How Brand Equity Impacts Your Value III

Earlier we discussed the benefits of having a strong company brand.

Those benefits, as previously indicated, have been well documented and add greatly to a company's bottom line value.

So how do you ascertain whether your brand is strong or weak?

Your salespeople are a good source for this type of information. When they visit prospective customers they can solicit feedback as to why the current prospect chose the current vendor they use.

Salespeople can find out why your company wasn't contacted to at least submit a bid or merit strong consideration to land the business. And they can learn what the current prospect knows about your firm (if anything) and what opinion he/she has of your organization.

Some common feedback your salespeople will probably hear...
"Well, we've always done business with XYZ Company."
"XYZ gives us great service."
"My family has done business with them for a long, long time."
"They do a lot for our community and that's important to us."
"Read an article about them in the local paper and they know what they are doing."
"They're very professional in everything they do."

XYZ obviously has a strong brand.

Now here's what that same person may say about your company...

"I wasn't quite sure what you guys do exactly."
"Are you based here locally?"
"How long have you been in business?"
"Who owns your company?"
"One of our people did mention your company but we really didn't know if you were a good fit for what we needed."

If the salesperson hears those responses than your branding needs some work.

Other ways to determine if your brand has any strength is to invite customers and prospects to a focus group or two and discover what those people think and "feel" about your company.

You can also determine the strength of your brand by "share of voice" in your industry. When people think of widgets in your town whom do they think of? Do the newspaper and business publication come to you for stories and quotes, or do they go to your competitors?

Finally the sales report can indicate if your brand is strong or weak. Declining sales for each year over the last five years can indicate a lot of things including the lack of a strong brand and/or the need to reinvigorate your marketing campaign.

An upward sales curve indicates your message is getting through and you have brand strength.

So if your branding needs a little work, how do you get it turned in the right direction?

We will discuss that next time.

How Brand Equity Impacts Your Value II

Earlier we discussed the value of your company's brand equity.

Businesses with established brands have more value than those that don't.

The benefits of a brand are a lot more than just having a recognizable name.

Here are several benefits of a brand as compiled by BrandZ Top 100 Brands Study...

1. It gives you the ability to create real and sustainable competitive advantage.

2. It drives revenue growth by ensuring higher demand and market share.

3. It helps improve margins by commanding premium prices and better supplier terms.

4. It reduces capital requirements by minimizing the costs into new categories.

5. It differentiates your company by overcoming commoditization and reduces overall
business risk.

Think about it. In normal times suppliers like to "break into" a well known company to boast they are doing business with a well known brand name.

Of course they hope to do more business with that company down the road and grow the account.

Those suppliers often view their deal as much as a Public Relations tool as a sound business deal. To secure a contract they reduce prices or extend terms of payment.

Meantime those branded companies, well known in their targeted trade areas, can charge a little more for their products and services.

Customers know what they are going to get. There is no guess work.

So the branded company wins on both ends. They pay suppliers less and charge customers more.

So how can you measure the strength of your brand?

More next time.

How Brand Equity Impacts Your Value

Are you maximizing your brand strategy?

Is your firm enhancing the "branding experience" with current and potential clients?

Which marketing and PR vehicles are you using to positively impact your company's name in the marketplace?

What you do now can have a big impact on whether your company is able to reach its full potential later.

In the long-term, studies indicate companies with solid brand name recognition are actually worth more than businesses with little or no brand recognition.

Why? Brands establish an emotional bond with the customer. Buyers choose brands based on perceived value and their own experience.

Customers prefer brands they know such as BMW, Coca Cola, Gillette, Tide, and Wrigley's.

The brand equity of these companies adds a multiplier, 2x or more, to book value.

The same can hold true for your business no matter what market niche you are in.

So what is a brand?

It's not a logo, not an ad or a sales piece.

A brand is a customer's entire experience in purchasing products from your company as opposed to doing business with someone else.

A brand represents a value proposition that makes your business the best choice, even if what your selling costs a little more.

So how do you get started in building your brand?

We will discuss that next time.

Social Marketing vs Social Networking. Thoughts from a St. Louis PR Firm.

Social marketing or social networking?

Many clients are talking about all things social. Friends and colleagues are interested as well.

Amidst the endless attention and hours spent on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, many
don't seem to understand the difference between "social marketing" and "social networking".

Here's my take...

Social marketing is part of an overall marketing strategy to help attract potential customers to your website and sell product. This can include Google ad words, blogs, e-newsletters, e-coupons, news releases and other vehicles to build traffic. It is a "push" strategy encouraging those to take action.

Social networking is a method to connect and communicate with other like-minded individuals whether it be discussions on business, food, sports or politics.

This is done by joining online groups and organizations, and commenting on issues of the day posed by the administrator or other members.

One can use social networks for business advice, job search or just for fun.

Some use social networking as part of a social marketing strategy. But it is more of a "pull" strategy where you establish yourself as an expert in a certain area and hope others tell their friends about your business. But be careful. Too much of a hard sell may cause the administrator to bar you from participating in conversations or even cause your removal from the group.

I recently participated in an interesting online group discussion on LinkedIn on social marketing. I was one of over 40 who responded that day.

Interestingly, one response came from a bed and breakfast owner in Ireland. She wanted some ideas on how she could generate some traffic in a tough economy.

She wanted a private response and I was glad to do it. I actually had some fun throwing out a few things she might try. Hope they work for her.

The Ireland response is the perfect example of social networking. Though we are oh so far apart we are oh so connected.

