In Branding, Details Count – or How Ugly Chairs Killed a Business

Posted on July 6, 2011 by katebrogan

Last summer, after months of rehabbing a high profile corner storefront, the owners of a new Italian restaurant prepared to open in my neighborhood. The decor reminded me of Tuscan villa, with a faded elegance and subdued earthiness. Everything looked great — until I saw the chairs. Ugly, stackable banquet chairs with black vinyl seats. Black vinyl banquet chairSuddenly, the restaurant went from “Wow – I can’t wait to try the new place,” to “What were they thinking?”

Less than a year after opening, the restaurant closed its doors. Now I know that the chairs aren’t the only reason for the restaurant’s demise, but they were certainly a factor.

So why do I blame the chairs? They sent the wrong message to customers about…

  • Price. If your menu includes pricey Italian entrees like veal Marsala, then don’t use pizza parlor chairs. The menu was posted in the window, and I noticed passers-by looking at the menu – then looking at the chairs – and checking the menu again as if it didn’t add up. Unfortunately for the owners, these confused folks often walked away.  Last week, I saw the same chairs at Lou Mitchell’s Restaurant, a Chicago institution. The chairs fit in perfectly with the formica tabletops. I had a fabulous breakfast for less than $8. For a coffee shop that serves good, cheap food, the chairs work. For a more expensive restaurant, they don’t.
  • Taste. Why use metal and vinyl chairs if you’re aiming to be a Tuscan trattoria? Wood chairs match the earthy ambiance of a country Italian restaurant a lot better. If cash was running low, the owners could have gotten cheap tables and covered them with butcher paper. Or bought mismatched wooden chairs on Craig’s List and painted them all the same color. The chairs were so visible and so obviously out of sync with the rest of the decor, that you questioned the owner’s taste – not a good sign if you’re running a restaurant.
  • Quality. My first thought when I saw the vinyl chairs: uh-oh, Chef Boyardee Italian. If the owners aren’t investing in the chairs, are they going to cut corners on ingredients? Don’t undermine the quality of your brand with a cheap look.

Branding is the face that you present to the market. Your product, location, decor, pricing are all elements of your brand – and consistency is key. When the restaurant owners picked their utilitarian chairs, they blew their chance at creating an upscale spot. Pay attention to what your customer sees, and invest in the details that count.

Posted in B2C Marketing, Branding | Leave a comment

How to Re-purpose Your Great Ideas for Blogging

Posted on June 23, 2011 by katebrogan

I love to re-purpose stuff. Last summer, I turned an old TV cabinet into a linen cupboard. All it took was a few coats of paint, new hardware, some plywood and a few hours. I’m no Martha Stewart, but the results are pretty darn good.

Paper boatSo why not re-purpose other stuff – like great ideas? If you’re responsible for ongoing updates to your social media, take a look at your files. Chances are you’ve already written presentations, papers or proposals with great ideas that you can re-purpose for new audiences on your blog, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter or in emails.

Focus on one idea at a time: take a critical look at one of your presentations. What’s the one key thing you wanted your audience to take away from your presentation? Focus on that key idea and write a short summary about it.

Re-frame issues for a different audience: I just organized a career workshop for my college alumni club. We worked with the business school placement office to rework an existing workshop for MBA students. By tweaking the content to reflect the concerns of an older audience, we built a great workshop without having to start from scratch.

Connect to a hot topic: If you’re a public relations guru, I’ll bet you had plenty to say during Congressman Weiner’s Twitter meltdown. Pay attention to industry news and see if you can connect your past PowerPoint to a hot topic.

Write a top 10 list: David Letterman does it every day. Why not write up your own “Top 10″ list? If you don’t have 10 tips, write 5 or 8 — the number isn’t as important as your advice. Think about critical issues that your customers face and offer your wisdom about ways to solve problems.

Or write a series: If it’s too hard to condense your ideas, write a series of posts. Let’s say you wrote a white paper. Maybe you can take three or four main ideas and write about each one separately. Be sure to let the audience know that they’re reading part of series (i.e. Part 1 of 4) and insert links to the other posts in your series.

Keep your great ideas handy and keep your eyes open for chances to re-purpose your material. You don’t need to re-invent the wheel: just roll it in a new direction.

Posted in B2B Marketing, B2C Marketing, Blogging, Social Media Marketing, Twitter | Leave a comment

Ride the Social Media Wave Without Wiping Out

Posted on April 10, 2011 by katebrogan

Too bad a day is only 24 hours long. For a business owner, there are never enough hours in the day. Is social media marketing worth the time and effort?

Why is social media important for your business? Social media includes blogging, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and other digital platforms where the information flows both ways. You post your ideas and your readers give you feedback, and vice versa. It’s a great way to learn what your customers are thinking and stay on top of market trends, and far less expensive than many other marketing programs.

