Newsletters made easy.

I know of many companies who have had the best intentions to start distributing a newsletter but failed after the first one simply because they take so much time to assemble content. This doesn't have to be the case anymore.

My newsletter "Useful Information" just celebrated it's 40th issue this month. I send it out monthly - free to it's subscribers. I'm on a MAc, so I develop it in Quark Xpress and export it as an PDF file with live links. Each month I only spend about 3 to 4 hours assembling it. I get articles from "ezinearticles.com." It's a great article service as you just pick topics of interest to you and they email you articles based on that query.

I usually write one or two articles myself, based on subscriber's requests or a topic I want to cover that month. From here I have a couple of regular features I include. One is a quiz whereby I show just the icon or symbol from a company and ask the reader to identify it. The answer is always on page two. To help relieve the workday stresses, I include a weblink to a novel or interesting website as a distraction.

Promotional content I typically include is some samples of some recent projects I've just completed, a plug for my favorite networking group in Detroit, and an ad for my current DIY product called, DIY Brand Builder.

Other than that, if a client or friend is promoting a charity event, I also include a plug for that as well.

After 40 issues, I find it a great tool for building my personal and corporate brand and I get a few new subscribers every week. It is called "Useful Information" simply because my goal is to provide information that readers can actually use to better their businesses. The articles I choose to use,
I find useful myself, ( which is part of my criteria ) . You too can build a monthly newsletter with great content with just a little effort. With the web you can develop a newsletter which is nothing more than relevant links to a niche topic. For the newsletters that I subscribe to, it is mostly important that it not be a blatant advertising piece. I deliver it in an email with a bulk mailer program.

I think you will feel you it is the perfect tool, when you get your first compliment on a job well done.

Good Will Invoice (Smart Idea!)

This is just a great and simple one that I picked up from a client yesterday during a branding session I was facilitating with them.

Essentially it boils down to keeping track of all those little favors you do for customers through out the year but can't really bill for them. How can you benefit from from your largess? Well here's a fantastic way to go about about it and something your customer won't mind getting.

It's called a "Good Will Invoice".

All you have to do is put a value to all those little things you do for free and once a year send out the "Good Will Invoice". It is not an invoice to pay, it is simply to show how 'much value' added there is to working with you. I believe this to be a great public relations move and one to kick up your brand in your customer's mind.

Have a good day.

The customer is always right!

What is it they say - "If it wasn't for the customers, business would be a joyous thing!" Have you ever wondered what your customers think of you and thus by extension -your brand? If you are addressing your brand strategy correctly, you are striving to build strong relationships with your customers. You are probably doing your utmost to make sure that their every touch point with your company is a good experience. Do you have processes in place that addresses any problems that may arise? You don't want your customer to dance around voice mail hell or get the cold shoulder by service managers. Customer service should be exactly that 'service'.

What we all must respect is the customer's opinion. Some times for whatever reason, the customer may have a negative opinion of your brand. The opinion may even be based on something which is simply untrue, but the bottom line is the customer is always right. Nobody says you have to do business with them again, you only have to make it right. Regardless of how you 'truly feel', it is always best to take the high road and get the matter behind you both and move on. The value of your brand is much more important than making a few grudge points by laying into the customer just to make sure they understand your position. Believe me, over the past 25 years I've wanted to tear a few heads off, but thought better of the idea to make sure that I don't burn any bridges and that my reputation stays on a purely professional level.

What do you do to make your customer's experience a great one? Do you give thank you gifts at Christmas? Do you track their birthdays, anniversary's etc. and send out cards? One way I impact my customer's experience with me is to put myself in front of them personally. Today many of us are way to eager to take the easy way out and rely solely on voice, email and texting as our main point of contact with our customers. This can result in a large branding problem based on the fact that this expedient contact eliminates any personal connection to you. Your are easy to replace, since you have no personal contact. You are much like a price-based brand connection. The next cheapest price, replaces you. I make it a point to get face to face contact as much as possible. This also gets me additional business.