Confessions of a New Twitterer

Twitter is picking up steam as a social networking tool.

Many PR and marketing professionals are already on-board, using it for business as well as social connections.

Still, like anything new, Twitter does it have its group of non-believers and nay sayers.

Some friends and colleagues have heard about it but don't want to take the time to learn about it. Others think of it as a "trick" to get you more exposed online so businesses can find another way to "touch you" and sell you something. And there is the other group who just label it as another passing fad until the next new technology hits the marketplace.

I use Twitter and like it. One can appreciate the brevity involved in delivering the message. You get 140 characters and that's it.

"Follow", in Twitter language, different services and you can get a constant flow of breaking news headlines. Non-stop, all day long.

Best of all you can connect with other thought leaders, journalists, and influential people in your industry (hopefully they are Tweeters by now). Many of which probably won't return your email but will respond to a Tweet.

I've already seen one journalist I'm following put out a request on Twitter for a subject to interview for a particular story he was working on.

You can also see who others are following and connect with their Tweeters. And you can join a "Twibe", a group of like-minded individuals who wish to exchange thoughts on business, a movie, school etc., much like other social networking sites.

While Facebook seems to be more of a family festival where friends can disseminate photos of their outings and vacations online, and LinkedIn tends more to be for hardcore business connections,..."Hey Bob, Do you know so and so with such and such company?" Twitter seems to fill a gap of something in-between.

Yes, you can keep-up with your friends, "Getting coffee now", "Watching reruns of Married With Children" etc., but you can also make interesting connections with people you would have never thought about or known about.

I admit it. I'm hooked.

Questions or thoughts? You can follow me on Twitter @steveturnerpr.

Can PR Survive Without Newspapers?

The closure of many local newspapers, and the downsizing of many others, begs the question...Can Public Relations survive without the newspaper industry?

Surely the practice of Public Relations is more than just publicity and media relations. It's many facets include employee relations, event planning, corporate communications, speech writing etc. Most PR pros understand that and practice it.

Still the media relations piece is the backbone of the industry. It is difficult to influence or change public opinion without the published word disseminated to hundreds or thousands of persons of a targeted audience.

Taking nothing away from television and radio, the impact and sustainability of a printed piece in the daily or weekly newspaper cannot be matched.

And we're not talking about video of a fumbling politician or intoxicated film star. Most rank and file businesses and organizations have little opportunity to secure a spot on the evening news without breaking the law.

Even with a shrinking news hole the space and opportunity to tell a good newspaper story, in some detail, is still available.

The Internet provides other, in my opinion, lesser options. Yes you can read your newspaper online, providing someone is still publishing one in your city. Maybe even find other items you won't see in print. And it's free to everyone no matter where you are.

Still, on any given day, how many people are going to go to the newspaper site, click on a particular section, scan all the news, and click on your article?

My guess is that daily newspaper subscribers are most apt to scan their paper for news and information, and read most sections, than the casual online reader who might just want a weather forecast or score from a ball game.

Social networks provide another segmented communications opportunity. PR professionals are scrambling fast to learn how to use these tools appropriately.

Still, nothing can match the reach, impact and accessibility of the daily newspaper.

Should it ever go away the practice of Public Relations won't die. It will just suffer a mighty wound.

How to Work With Media at Special Events

1. Welcome Them to Your Event.
Make them feel at home.
Someone should be there to greet them.
If you don’t have someone experienced in working with media designate a greeter and fill them in on what needs to be done.
The friendlier you are to them the better, unless they indicate they don’t want to be bothered.

2. Seat or Position Them So They Can Get What They Need.
Don’t let them wander about aimlessly wondering what’s going to happen.
Make sure they are seated or positioned properly to get what they need.
Let them know when the keynote speaker will address the audience and when he/she will be available afterwards for one-on-one interviews or questions.
You may have to set up extra chairs up front or in an aisle area so they can get what they need.
Happy writers and reporters tend to give you better more positive coverage.

3. Feed Them if You Can.
If you are having an event where food and drink are being served, offer the reporters something to eat and/or drink. This is especially important if they have to wait to interview the subject. It’s never a good thing for them to sit around for 30 minutes to an hour and watch everyone eat at the event. Let them refuse the invitation to dine with the crowd. (Many will refuse to eat but some may want a coke or water).

4. Introduce Each Reporter to Your Interviewee.
It is always a good idea to introduce the reporter and his/her affiliation to the person being interviewed. If you can designate a liaison for this job it will be helpful. The media greeter can double in this capacity. This serves two purposes, number one…it lets the subject know who he is being interviewed by such as a local CBS affiliate, CNN or network TV, local daily newspaper or national business publication so he can position his answers to the questions accordingly. He/she might want to throw in some local color into the interview if they know they are being interviewed by a local station or may wish to give a broader perspective if they are being interviewed by national media.
Number two…it helps to create some type of rapport between the reporter and the subject and makes for a more favorable interview.

5. Ask Each Reporter if They Need Anything Else to Complete Their Story.
The reporter may ask for a bio or head shot of the subject. They may want to visit his or her’s web site and need a web address. Be prepared for each circumstance. Find out when the reporter’s deadline is coming up and get their phone number and/or email address. Then make sure they get the information they need well in advance of their deadline.

6. Thank Them for Coming to Your Event.
The reporter/editor/producer selected your event to cover when they could have covered other things. It is always appropriate to thank them for coming. Remember a happy reporter may tend to give you a little bit better of a story.