cousin’s friend to do your website. They were cheap. You told them you liked blue and your company name/domain and they told you they would build you a website. Maybe they emailed you a few times. Maybe you even had some cell phone photos of your store/product that you sent them.

Get the best result from a web designer.

Months later, you don’t have a website, do you? Or maybe you have one, but the blue isn’t the blue you like, and come to think of it  your logo (if you even have one cuz you started with a website instead of with your branding which is a bad idea) is actually red and black and it looks kind of cartoon-y with the blue.

Or now you have a website, but you recently decided to change your hours and you can’t get ahold of them to update that on your website. And the products they put on there you don’t even carry now. And you haven’t updated anything on the news/blog/etc page for 3 years. The page has narrow margins, borders, the photos aren’t lining up, and there isn’t a link to your social media (but you don’t really update that either, do you?).

I’m not putting blame here, we all try to save money where we can. But hiring the cheapest or easiest option isn’t generally the best idea.

When seeking a website designer, make sure you get multiple referrals from businesses that they have worked with, not a relative, not someone from your church who knows them. CLIENTS OF THEIRS. Recent clients. Ask them how responsive they were, did they get things done on time? Did they answer questions? Did they teach you something? And look at their work. Compare it to your favorite websites. Obviously Nike and the national sports teams have bigger budgets than you do, but you can see what an updated design looks like and functionality.

Sit down and make a list of all the things you need the website to do now and in the future. Not ready for a shopping cart? No problem, but put it on the list for later. Do you have social media? A blog? Well, you should, but that’s another article.

The biggest thing here: YOU HAVE TO PARTICIPATE. You can’t just give them a check and a website turns up. You have to provide background of your brand, you have to provide your logos, photos (or hire someone to get professional pics!), and content. A stranger can help you write your content, but they can’t get it right. You need to also hit deadlines. They aren’t going to keep going if they need content or photos and you don’t provide them. BUT, I also don’t recommend paying for a whole website up front, either. Half deposit to get started and show that you are committed, and half when its done (number of revisions/deadline should be included in a contract agreement).

Steps to getting what you want from a website:

1. Don’t start with the website. You need to know your strategy: brand, positioning, competition, and what you are trying to accomplish first to save yourself from backtracking or starting over later.
2. You need a logo, tagline, colors.
3. You need photos. Depending on what you are selling, that may be of products, your store location, or pictures of you doing what you do. Don’t skimp out here, a picture is actually worth a thousand words. It can make or break you. You can probably find some stock photos if you don’t have a store/product but don’t get generic ones, they make you look generic!
4. Get referrals from other businesses whose websites you like. Web designers can be virtual/remote to you. Talk to many clients, look at their portfolio, and even ask for a client referral that wasn’t a happy client the whole time. See what they say to that!
5. Find someone who is reasonable to your realistic budget, but isn’t the cheapest option. Set agreeable timelines and deadlines for various parts to be completed ON BOTH SIDES. If you agree to have content to them by a certain date, stick to your end of the bargain.
6. The designer should get to know you, your business, and your product, potentially your competitors, as well as ask a lot of questions about functionality for now and in the future.
7. I like WordPress. It is an easy to understand platform that you can add on plug-ins later. You can also UPDATE YOUR OWN PAGES. This is very important. Find out what platform they use. Anything proprietary I tend to shy away from. They don’t play well with others, are usually harder to figure out, don’t have as many options to add features, and if the designer flakes on you, its hard to have anyone else fix things.
8. Pay a deposit to commit, not all up front.
9. Get a contract to protect both sides, where deadlines and deliverables are spelled out in detail, as well as what is included or not. How many revisions to design? Who does content? Are stock photos or themes included or extra? What is the budget for those items? Is hosting included? Do they work with only certain hosting companies? When will you get the files? (Make sure you get all the files).
10. Make sure the site will be MOBILE OPTIMIZED and checked to work on multiple browsers.
11. Ask for updates throughout the process. Don’t wait until months go by. You don’t need to bug them every day or even week, but they should provide you with status updates and samples as you go along, to get your feedback and stay ahead of any backtracking.
12. I provide a website layout of which pages lead to where, and what items will go on each page to make sure the flow works for my client.
13. Provide everything they need as soon as you can. You are only delaying yourself having a productive website!
14. PARTICIPATE! You need to see where they are in the process, and provide valuable feedback in a timely fashion. If you aren’t sure about something, speak up. They can’t read your mind, and 2 weeks from now isn’t the time. Now they will be really upset that they have to go backwards 10 steps.
15. Ask questions if you aren’t sure about something! A good designer can explain why they think something is the right option for you.
16. If you add things, understand that it is going to change the scope of the work and ask how much it will cost/time it will take.
17. When you are happy with the website, make sure you learn how to update it. A stagnant website is not good for value to your clients/customers or search engine rankings. If you don’t have the time or inclination to update your site, ask them if they offer that as an hourly option or monthly retainer and how long will it take them to update/post something after you send it to them? Are they coming up with relevant and not generic content for you or do you provide that to them and they just update/post?
18. Refer them to others! Promote them and their work and they will be happy to help you when you have problems or want updates later.

Getting a great website doesn’t have to be a daunting experience, but you have to participate in the project and be proactive and plan ahead to make sure your website is on brand, looks great, has valuable content, and helps build your business.