So I suggest infusing some low tech contact to make your brand valuable. This personal relationship goes a long way to smoothing rough waters when situations do arise. A customer is more likely to cut you some slack if they know "You". We also know for a fact that how we handle rough waters reflects in many ways what our brand represents. How you handle a customer's problem, if it is done correctly and on-brand, will turn that customer into a long term advocate for you. It pays that customers are right. In the business world, a customer's perception of your brand is as important as the reality of your brand. They must work in unison - this forms the bond of a great brand relationship.

Expanding your brand and earn income from the web

I came across and interesting new blog called, W Revenue Dot Com. The author is guy called Scott Wainner. What I like about this guy's opinion is his straight forward attitude. I've read countless articles and opinion on making money on the web and frankly his is a breath of fresh air.

There isn't a lot of hype and he shares a great deal of knowledge. Most other blogs tease a great deal, and are essentially excuses to sell something. They brag a lot about themsleves and don't share ideas. Scott does not share these shortcomings. If you are researching strategies on making money on the web you might want to subscribe to his blog.

A colleague of mine, Robert Kingston from Bracing Your Brand, put me on to Scott's contribution to blogging, and for that I'd like to thank him. Your visits here to my blog, and the communities we all build together, allow us to expand our successes, thus improving our personal and corporate brands. Selling relevant products on the web helps your audience to appreciate just how much you can assist them in their quest to improve. Following some of Scott's opinions and case histories will go a long way to helping you realize your goals.

I hope that W Revenue Dot Com will be a welcome addition to your blog reading.

5 Better Mousetraps!

We humans are an amazing species and Western civilization in particular, having embraced capitalism, spends every waking hour in the pursuit of achievement. We are always trying to improve our lot in life and to accomplish this goal, we rely on advertising.

We are all familiar with traditional forms of advertising such as newspaper, magazines, radio, TV, adwords, email and direct mail. What intrigued me this week, was more unconventional forms. The "what will they think of next" form of promotion. I've heard critics say that ads are appearing in way to many locations and there is a need to limit their exposure. Personally I don't have a problem with advertising, it's what makes our culture click and for me anyway, it is another art form. It speaks to who we are as a society.

Here are 5 new forms of advertising that are unique. I hope you enjoy the creativity behind them.

• First up is Bumvertising™ - a name coined by the author of this site. Essentially it is adding an advertising message to a homeless person's home-made sign so that passing citizen's take note of the ad. Many consider the concept degrading. The homeless appear to consider it an opportunity. You be the judge.

• Next comes leasing out a part of your body to advertising tattoos. This is your opportunity to make up to $5,000. to put a logo and or message front and center on your forehead. If you are an extrovert and your employer has no issues with it (other than the competition's logo), I suppose it's a great way to earn a few buck and get a bit of notoriety.

• Third comes Target and their brilliant concept of putting their logo large on their store rooftops so that viewers of Google Earth will spot them when they zoom in on an earthly location. This is just way-clever!

• Fourth puts marketing where marketing has not gone before- outer space. Students from MIT and Georgia Tech, are launching a spacecraft into earth orbit in 2010 and they are renting out a spot on the sides of their spacecraft to visionary sponsors. This will be a great media opportunity.

• And finally Five: graphical waterfalls. This form of marketing is mezmerizing. I saw one for Jeep at the Detroit's international auto show and you simply can't stop looking at it. The video in the link shows this example as well as many others. It is not light projected on water but little droplets dropping in sequence to forms shapes and words. Big WOW factor!

Do you have other forms of advertising that are high in creativity? These examples caught my eye. My favorite of the five is graphical waterfalls.

What Risk Zone does your brand occupy?

In our daily lives we encounter risk in many forms. These risks involve crossing against a light, driving to the grocery store or mowing the lawn.

Much of it is minor stuff compared to risks we encounter in the course of running a business. How we face that risk has an impact on our brands. The business climate is a lot more complicated than it was even 10 years ago. A simple example is letterhead - where is it held, who controls it, how is it used?  If I can steal it, I can be a company without their knowledge.  It is much farther reaching then that!  What if I stole shipping documents with the brand on it?  I can then pretend to be part of the company and operate with minimal intervention both internally and externally (Customs or Police).  This is no different then stolen identity at a personal level.

