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10 Powerful Networking Tips Using Business Cards
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Phishing (definition) (FISH.ing) pp. Creating a replica of an existing web page or HTML email input form to fool a user into submitting personal, financial, or password data. —adj. Today phishing seems to be one of the most serious new scams on...
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Branding – It’s More Than Just Your USP
by Karon Thackston © 2002
http://www.ktamarketing.com
When you mention the word “branding” most people automatically think of USP (unique selling proposition). The overall – and incorrect – perception of a brand is that it simply consists of the statement you use to define what you do. Slap your USP on every advertising piece that goes out the door and – tah dah – you’re branded! Not even close.
Your brand is created from every single thing you do within your business. Your brand is the all-encompassing collection of business principles, business strategy, sales, customer relations, appearance, attitude, products, services, advertising, copywriting, Web site design, brochures… your entire company.
In order to create a brand that has “staying power”, it must go several levels deep. Consider the Walt Disney Company for a moment. What comes to mind when you think of Walt Disney? Most likely Mickey is first, maybe animated movies, then family-oriented, wholesome, quality, etc. Is all of that just a USP? Definitely not!
When you phone the Walt Disney Company you are greeted by a professional, friendly, helpful person. When you visit one of the Walt Disney World locations, the staff is helpful, the facility is clean, the environment is family-oriented and the accommodations are first class.
What is the end result of all this work? Trust. Your customers learn that they’ll get what they expect every time. They trust what you offer. They have faith in it. They depend on it.
How would Disney be portrayed if all their advertising lead you to believe that they were a highly-focused, quality, family-oriented organization but – when you visited their theme parks – you found rude staff members, rides that
didn’t work, food that was inedible and costumed characters that treated your children horribly?
The image of Disney would have fallen to the wayside long ago if they didn’t understand the concept of branding. The brand just wouldn’t have held up. This company knows that your brand must go deep inside your company and radiate through every level. It isn’t just about what you tell your target customers in your ads.
When you consider your brand, ponder these questions:
1. What do we want to be known for?
2. What do we want others to say about us?
3. What is the essence of our organization?
4. Is every department aware of our brand and the image we want to portray?
5. Does everything we do reinforce our brand? (Our staff, physical location, packaging, Web site, advertising, products and services.)
6. When you say the name of our business, what words do others respond with?
Once your brand has been determined - once you have every aspect of your company following in line with the brand – you can focus on your promotional efforts. Without your brand being clearly defined, your marketing plan will most likely come up lacking. However, if you concentrate on perception and reception of your business by your target customers first, your advertising will be more effective and the results will be astounding.
About the Author
Most buying decisions are emotional. Your ad copy should be, too! Karon is Owner and President of KT & Associates who offers targeted copywriting, copy editing & ezine article services. Subscribe to KT & Associates' Ezine "Business Essentials" at
BusinessEssentials-Subscribe@topica.com or visit her site at http://www.ktamarketing.com
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| Brand - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
| The brand, and "branding" and brand equity have become increasingly important ... From the perspective of brand owners, branded products or services also ... |
| en.wikipedia.org |
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| Branding - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
| Livestock branding, the marking of animals to indicate ownership; Human branding, ... Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Branding" ... |
| en.wikipedia.org |
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| AllAboutBranding.com : Home |
| Provides resources and opinions on branding. Includes brand development, management and communications. |
| www.allaboutbranding.com |
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| brandchannel.com | branding resource produced by Interbrand | brands |
| An international online exchange and resource about brand marketing and branding. |
| www.brandchannel.com |
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| Branding Company Corporate Branding Internet Brand Identity ... |
| Brand Identity Guru Inc. creates, develops and promotes powerful brands. Our clients enjoy an array of innovative, creative and powerful branding solutions ... |
| www.brandidentityguru.com |
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| Branding Blog |
| Branding and positioning news and opinion. |
| www.brandingblog.com |
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| Branding Asia |
| Free articles, news and columns on branding in Asia. Market research and Asian marketing. |
| www.brandingasia.com |
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| Pages tagged with "branding" on del.icio.us |
| All items tagged branding ??? view popular ... industrie./design and branding consultant specialists./ · save this. by kittim to design branding graphic ... |
| del.icio.us |
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| The Brand Called You |
| Big companies understand the importance of brands. Today, in the Age of the Individual, you have to be your own brand. Here's what it takes to be the CEO of ... |
| www.fastcompany.com |
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| Branding: See what people are saying right now on Technorati |
| See all blog posts tagged with branding on Technorati. |
| www.technorati.com |
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| Mozilla Branding |
| The purpose of this document is to describe mozilla.org's branding strategy during and after the release of what has generally been called Mozilla 1.4. ... |
| www.mozilla.org |
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| What Brand Are You? A branding viral by The Design Conspiracy |
| What Brand Are You? has since been picked out as Site Of The Day by the likes of the Financial Times, Yahoo, USA Today and BBC News, and has received more ... |
| www.whatbrandareyou.com |
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| Julie & Company: Affordable branding, web design, graphic design ... |
| Julie & Company creates stellar branding, integrated marketing, advertising, web design, web development, Flash, trade show booths - all at affordable ... |
| www.julieandcompany.com |
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| Forty Media - Web Design, Web Development, Branding, Great Websites |
| a professional web design agency based in Phoenix, Arizona. |
| www.fortymedia.com |
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| Branding - Yahoo! Small Business |
| Find information to help grow your online business with business plans, Thomas Register, news articles and more. |
| smallbusiness.yahoo.com |
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| Lexicon |
| Lexicon Branding appears on KTVU News; Lexicon Branding creates Ridgeline for Honda, Viiv for Intel, and GameTap for Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. ... |
| www.lexicon-branding.com |
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| Branding and Usability |
| We're finding that a site's usability can dramatically affect branding. ... There are two basic techniques for branding: direct experience and indirect ... |
| www.uie.com |
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| iMedia Connection: Research & Metrics - Branding |
| Majority of marketers feel branding opportunities -- online and offline -- aren't ... IAB case studies prove real-world power of online in branding mix. ... |
| www.imediaconnection.com |
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| Small Business Marketing And Branding |
| Small business marketing and branding advice and how-to guides for small business owners. Learn how to start and grow your own successful business. |
| smallbusinessbranding.com |
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| Beyond Branding |
| Beyond Branding, published in hardcover in 2003 and paperback in 2005, presents innovative business models for the survival of 21st century organizations. |
| www.beyond-branding.com |
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