Likes Make You Feel Good, But….

Something that has come up over and over again is “we want more fans” and “we need more likes on our page, we look pathetic.” Well, it isn’t hard to buy likes, run a contest, give stuff away, etc. But are those fans actually your target audience? Paying for “likes” doesn’t necessarily increase sales.

I have a lot of high end product clients. Their products are on the expensive side of the spectrum, and not all people on Facebook (or other social media platforms) can afford, get financed, need, or even FIT INTO the products we sell. Do I care if they follow us and see what we are doing? Of course not. But the number of likes you have isn’t a good indication of your social media marketing effectiveness. Are these “likes” people who are engaging in a positive fashion with the group? Are they forwarding your content? Are they BUYING FROM YOU? Do you have a way to get them to go to your website/purchase?

You have to make it really fun and easy for them to get to the end game via your posts, whether that is buying a product, sharing your info, calling you for a consult, etc. And value your conversions or sales more than your number of “likes.”

Website Curb Appeal

This seems like it should be common sense, but I see a lot of companies that don’t capitalize on their “curb appeal.” What I mean is the landing page, the front page of your website. The thing that customers see first thing when they get to your page. This is possibly your ONLY chance to hook them on your product or service.

The landing page should be clean, beautiful, and showcase YOUR PRODUCT. If you are a service company, it should showcase an image that really represents your brand. Whether that is YOU, or happy customers, the image should really knock people’s socks off. This may mean hiring a photographer or spending money on a pro image. You can and should change this occasionally, and maybe you will find that some photos work better.

Don’t waste your landing page curb appeal by having an image that isn’t your product, or one that doesn’t really represent your brand. Another issue is too much text above the fold, or poor layout. You want your landing page to be EASY for people to 1) know they are in the right place, 2) want to click through to your product/service, 3) be able to FIND WHAT THEY ARE LOOKING FOR with the least amount of clicking.

Have some people test your website. It should be only 2 clicks to get anywhere on the site, to add a product to a cart, or make an appointment. Your contact info should be easy to find, no matter what page they are on…and each page should be branded, be laid out beautifully, and be UPDATED. No out of date copyrights, no products that are out of stock, no employees that don’t work there anymore. Update your “news” or “blog” section. If the last entry is 3 years old, that gives a poor impression of your attention to detail.

This Spring, take a look at your website curb appeal. It might be time for some updating.

Sponsorship Marketing from the Company Perspective

This was published on Rodeo Sponsorship Strategies (rodeosponsorshipstrategies.com) blog in January, 2014.

When you are out looking for sponsorship for you or your event, here are a few things to keep in mind, from the company or marketing director’s side of the table.

1. Think about it as “partnership marketing” which will get you in the right frame of mind. You help us, we help you.
2. We don’t need you. We have hundreds of options for spending our limited marketing budget. If we sponsor you, how will we sell more product? I am not going to connect the dots, you need to show me how it will help us, because I have to justify my budget spending to my boss and show him next year that I made a smart decision. We don’t sponsor to be nice, we need to sell stuff. Think like a business person.
3. Do your research. Know my company, what we already sponsor, and what my products are. If you are a bullrider or announcer, don’t ask me to sponsor you with a horse trailer company because you aren’t hauling horses to events, and not showing off my product.
4. Impress me. This means professional looking KIT, not an email or Facebook message with grammar errors. In this kit (digital or paper) you should include: your bio/background, what you’ve won, photos (we want our product to look good on you/your horse/at your event), where you plan on competing next year, who your other sponsors are (we want to be in good company and not with a competitor). If you are an event, we want to know your demographics, which means how many people attend, from where, how old they are, how many men vs. women, how much money they have, and photos of your venue. I won’t spend the time looking or asking for this information, because the other people who want my money have done it for me.
5. Product only sponsorships still cost us money. Yes, we will want you to use our products and get them out in the public eye, but product isn’t “free.” If all your photos show you using the competitor’s product, why not get them to sponsor you? Don’t say that you love my product when the photos show that you don’t even use it. On a big item like a trailer, find someone who has one of our trailers and tell me specifically what you like about it.
6. Look and act professional. We don’t want our endorsees representing us by acting immature or partying or having questionable PR on their Facebook pages. You represent your sponsors, take that seriously in everything that you do, 24 hours a day.
7. Be loyal. Don’t jump sponsors every year or go with whoever offers the next better deal. If I see your history of a logo jumper, I won’t be interested. We invest in you; you need to help us build a brand together. Come to me with ideas on how we can work together, or opportunities you see when you’re out on the road or doing projects with your other sponsors. Be proactive in PARTNERING with us. Once you’re signed, NEVER be caught using a competitor product, because that will be the one photo that gets back to me.
8. When you’re signed/sponsored, make my life easy. Volunteer to be part of photo shoots and autograph signings. Take initiative and don’t make me call you 12 times. The endorsees that are easy are the ones I will promote in articles, photos, catalogs, websites and they are the ones that won’t get dumped in budget cuts. Be my star and I will fight to keep you.

Robyn Volkening, M.A., owns V Strategy, LLC, a marketing and business development consulting firm. She has managed sponsorships for the some of the largest apparel, boot, and horse trailer companies in the industry and is a published author. www.vstrategyonline.com