With a few hours of set-up and good planning, you can join the social media ranks using blogs, LinkedIn and Twitter to build your business.

Illustration of Blogger typing on keyboardBlogs: Blogging helps new customers find you. Think about what you do when you have a business question: you go online to look for an answer on Google, right? Your customers are doing the same thing. So if you blog about issues that affect your customers, chances are you’ll show up in their search results. Now you’re a potential answer to a customer’s problem.

If you’re new to blogging, here’s how to get started:

  • Outline a series of blog topics. Think about problems that your customers face and how you can help solve those problems.
  • Set up a schedule. Do you want to blog daily? Weekly? Monthly? Pick a time frame and stick to it.
  • Decide whether you want your blog to be available through your company website. If so, contact your web designer or administrator to set up the blog. Most website hosts have WordPress and other blogging tools available to quickly set up a blog under your URL.
  • Design your blog. WordPress, Blogger/Blogspot have simple set-up procedures and offer design templates. Add images, like your logo, to personalize your blog. Follow the set-up process, and your blog should be ready to go within an hour.

LinkedIn LogoLinkedIn: Once a prospective customer finds you, your LinkedIn profile can affect what happens next. Before the prospect picks up the phone, chances are he will check you out on LinkedIn. Prospective customers want to know if their contacts know you and recommend you.

Here are some tips to build your LinkedIn profile:

  • If you don’t already have a LinkedIn profile for yourself and your business, make this a priority! Prospects who can’t find you on LinkedIn are likely to move on to your competitors who are on LinkedIn.
  • Include your picture. It’s not a beauty contest – just a simple head shot will do. Your photo helps people identify you quickly. No photo makes you seem, well, unsociable – a big no-no on social media sites.
  • Use the right keywords in your personal profile and your business profile. Keywords are the terms that describe your skills, services, certifications, or credentials and are used in searches. Think about what your customers are likely to search for, and make sure that you include keywords that match.
  • If you have a Twitter account or a blog, use the Twitter and BlogLink apps on your LinkedIn profile so that your Tweets and blog updates appear automatically on your profile.

Twitter Logo

Twitter: Twitter is a useful tool for business owners who want to share useful information but don’t have time to blog. At 140 characters or less, you have to keep it brief on Twitter.

Here’s how to get started on Twitter:

  • Set up your Twitter account. It takes just a few minutes. Remember to include a photo or logo so followers can identify you.
  • Look for people to follow. You can search for industry experts, personal contacts, customers, trade publications – anything that’s interesting and relevant to you.
  • Start tweeting. Some topic ideas: Company events or special offers, product news, industry news. If you see a tweet with info that’s relevant to your followers, re-Tweet it. It’s all about passing along relevant info to your contacts.
  • Use hashtags – i.e. # followed by a term, like “#Oscars” for updates on the awards show. This gives context to your tweet and can help followers find your posts more efficiently.
  • Use TweetDeck to manage your Twitter account. With the TweetDeck browser, you can schedule tweets in advance so you can be more efficient.

Social media is one of many marketing tools available to you. After initial set up of your blog, LinkedIn profile and Twitter account, you can maintain your social media presence for a few hours per week.

Planning is key. If you write a blog post, tweet about the same topic. Look for interesting topics on your Twitter feed: maybe you’ll find inspiration for a blog post. Overall, keep the information fresh and relevant so search engines – and prospective customers – can find you easily.

Posted in B2B Marketing, Blogging, Social Media Marketing, Twitter | Leave a comment

Timing is Everything: When to Tweet, Email & Blog

Posted on April 1, 2011 by katebrogan

Ever wonder when to send your email marketing for best results? Or when is the best time to blog? Dan Zarella, a social media scientist at HubSpot, walks you through the “Science of Timing: When to Do Everything.”

The Science of Timing 

View more presentations from HubSpot Internet Marketing.

Here are a few highlights:

  • For email marketing, give weekends a try. Weekend emails have higher open and click-through rates than weekdays.
  • The early bird gets the click. Early morning emails more likely to get opened and clicked through.
  • Early mornings are best for blogs too. Blog readership is highest in the morning, and early morning blogs are more likely to be linked.
  • Tweet in the afternoon if you want to be re-tweeted. The rate of re-tweets jumps after 3pm (ET).
  • Update Facebook on the weekends. You’ll reach more people.

Take a look at Dan Zarella’s “Science of Timing” before launching your next digital marketing campaign. Good timing can really boost your effectiveness.

 


Posted in B2B Marketing, B2C Marketing, Blogging, Email Marketing, Social Media Marketing | Leave a comment