BLAST! A Free Card Directory

Check out this site if you are interested in some FREE advertising: bla.st Essentially you upload a business card size ad that links to what ever you like and it really is free. Promote them like I'm doing here and they will upgrade you in their rankings.

I got the tip from www.davidairey.com. David's blog is an excellent read anytime.

The Elusive USP.

The USP. It is probably the lead in the branding show. It takes a great deal of careful consideration. Every time I take on a focused brand project, it crosses my mind - "I wonder what USP we will develop?" As a matter of fact the thought is rather intimidating. I would probably compare it to stage fright. As with any discovery it is part intellegence, a lot of sweat and a dash of luck. Add to that the ability to dig, challenge and inspire everyone present.

The USP once discovered usually lights up the whole room. It is their aHa! moment. It is when they 'get it'. I really enjoy helping companies to focus their corporate brand. It definitely invigorates all the stakeholders in the room. I imagine that among brand practioners there are as many ways to reel in that USP as there are practioners. I enjoy the brainstorming session, where I challenge the company to dig deeper, ignore the obvious and the low hanging fruit. Don't worry about cost or practicality, let's just be great! Worry about how to do it later.

Do we have to invent a new category, do we have to sproat wings and fly? So long as the USP reflects our brand values and personality, we can truly shine. We strive to choose something that will make the competition whince and the customer embrace. Developing the USP is a lot of fun once you bravely take the stage and belt out that first line. It is a good story with a happy ending. Are you as annoyed as me when you read of a major "re-branding" effort and recognize that they confuse slogan with USP? Or use some weak statement like "The center of it all" to describe their uniqueness. Since I'm using theatre analogies here, this is where the big hook should come out.

So I guess you could say we are looking for the USP that is a big enough hit that we can take it out on the road and wow audiences everywhere. Everytime that happens, I'm the proud director backstage, watching another USP take their first bow.

Logo as brand. Agree or disagree?

I was over at a nice blog on branding at davidairey and I was driven to respond to their suggestion that the logo is the brand. It is an interesting exchange I think. In my opinion a logo is only part of the brand - it is not the brand as a whole. Anyway, check it out and leave your opinion here or there.

Are your brand values real?

Many times when I facilitate a focused brand session on corporate brand values, I am asked what the true relevance of the values are. After all they appear to be just words that make us look good. Of course at the out-set they may be random words representing values. But as the discussion whittles down, the true values are anchored in reality. These values are the promises to your stake-holders. Whether times are good or bad they must be the things that the brand stands for and everyone can trust.

To side-step a value is to essentially lie to your stake-holders and this leads to trouble with your brand. Reputation is your word. A good example is British Airway's call regarding a situation in the air when one of it's flights had an engine fail. It made a decision that ignored it's brand values - in favour of it's profit values.

Brands go up and down through out the life of every company. Business decisions must be mindful of long-term pain at the cost of short-term gain. Taking the high road is not for the weak, for it takes strong leadership to overcome the challenges.

Have you got any effective networking techniques?

I'm working with a group of professionals who wish to re-define how they network. Does anyone out there have any interesting techniques they use to build and do business in a network environment? If so can you post them here for all to benefit from.

Networking with Respect.

This past week I had a telephone call from a contact from a networking group I belong to in downtown Detroit. I had only met him once and then he moved to another chapter several months ago. It was more or less an introductory call to determine if I could use the product he was selling. I had no problem with this approach to getting new business. I always want to know what businesses are in other chapters. The interesting thing was how he closed the call.

He asked if I could give him numbers of 3 businesses who he could follow up on? This instantly made me uncomfortable. First, because I really don't know this gentleman. Second, because I don't easily give up numbers on people I respect. It is a confidentiality issue. He volunteered one of his contact's numbers for me to call, (the give first rule). The networking I enjoy is building up a relationship. I only want to pass on leads when there is an actual desire for service. In other words - qualifyed leads. I myself do not want just a list of names, I don't need a networking group to get that.

When I wish to refer a business, I first make sure that the customer is willing to accept the call. Nobody appreciates ackward moments and everyone's time is valuable, so I want to be sure the need is genuine. This way if business transpires - everybody wins - customer, supplier and facilitator.

Just last week I have had the pleasure of putting together a customer and supplier. It was a very comfortable referral, and the customer was very grateful for the caliber of referral I was able to provide. It increased my value to him. Win, win, win.

How do you like to network? Do you do it with an organized group or do you do it yourself? I am always looking for ways to do business. I find sales facinating and successful sales people inspiring. What is most rewarding is that truly effective sales people are not the 'snake oil sales people' that the general public associates with salesmen but are usually people who have a genuine desire to connect people and do a little business themselves. They are very focused people with a passion for their profession.

5 seconds can hurt your brand!

In a recent web use survey regarding shopping sites, Juniper Research found that 75% of 1,058 people said that they would abandon a website if it took more than 4 seconds to load. So I guess if you are an e-commerce site give some hard thought to that elaborate Flash opening. It may not be worth it.

What's more, if a site was over 4 seconds and the experience online was less than stellar, it reflected on the brand in the eyes of these people. They in turn spoke negatively about the site to family and friends. This survey is worth taking note of. I typically only recommend Flash for effect as a component of websites instead of the whole site or splash page. Lack of search capabilities is another reason to avoid becoming a Flash site.

The web relationship is one more huge opportunity for corporate brands to excell in their service to customers - but if this survey can be believed it can also be the fastest way to do damage to your brand as well. What ever the cold hard facts are, it is best to heed research of this type to assist us all in making our corporate and product brand experiences the finest they can be.

This story is taken from the BBC. Read more on it here.