Brand Risk Assessments takes into account all environments you do business in, production standards and all elements that could potentially expose your brand to risk. In a world tarnished by threats of terrorism, any risk exposure would harm your brand from the observing marketplace. Take for instance CTPAT, (Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism) - a U.S. / Canadian government business initiative to build cooperative relationships that strengthen overall supply chain and border security. When a company is CTPAT Certified they lessen the chance of their brand being compromised by parties who would do them harm. CTPAT is an exporter iinitiative that speeds up border crossings and further ensures increased security for each country. If a company is exposed due to a breach in security they stand to risk a great deal with regards to shipping to the U.S. or Canada and this reflects negatively on their corporate brand. If for instance a company who manufactures auto parts were to have a dirty bomb or any illegal cargo hidden among their shipment (even unknown to them) and their shipment is seized at the border, the ensuing media attention can unjustly harm their brand. CTPAT puts in place increased security at every touch point in the shipping process with the goal to easing risk for all parties involved. This is increased protection for your brand.

Peter Berry, OB1 Consulting - a risk assessment and CTPAT specialist lists additional benefits of CTPAT as:

• Reduces border inspections.
• Minimizes border clearance times allowing for predictable transit times 
 and transportation costs.
• Allows for movement across the border even during a red alert.
• Reduces compliance costs with customs requirements.
• Allows companies to compete for opportunities that require a security clearance.
• Provides access to the FAST lanes at the Canadian/US border.
• Allows for improved security in your work place.
• Allows for reductions in cargo theft.

The Oklahoma City bombing thrust the Ryder Trucks Brand Risk into the Hot Zone. Today you can be sure, more precautions are in place to lessen that risk. Naturally it is pretty much impossible to cover every possible scenario, but a Brand Risk Assessment does a good job due to the fact that its facilitators typically are experienced people from within the security industry. They look out for situations way off a layman's radar. Take for instance the case of a well known coffee manufacturer who had their brand packaging copied and used on packages containing cocaine. The manufacturer was tipped off to the scam when a long shoreman was injured off-loading goods when a 50lb. box of cocaine hit him in the head, sending him to emergency. He ended up on compensation due to the severe nature of the injury.  It was investigated and suspected that the load was supposed to be intercepted by a long shoreman and had nothing to do with the coffee company. They had no idea that drugs were in the load. It was supposed to be taken out by longshore or the driver. News of the incident set off alarms that something was amiss - law enforcement was dispatched immediately and the shipment seized. An investigation resulted which proved the brand was not involved but it does cause business disruption, a great deal of anxiety within the workers and costs due to law enforcement interaction to normal processes and the employees involved. Not a comfortable feeling when the federal government investigates your company for drug or weapons smuggling. What tipped them off? Their coffee isn't shipped in boxes. They are shipped in bags. The street value was approx. $700K CDN.  A lot of money to entice a bad guy and hardly worth the value hit to the brand had it been public that coffee company brand had been used to smuggle. It would have sent the brand into the Hot Zone.

Every day, your brand's risk potential relies on the integrity of your company's security practices. When it comes to your Brand Risk Assessment, you want your brand to reside in the Cool Zone. If it goes up to Warm or Hot - watch out, you're inviting disaster to dinner. And your brand is the main course!

Does this brand taste as good as it looks?

A client referred me to Sprinkles Cup Cakes this morning.
I have to admit I am very impressed with the sense of design to this product. I understand that it costs about $3.25 per cupcake. They come in individual boxes. The boxes are superbly designed. The dozen trays are also well designed. The stores are outstanding. Everything about this product is high end.

I'd love to know from any out there in the blogesphere if you have ever experienced the store? What was the experience like? Does it compliment the esthetic? It has been featured on most popular televison buzz shows. I wonder if it has staying power, or it this month's flavor?